Walter Tevis is receiving renewed interest because of the Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit, which is based on his novel of the same name. I’ve had Tevis’s short story collection on my shelf for decades so I decided to read Far From Home (1981). “Rent Control” is the story of a couple who discovers a way to stop Time. At first, the Time stoppage is just fun for them. But, later, the couple get obsessed with Time. “A Visit from Mother” and “Daddy” are two connected tales. A son gets a visit from the ghosts of his Mother and Daddy. A lot gets revealed as the son comes to grips with the dysfunctional dynamics of his family.
I also enjoyed “The Apothesosis of Myra” where a man commits murder on a strange planet and finds that he really isn’t rid of his victim. The stories in Far From Home display Walter Tevis’s unique vision of the human experience. Excellent stories by an excellent writer! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
PART ONE: Close to home:
Rent control.–3
A visit from Mother.–15
Daddy.–29
The apothesosis of Myra.–43
Out of luck.–67
Echo.–85
Sitting in limbo.–105
PART TWO: Far from home:
The other end of the line.–123
The big bounce.–131
The goldbrick.–143
The ifth of oofth.–155
The scholar’s disciple.–167
Far from home.– 177