The Reservoir: Stories and Sketches

by Janet Frame

The Reservoir is a collection of stories, sketches, poetic fragments, and memoirs-as-short-story. Set mostly in the author's native New Zealand, these works depict humankind's battle against disillusionment and emptiness. In the title story, a little girl takes her first walk to a forbidden reservoir. The bad poet in "The Chosen Image" struggles until self-deception wins out. Lauded as "one of the great writers of our time" (San Francisco Chronicle), Frame displays her boundless imagination and magical use of language.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, 20th Century

1 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1993

About the author

The fate befalling the young woman who wanted "to be a poet" has been well documented. Desperately unhappy because of family tragedies and finding herself trapped in the wrong vocation (as a schoolteacher) her only escape appeared to be in submission to society's judgement of her as abnormal. She spent four and a half years out of eight years, incarcerated in mental hospitals. The story of her almost miraculous survival of the horrors and brutalising treatment in unenlightened institutions has become well known. She continued to write throughout her troubled years, and her first book (The Lagoon and Other Stories) won a prestigious literary prize, thus convincing her doctors not to carry out a planned lobotomy.

She returned to society, but not the one which had labelled her a misfit. She sought the support and company of fellow writers and set out single-mindedly and courageously to achieve her goal of being a writer. She wrote her first novel (Owls Do Cry) while staying with her mentor Frank Sargeson, and then left New Zealand, not to return for seven years.

Reviews

[maguisita · Rating 2 out of 5]

read it for IGCSE lit, not actually enjoyed it

[Bhuvan Shree Rathour]

awesome stories i liked the story "The Tea cup" its a very cool plot between the two persons in which the lady liked a retired army officer. but he never give her much attention and this story keep on revolving in the end about the lost tea cup the golden blue teacup . its my favorite short story.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting read. Her attention to detail and unique descriptions are brilliantly captivating.

[Fen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice, understated collection of realist short stories from Janet Frame. It is the counterpart to her collection Snowman Snowman: Fables and Fantasies which, as the title implies, contains stories with elements of the surreal and fantastical. Maybe it's just my taste, but I preferred Snowman Snowman to The Reservoir by a wide margin. The stories in The Reservoir are not as captivating or diverse. Though some of the pieces in Snowman Snowman are very short, almost flash fiction style, they all feel complete. Meanwhile, the "sketches" in The Reservoir feel just like that... sketches, pieces of half-formed ideas.

I found the collection got better when Frame moved away from the autobiographical stories that dominate at the start. All the same, none of the stories reached another level for me. They are all quaint, slice-of-life sorts of things. Mixed in, there are nice insights and quality prose, but nothing memorable. It is easily my least favorite of the four Janet Frame books I've read so far and, I would say, inessential.

[Myrto · Rating 4 out of 5]

καρδούλες κι αστεράκια!

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

"How Can I Get in Touch With Persia" is one of my all-time favorite stories. Rereading some of these stories, and others for the first time, I'm starled by the beauty of Frame's language and her capacity to illuminate the dark recesses of emotionally volatile personalaties.

[Eryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories focused mainly on individuals with mental problems or were very poor. Not overly depressing. Stories improved after the first three.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark and haunting, but beautiful too

[Laura Menear]

Some of these short stories are quiet, yet they resonate.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skipped around in these. My favorites were the semi-autobiographical stories. They were full of concrete, sensuous details that made them lively, funny, engaging.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, nice, leisurely read.