A short story I recently read

In Winter the Sky, by Jon McGregor

Read it here in about 50 minutes.

Thinking about why I love it…

This version of the story (see the introduction from Granta) is written in the 3rd person, limited to the POV of the female character (Joanna), but it also includes extracts from Joanna’s writing (starting ‘In summer the sky is most times blue’), which is sometimes in the 1st person. Her writing is formatted more like poetry than prose – or perhaps more like writing in a journal, not always started from the left margin – with some words crossed out, and sometimes justified so the text spans the entire page. This story is therefore multimodal (it features different types of writing within it). I like the inclusion of Joanna’s writing – it’s more poetic in style, whereas the narration is blunt; this creates a nice contrast, and shows Joanna’s inner thoughts.

The story is also metafictional – as well as featuring Joanna’s writing, which tells the story of the landscape and seasons, linked to the relationship with her husband, there is a focus on storytelling in other ways. For example, from the very first line George tells Joanna a story (his version) about what happened all those years ago; George tells and retells the story of his first date with Joanna; George’s tale is told to the reader via Joanna’s 3rd person narration; Joanna’s writing is mentioned a couple of times, and George’s negative attitude to it…

The story is circular, beginning and ending (almost) with the same moment – George arriving home and telling Joanna they need to talk. There is another metafictional hint here, in that one detail changes between the opening and ending, from ‘They gave his father some lunch’ to ‘He served the meal she had prepared for his father and took it through to him’. Does this suggest a separation? Do Joanna’s thoughts about Ely Cathedral (‘just visible/across the water’) suggest an ending to their relationship/their life together, or the revelation of the secret that has blighted their marriage? I love this ambiguity.