Waiting

by Kate Farrell

“The idea for the story began with the final line, with a ‘what if. . .’ moment then I worked back from it.

I tend to create monsters, psychotic children, murderous teenagers and so forth, and I wanted to see
if I could create someone who was good and gentle, unreservedly and unashamedly and unfashionably nice.

I enjoy giving my characters names and if I struggle with that then the creation never seems to ring true for me.

Edna Gould presented no such problems. She was born in simpler times, her life lacks what we might term as excitement, but then so much is in the eye of the beholder.

Recently widowed she is now finding her feet and ready to sample new experiences on a scale compatible with her needs.

She has such hopes.”

34 pages, Paperback

Published December 14, 2021

About the author

Catharine (Kate) Farrell has always loved stories. During her years teaching high school in the mid-1960s in San Francisco, stories spoke a special language. Gaining a Masters in Library Science (UC, Berkeley), Kate returned to the City schools. When the Zellerbach Family Fund awarded her a grant to teach storytelling to California teachers, Kate conducted a successful decades-long project. Now a published author of educational books, Kate is a high school librarian and lives in Sonoma County."

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Waiting" is the first in a series of chapbooks being published by Uther Books, a new publisher from Wales. Always keen to support the small press, I gave this a try without any knowledge of the author or contents before purchase.

This short story is an easy read, albeit not a particularly challenging one. As Enid waits to see her doctor, she runs her (very) humdrum life through her head. Whilst many of our actions can be traced back to social behavioral stereotypes, so Enid's life is distilled through that same lens. Stock phrases, a willingness to see the best in people, conventional attitudes are littered throughout the story (not, I hasten to add, due to the quality of the writing, but through deliberate choice). They reveal a nondescript character who has simply existed, but who is also a very real being imbued with hope. The story ends before we know what is in store for her, but it is this fragility of hope that we can identify with and which makes the story relevant. Whilst it isn't entirely for me, and inevitably one dimensional due to the construct, this is an intriguing debut for this publisher.