Stephanie Jane reviewed My Son the Murderer by Bernard Malamud
A masterclass
5 stars
I read this brilliant short story - it's just seven pages long - in the collection The Oxford Book of American Short Stories and I understand that it has featured in a number of collections since its original 1970s publication. A vivid portrayal of generational misunderstanding between a father and his son, the story is simultaneously very much of its 1960s Vietnam War-era setting, but also universal in that strikingly similar family breakdowns are just as common and painful today and in every country across the world. The father simply cannot grasp why the child who used to be so affectionate and outgoing now shuns company and will not converse. The son cannot bear his father's seemingly incessant attempts to rekindle their former relationship. Malamud manages to put across incredible depth of repressed emotions in just a few hundred words, depicting his characters so clearly with real understanding of each, …
I read this brilliant short story - it's just seven pages long - in the collection The Oxford Book of American Short Stories and I understand that it has featured in a number of collections since its original 1970s publication. A vivid portrayal of generational misunderstanding between a father and his son, the story is simultaneously very much of its 1960s Vietnam War-era setting, but also universal in that strikingly similar family breakdowns are just as common and painful today and in every country across the world. The father simply cannot grasp why the child who used to be so affectionate and outgoing now shuns company and will not converse. The son cannot bear his father's seemingly incessant attempts to rekindle their former relationship. Malamud manages to put across incredible depth of repressed emotions in just a few hundred words, depicting his characters so clearly with real understanding of each, yet without judgement. A masterclass in short story writing.