2022-01-02
51 分钟Kevin Barry joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “A Family Man,” by V. S. Pritchett, which was published in The New Yorker in 1977. Barry is a winner of the International Dublin Literary Award and the author of six books of fiction, most recently the story collection “That Old Country Music,” which came out in 2020.
This is the New Yorker fiction podcast from the New Yorker magazine.
I'm Deborah Treisman, fiction editor at the New Yorker.
Each month we invite a writer to choose a story from the magazine's archives to read and discuss.
This month we're going to hear a family man by V.
S.
Pritchett, which was published in the New Yorker in November of 1977.
Is your wife beautiful?
She had asked him once when they were in bed.
William, in his slow, serious way, took a long time to answer.
He said at last, very beautiful.
The story was chosen by Kevin Barry, a winner of the International Dublin Literary Award and the author of six books of fiction, including, most recently, the story collection that old country Music, which came out in 2020.
Hi, Kevin.
Hello, Deborah.
Thanks for joining.
You chose a story by V.
S.
Pritchett to read today, and I'm curious to know what your background with his work is.
You know, I kept away from his work for a long time on the basis of pure prejudice, actually, because I think when I started to write stories myself in a serious way in my mid late twenties, you know, I thought I'd better read some as well.
And Pritchett, of course, gets mentioned as one of the all time greats of the craft.
But there was something about his name, Sir Victor Sodden Pritchett.