.. they were still
sixty-five kilometres
from Périgeux, on a
winding back-country
road, and beginning to
get hungry. The land-
scape was gilded with
the evening light.
On their way to the
restaurant where Jer-
ry Richardson had told
them, he'd had the best
meal of his life, the
Ormsbys experienced a
flat tire, their 7th
in their drive from
Vézelay, in the lug-
gage-laden Renault.
The whole of William
Maxwell's story, of
the Ormsbys' journey
to duplicate those
impressions of another
palate, is digestible
in a matter of minutes,
and can be counted on
to remain with one for
years. He writes so
delicately of mislay-
ing what to keep, it
would be improper to
say what to taste for.
I received a message
yesterday from an an-
cient friend, asking
how to send me some-
thing. I told him he
just had.
Christmas, everyone.
William Maxwell
Early Novels
and Stories
The Pilgrimage
The New Yorker
August 22, 1953
The Library of America, 2008©
Poinsettia
Photo Laurent
No comments:
Post a Comment