by Dan Chaon
DC: Inevitably there are various incidents that have their roots in real experience, and there are even details that are more or less “true” in that they formed the core around which a story emerged, though none of the stories are “true” in any historically accurate way. Rather, they are lies that reflect various autobiographical states. Certainly I’m drawing on my own experience with the landscape of the stories that are set on the Great Plains, and I’m often aware of starting the stories around the details of various bits of gossip, rumors, news reports, even the specific things I’ve observed. I suppose that more than anything, there’s a degree of emotional autobiography. The stories were written in the years following the death of my parents, both of whom passed away in 1996, and a lot of the intensity of the experience of losing my parents was channeled into the themes and moods of the stories, even when the specific incidents and characters were imaginary.
Reading Group Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. Among the Missing is full of stories about parents and children and siblings who have lost touch with one another, who rarely communicate, or who are completely estranged from one another. Do you sense love between these characters nonetheless, or regret?
2. In the story “Safety Man,” Sandi longs to see the ghost of her dead husband. Does the artificial man of the title fill that function in any way? What other characters in these stories could be read as ghosts?
3. In “Falling Backwards,” the central character argues with her father about the ambiguity of a film they’ve just watched. Are the ambiguous conclusions of “Here’s a Little Something to Remember Me By” and “Among the Missing” akin to the feeling one gets with a tabloid news story, one whose solution may never be known? In these stories, is wondering more satisfying than knowing?
4. In “Big Me,” the author takes the common fantasy of visiting one’s younger self to dispense advice and turns it on its head: The boy imagines he’s spying on his older self, to the bitter amusement of the disappointed man he’s watching. What function do the characters’ fantasies play in these stories?
5. Secrets withheld from loved ones play a large part in “Here’s a Little Something to Remember Me By” and in “Late for the Wedding.” In what ways do the withheld secrets affect the relationships involved? Would the secrets have been easier to reveal early on in those relationships, and would their revelation later cause more damage than relief?
6. As a small boy, the narrator of “Burn with Me” clowns around with a boiled egg the day of his grandfather’s funeral in much the same way that Hollis in “Passengers, Remain Calm” keeps going on and on about the dog with the missing leg as they drive his stricken father to the hospital. Is this reaction a failure to notice misfortune, or a means of coping with it?
7. In “Late for the Wedding,” Trent plans to ask Dorrie to marry him, despite the difference in their ages and her condescending attitude toward him and his background. Given that it seems likely she’ll say no, even before he slugs her son, what do you think makes him want to take such a step?
8. In “I Demand to Know Where You’re Taking Me,” Cheryl believes that her brother-in-law Wendell is guilty of the heinous sex crimes of which he’s been accused, whereas her husband and his family fervently believe in his innocence. What are the costs of her silence to her family and her marriage, and what does she get in return?
In memory of my parents,
Earl and Teresa Chaon
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It is a pleasure to be able to thank a few people in print: my wife, Sheila Schwartz, best beloved, muse and mentor; my agent, Noah Lukeman, and editor, Dan Smetanka; my good buddy, Steve Lattimore, whose encouragement was invaluable; Reginald Gibbons; Heather Bentoski, Peggy McNally, and Scott McNulty, who walked through large blocks of this book with me. For their kindness in reading and commenting on early drafts of these stories, I would also like to thank Tom Barbash, Martha Collins, Joan Connor, Tom Gilmore, John Martin, Laura Rhoton McNeal, and Sylvia Watanabe. I also wish to thank the Ohio Arts Council for their generous support during the writing of this book.
ALSO BY DAN CHAON
Fitting Ends
You Remind Me of Me
Await Your Reply
DAN CHAON is the acclaimed author of National Bestseller Await your Reply and You Remind Me of Me, which was named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications. Ballantine has also published two collections of his short stories: Fitting Ends and Among the Missing, which was a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award.
Chaon’s work has appeared in many journals and anthologies including Best American Short Stories of 1996 and 2003, the Pushcart Prize 2000, 2002, and 2003, and the O. Henry Prize Stories, 2001. His fiction has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award in Fiction in 2002 and 2007. He was the recipient of the 2006 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Chaon lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and teaches at Oberlin College.