The Orange Orchard and Other Stories

Book excerpt: The Orange Orchard and Other Stories is a collection of short stories based on personal experiences from childhood onward. There is one thread running through all the stories, namely the tragedy that everyone has to deal with. A Happy Hippy in London Town is a story about my English friend, Liz Stenning, while studying in Sheffield. It was good to see her recover after divorce, but her happiness was short-lived. The Day Blue Came was a joyful day. In the absence of both our parents, it ends in disaster. The killing of black birds seems like an omen pointing to the tragic loss of a very young child. I always recall that fairylike child when playing Willow-the-Wisp pianisimo on the piano. The visit of a beloved uncle also turns into a nightmare. Our father had disappeared into the dark night just like The Saint in one of his favorite 1960s novels. The Show Must Go On! used to be one of his favorite quotes. My mother wrote prophetically in her last letter to me that death is part of life a few weeks before she died in a tragic car crash.