In One of the Novels I Will Not Write

[Angela]

The young engineer with the brush cut hair will find that his cherished Montblanc pen has begun to leak into his briefcase, and there will be the soft cut leather, stained, and thoughts of his mother who gave him the briefcase, with her boldly printed and worn-thin aprons.  Inside the briefcase will be the well-thumbed manila folder with the static bridge abutment diagrams, and underneath it the blotter calendar with the phone number he should tear off and hide.  He will see the textured glass of the office door that has not been painted with his name as it should have been, and think of the cocktail glass his plump wife will hand him at the end of the day, and there will also be his secretary’s distracting hair color as she walks into his office, a bit sullen, through that door.  There will be loose baseboards, both here and in his study, and prints that no one sees on the walls, also in both places, and unattractive side tables with unattractive lamps that for political reasons cannot be replaced, and venetian blinds hanging like thin and resilient bars on the windows.  He will notice his tie is tied too short, and that he hates the color blue, and that he is late, always late for something.  I will not write about it, beginning with that one morning, and he will forever float somewhere, impassive, watching himself not unfold against the pages, his life not unreeling, in reverse origami.

[Harry]

The young engineer may be better immortalized here.

Great Six!

[Edward Dean]

@Gita; Because it's all about brother Steve, the engineer and she knows he'll sue at the drop of a hat!

@ Grey; Oh go ahead, let it all hang out and bust his miserable butt. This is prize worthy dirt:))

[Gita]

and the reason you won't write this novel is???

[Angela]

@ Cita, I think we are apples and oranges, and comparison takes away from each.  Thank you for the sentiment, though.

[Dorothy Hoffman]

Brilliant writing.

[Cita]

So, I read this and my first response was, "F**K ME."  An inelegant response, but real.  My second reaction was to read again and realize that though I preach "the power is in the details," this makes my writing appear sophomoric in this respect.  Way to go, Grey.  I am sitting in awe.

[Sandra Davies]

Left breathless, by deathless prose.   Again.   And having recently re-read Updike's Rabbit quartet, yes, but yours is ... more breathtaking.

[Michael Brown]

Nothing less than perfect. I love this for forty reasons.

[Bill Floyd]

I've said it before but it bears repeating: Updike's Rabbit quartet captured the American male in the 2nd half of the 20th century--ugly, selfish, sexist, befuddled, funny, irresponsible, opportunistic--as well as anything I've ever run across.

[Eric J. Sonntag]

"in reverse origami" love it.