Sunday, July 14, 2013

Kurt Vonnegut's "Ruth" (short story, non-genre): Two women coping with the loss of a loved one

This is perhaps the third non-genre story I've seen of Vonnegut. I wonder if his sf/non-genre output was close to 50/50?

This one begins & proceeds well but leaves the resolution open.

Story summary.

First meeting of a widow (Ruth, of title) with her mother-in-law. Her husband of 5 months recently died in a war, & she's pregnant. Neither of the women had anyone other than the man who's now no more.

The story is about the desperately different outlook of each woman to their common loss.

Fact sheet.

First published: Kurt Vonnegut's "While Mortals Sleep: Unpublished Short Fiction" (2011).
Rating: B.
Related: Stories of Kurt Vonnegut.

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