fwriction

Ford is truly a modern master of the short story. His stories—along with Carver, Wolff, and Hempel—have served as my own “Guide to Fiction Writing,” helping to develop a style I find satisfying (on some days). If you’re a writer, Ford can teach you. If you’re a reader, he will grip you. If you’re alive, Ford will remind you.

This Story of the Day, originally published in The New Yorker, is from Ford’s collection, A Multitude of Sins:

“Apart from my dignity, I left behind and never saw again a brown silk Hermès scarf with tassels that my mother had given me for Christmas in 1971, a gift she felt was the nicest thing she’d ever seen and perfect for a man just starting life as an editor. I am glad she did not have to know about my losing it, or how it happened.”