Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The Blind Date

by Anonymous from the October 24, 2011 issue

Tagline: Abbie was on the lookout for a man with a red carnation in his lapel. When she spotted him, she realized he was no stranger...

In A Nutshell: Abbie has been divorced for a year. Her co-worker has been sending her on blind dates. At a cocktail party, the man in the red carnation she's supposed to meet is none other than her ex-husband. They realize they may have made a mistake in divorcing.

Observations: Reading fiction is a very subjective activity. Each person filters the stories, using their personal history, viewpoints, opinions, etc. But, to coin one of the fiction editor Johnene's favorite phrases, "This story didn't quite work for me." Call me cynical, but I have a hard time believing in divorced pairs reuniting happily. I always doubt that they'll overcome the obstacles that caused their divorce in the first place. Perhaps I might believe if a substantial  amount of time passes between the divorce and the reunion. That way, they might be completely different people. But in this story, only a year passes.

I do want to point out a few things I did like. The fact that the blind date is her ex-husband is a fantastic turning point. I always love when I think I know exactly where the story is headed and then the author laughs maniacally as the story careens off in an entirely different direction.

I liked the humor here:

"Why don't I get us a couple glasses of wine?"

"I'm already wearing mine."

Abbie had accidentally spilled hers when she literally bumped into her ex-husband.

And the ending was poignant and uplifting and had that perfect Woman's World tone.

However, luckily for this anonymous author, I'm not the fiction editor at the magazine, because they liked it enough to publish.

7 comments:

Mary Ann said...

Kate, I have to agree with you. Although the writing was fine, the story itself didn't pull me in. I had a difficult time believing, or wanting to believe, that the divorced couple could reunite so easily. It didn't have that "Awww..." factor, you know?
Thanks for your reviews. It's a nice reference to see what the magazine is using, and has used in the past!I enjoy browsing around!
--Mary Ann J.

Kate Willoughby said...

Hey, thanks so much for commenting, Mary Ann. It's nice to get that confirmation that people are reading what I write here. LOL.

Yeah, I like the "Awww..." factor myself, too.

Lisa H. said...

OK, let me first admit to being half awake this morning...but why doesn't this writer have a name??

Kate Willoughby said...

It wasn't printed in the magazine. I think someone just forgot to include it. :(

Lisa H said...

Yikes! That would be just my luck...to finally get a story published by them, without my name!!!

Kate Willoughby said...

I know! I felt so bad for that writer.

Kate Willoughby said...

That's the only time i've seen that in six years, though.