The Leaning Tower and Other Stories

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The Leaning Tower and Other Stories is a volume of short stories by the American writer Katherine Anne Porter (1890–1980), which was published in 1944 .

content

The volume includes the following stories, most of which reflect the author's childhood memories:

  • The eyewitness . A short story about the former Negro slave Jimbilly, who tells the incredulous children about his terrible experiences.
  • The circus . A visit to the circus is a great experience for the family and the staff. But little Miranda has to be brought home by the sulking nanny.
  • The grave . Miranda and Paul roam the area hunting animals. You can find objects of the deceased in former graves and when Paul chases a rabbit, it turns out that the animal was pregnant. Miranda learns the secret of where the boys come from. With an inner shudder, she perceives previously unknown, gruesome things.
  • Source and origin . When grandmother comes to the country in summer, she turns everything upside down there and everyone has to obey her. When she finally drives home, relatives and servants breathe a sigh of relief.
  • The old customs . Grandmother and her ex-Negro slave Nannie sit together and do handicrafts as they remember times past. Nannie came to see Sophia Jane as a child. The two women remained intimate through the ages. If they can criticize parenting together, they will understand each other perfectly.
  • The last sheet . When Grandmother died, to everyone's surprise, Nannie moved into her own house, where she, too, now awaited her own death.
  • The leaning tower . A lengthy story that tells of the depressing experiences of a young American in Berlin in 1931.
  • The path of knowledge leads into dark depths . Childhood experiences of a four year old boy.
  • All in one day . The portrayal of a married couple who do not understand each other and who hates each other.

expenditure

  • The leaning tower and other stories . New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1944
  • The leaning tower and other stories . London: Jonathan Cape, 1945

Translations

  • The last sheet . Bad Wörishofen: Kindler and Schiermeyer, 1953 (translation: Hansi Bochow-Blüthgen )
  • The leaning tower . Stories. Zurich: Diogenes, 1965 (translation: Joachim Uhlmann)
  • The leaning tower and other stories . Paperback edition. Reinbek: Rowohlt, 1967 (translation: Joachim Uhlmann)
  • The leaning tower and other stories . Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1986 (translation: Helga Huisgen)