"The Use of Poetry." Ian McEwan.

Note: The next story is from The New Yorker. New Yorker stories are almost always depressing, dealing with disillusion, marital break-ups, and pointlessness in life and plot. The characters are almost always hapless, helpless and hopeless. I include New Yorker Stories that have a scintilla of interest when I can find them. RayS.

“The Use of Poetry.” Ian McEwan.

One-minute review: Two different people with two different interests, he a scientist, she an English major with a special interest in Milton. When he learns this, he sets out to learn everything he can about Milton. He reads Milton’s poetry and critical reviews of it. He focuses on the poem about Milton’s blindness. She capitulates. They marry quickly and separate just as easily. That’s the story.

Comment: In every marriage, two people with separate personalities and separate interests, join and the merger begins to break even at the start. In this one there are no emotional ties and the separation occurs easily and happily. I guess that’s the point. RayS.

New Yorker. (December 7, 2009), 78-83.