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Tell Me a Riddle
This collection of four stories, "I Stand Here Ironing," "Hey Sailor, what Ship?," "O Yes," and "Tell me a Riddle," had become an American classic. Since the title novella won the O. Henry Award in 1961, the stories have been anthologized over a hundred times, made into three films, translated into thirteen languages, and - most important - once read, they abide in the hearts of their readers.
116 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
About the author
Tillie Olsen
42 books117 followersTillie Lerner Olsen (January 14, 1912 – January 1, 2007) was an American writer associated with the political turmoil of the 1930s and the first generation of American feminists.
Though she published little, Olsen was very influential for her treatment of the lives of women and the poor. She drew attention to why women have been less likely to be published authors (and why they receive less attention than male authors when they do publish). Her work received recognition in the years of much feminist political and social activity. It contributed to new possibilities for women writers. Olsen's influence on American feminist fiction has caused some critics to be frustrated at simplistic feminist interpretations of her work. In particular, several critics have pointed to Olsen's Communist past as contributing to her thought. Olsen's fiction awards, and the ongoing attention to her work, is often focused upon her unique use of language and story form, a form close to poetry in compression and clarity, as well as upon the content.
Reviewing Olsen's life in The New York Times Book Review, Margaret Atwood attributed Olsen’s relatively small output to her full life as a wife and mother, a “grueling obstacle course” experienced by many writers. Her book Silences “ begins with an account, first drafted in 1962, of her own long, circumstantially enforced silence,” Atwood wrote. “She did not write for a very simple reason: A day has 24 hours. For 20 years she had no time, no energy and none of the money that would have bought both.”
In 1968, Olsen signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
Once her books were published, Olsen became a teacher and writer-in-residence at numerous colleges, such as Amherst College, Stanford University, MIT, and Kenyon College. She was the recipient of nine honorary degrees, National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Also among the honors bestowed upon Olsen was the Rea Award for the Short Story, in 1994, for a lifetime of outstanding achievement in the field of short story writing.
Olsen died on January 1, 2007, in Oakland, California.
(from Wikipedia)
Though she published little, Olsen was very influential for her treatment of the lives of women and the poor. She drew attention to why women have been less likely to be published authors (and why they receive less attention than male authors when they do publish). Her work received recognition in the years of much feminist political and social activity. It contributed to new possibilities for women writers. Olsen's influence on American feminist fiction has caused some critics to be frustrated at simplistic feminist interpretations of her work. In particular, several critics have pointed to Olsen's Communist past as contributing to her thought. Olsen's fiction awards, and the ongoing attention to her work, is often focused upon her unique use of language and story form, a form close to poetry in compression and clarity, as well as upon the content.
Reviewing Olsen's life in The New York Times Book Review, Margaret Atwood attributed Olsen’s relatively small output to her full life as a wife and mother, a “grueling obstacle course” experienced by many writers. Her book Silences “ begins with an account, first drafted in 1962, of her own long, circumstantially enforced silence,” Atwood wrote. “She did not write for a very simple reason: A day has 24 hours. For 20 years she had no time, no energy and none of the money that would have bought both.”
In 1968, Olsen signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
Once her books were published, Olsen became a teacher and writer-in-residence at numerous colleges, such as Amherst College, Stanford University, MIT, and Kenyon College. She was the recipient of nine honorary degrees, National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Also among the honors bestowed upon Olsen was the Rea Award for the Short Story, in 1994, for a lifetime of outstanding achievement in the field of short story writing.
Olsen died on January 1, 2007, in Oakland, California.
(from Wikipedia)
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May 2, 2016
4.5 stars rounded up
A collection of four short stories by Tillie Olson; my version is published by virago modern classics (who else!). The stories are:
I Stand Here Ironing
Hey Sailor, What Ship?
Oh Yes
Tell me a Riddle
Tillie Olsen (1912-2007) was an early feminist, union organiser and communist. Her writing was limited by raising a family and this was an issue she focussed on in later life. She wrote a study of quiet periods in the productive lives of women writers; making the comment that before the mid twentieth century great women writers had either been childless or had staff to look after them.
The stories are about family life and its tensions. I Stand here Ironing is told from the perspective of a mother of five children, looking back at the way she parented her first child, Emily and feeling guilty that this may be the reason Emily is having problems now. She reflects on Emily’s father leaving her at eight months and having to work whilst Emily was young.
Oh Yes is about a childhood friendship, which crosses a racial divide and which fades as the girls grow and the differences in upbringing and expectations divide them.
Hey Sailor, What Ship is about Whitey, an aging merchant seaman back in port and drinking his wages. He visits a family he knows (the same family as in Oh Yes) and stays with them for a while. The construction of the story is interesting; the voice of each family member has its own strength and weight and we see the situation from each perspective. Whitey is a man in decline, but there are hints of a radical past. As this is set in the early 1950s, in the era of McCarthyism, such pasts have their dangers. Olsen makes Whitey more interesting; although living in a very masculine world, he is happy to help to clean the house and care for the children. The story is more complex than it first appears.
Tell me a Riddle is about a couple who have been married over 40 years; they have brought up their children and are left with each other and that is the problem. They want different things and don’t really like each other and both feel trapped. Their children are baffled by their bickering. Then the wife is diagnosed with a terminal illness. This is the longest story in the book and is really a novella. It won the O Henry prize in 1961 and is I think, one of the best short stories I have read.
Olsen has a very distinctive voice; she was self-taught and the writing is unusual, there is brevity in the prose, but also poetry. It is firmly in the post-war modernist tradition, but it is born of struggle and radicalism. There is an awful lot in this story, including an exploration of the relationship between personal and collective histories.
The tension between the couple is illustrated by their different wants. David wants to move to a retirement community run by his fraternity; Eva wants to remain where she is in her home. David sees her as a burden preventing his happiness, whilst Eva wants to “able at last to live within, and not move to the rhythms of others”. Death and remembrance are pivotal later, adding a poignancy to Eva’s situation. This is a powerful short story that needs to be read and reread. I am not surprised that Olsen was an important part of the second wave of feminism; she has a clear voice and her thoughts on family are still very pertinent.
A collection of four short stories by Tillie Olson; my version is published by virago modern classics (who else!). The stories are:
I Stand Here Ironing
Hey Sailor, What Ship?
Oh Yes
Tell me a Riddle
Tillie Olsen (1912-2007) was an early feminist, union organiser and communist. Her writing was limited by raising a family and this was an issue she focussed on in later life. She wrote a study of quiet periods in the productive lives of women writers; making the comment that before the mid twentieth century great women writers had either been childless or had staff to look after them.
The stories are about family life and its tensions. I Stand here Ironing is told from the perspective of a mother of five children, looking back at the way she parented her first child, Emily and feeling guilty that this may be the reason Emily is having problems now. She reflects on Emily’s father leaving her at eight months and having to work whilst Emily was young.
Oh Yes is about a childhood friendship, which crosses a racial divide and which fades as the girls grow and the differences in upbringing and expectations divide them.
Hey Sailor, What Ship is about Whitey, an aging merchant seaman back in port and drinking his wages. He visits a family he knows (the same family as in Oh Yes) and stays with them for a while. The construction of the story is interesting; the voice of each family member has its own strength and weight and we see the situation from each perspective. Whitey is a man in decline, but there are hints of a radical past. As this is set in the early 1950s, in the era of McCarthyism, such pasts have their dangers. Olsen makes Whitey more interesting; although living in a very masculine world, he is happy to help to clean the house and care for the children. The story is more complex than it first appears.
Tell me a Riddle is about a couple who have been married over 40 years; they have brought up their children and are left with each other and that is the problem. They want different things and don’t really like each other and both feel trapped. Their children are baffled by their bickering. Then the wife is diagnosed with a terminal illness. This is the longest story in the book and is really a novella. It won the O Henry prize in 1961 and is I think, one of the best short stories I have read.
Olsen has a very distinctive voice; she was self-taught and the writing is unusual, there is brevity in the prose, but also poetry. It is firmly in the post-war modernist tradition, but it is born of struggle and radicalism. There is an awful lot in this story, including an exploration of the relationship between personal and collective histories.
The tension between the couple is illustrated by their different wants. David wants to move to a retirement community run by his fraternity; Eva wants to remain where she is in her home. David sees her as a burden preventing his happiness, whilst Eva wants to “able at last to live within, and not move to the rhythms of others”. Death and remembrance are pivotal later, adding a poignancy to Eva’s situation. This is a powerful short story that needs to be read and reread. I am not surprised that Olsen was an important part of the second wave of feminism; she has a clear voice and her thoughts on family are still very pertinent.
September 2, 2013
Though there is much more to the four stories in this slim volume than the disruptive force of family life, I think it appropriate that I read the majority of the final, title story while three of my husband's grandkids wanted drinks, snacks, pillows, covers and conversation from me. After they settled in another room with their granddad and a movie, I finished the last story (though not uninterrupted) with the Sunday night baseball game on low volume.
These modern conveniences show that my life is nothing like what the poor working mother in the first story, 'I Stand Here Ironing,' has to endure, but my past feels some of her pain. It's a perfect short story, showing us more than the words say. (Read it! It's online.)
The two middle stories deal peripherally with a San Francisco family, a couple with three daughters. The main character of one is an alcoholic friend of the family. The next explores how junior high is tearing apart the close friendship of the middle daughter and her best friend, a girl who attends the same school and is black. Though I didn't find these two stories as strong as the ones that bracket them, they have powerful moments and should be read to give the final story its full effectiveness.
That longer story is a tour de force: a poetic, heartbreaking, compressed history of the marriage of the Russian-immigrant grandparents of the girls in the two previous stories. The oldest granddaughter Jeannie, a passionate teenager and then a compassionate young woman, became a favorite character of mine.
As I finish this review, it is almost tomorrow and the house sleeps, except for me, for when else do those who tend young children (even ones who go home tomorrow) write.
These modern conveniences show that my life is nothing like what the poor working mother in the first story, 'I Stand Here Ironing,' has to endure, but my past feels some of her pain. It's a perfect short story, showing us more than the words say. (Read it! It's online.)
The two middle stories deal peripherally with a San Francisco family, a couple with three daughters. The main character of one is an alcoholic friend of the family. The next explores how junior high is tearing apart the close friendship of the middle daughter and her best friend, a girl who attends the same school and is black. Though I didn't find these two stories as strong as the ones that bracket them, they have powerful moments and should be read to give the final story its full effectiveness.
That longer story is a tour de force: a poetic, heartbreaking, compressed history of the marriage of the Russian-immigrant grandparents of the girls in the two previous stories. The oldest granddaughter Jeannie, a passionate teenager and then a compassionate young woman, became a favorite character of mine.
As I finish this review, it is almost tomorrow and the house sleeps, except for me, for when else do those who tend young children (even ones who go home tomorrow) write.
March 3, 2023
Stories about the lifespan to pull on your heartstrings. I Stand here Ironing, the first of four short stories, broke my heart as a mother. Tillie Olsen writes of her daughter being "a miracle to me, but when she was eight months old I had to leave her daytimes with the woman downstairs to whom she was no miracle at all," which says it all. There is regret and self-examination and wondering and finally, acceptance. We do what we can with the resources available to us and hope for the best.
May 10, 2015
If I remember correctly I reviewed "I Stand Here Ironing" last year, Mothers' Day, which I found in an anthology of short stories. A week ago I found this volume of four titles which includes "I Stand Here Ironing" and decided to give the title story a go while at Starbucks sipping coffee as my wife goes with her seemingly interminable shopping.
She had already joined me, sitting across our small, round table with her decaf and New York cheesecake as I was winding up with "Tell Me a Riddle" and I hope she didn't notice that I was tearing up, moved, carried away by this tale of an old couple married for 47 years, alone in their old house, the guy wanting to sell it so they can live in a nursing home, his wife resenting his plan, the children all grown up with families of their own, yet all love them still, how they try to cope with the tragedy of their mother stricken with cancer, not telling her but her knowing and not telling them she knows, time and memories going back and forth, past and present, heartbreaking, bittersweet, insanely brilliant prose.
My god, what a writer.
She had already joined me, sitting across our small, round table with her decaf and New York cheesecake as I was winding up with "Tell Me a Riddle" and I hope she didn't notice that I was tearing up, moved, carried away by this tale of an old couple married for 47 years, alone in their old house, the guy wanting to sell it so they can live in a nursing home, his wife resenting his plan, the children all grown up with families of their own, yet all love them still, how they try to cope with the tragedy of their mother stricken with cancer, not telling her but her knowing and not telling them she knows, time and memories going back and forth, past and present, heartbreaking, bittersweet, insanely brilliant prose.
My god, what a writer.
August 24, 2023
My first encounter with Tillie Olsen. Born to Russian Jewish immigrants in Nebraska, she left school at 15, held various working-class jobs, had her first of four daughters as a 19 year old single parent, and engaged vigorously in left-wing activism. This, her first book-length work, was published in 1961 when she was almost 50. It is a collection of three short stories and a novella, all written in a very distinctive style - I suppose the terms to use would be modernist and stream-of-consciousness, but it also simply seems like Olsen's own voice, rooted in her background and concerns.
It's compelling reading and a compelling voice.
In "I Stand There Ironing," a mother faces a visitor who is "deeply interested in helping" her eldest daughter. She reflects on whether she failed her daughter during her childhood, remembering the times she had to leave her or couldn't pay attention to her. "I stand here ironing and what you asked me moves tormented back and forth with the iron. 'I wish you would manage the time to come in and talk with me about your daughter. I'm sure you can help me understand her.'"
In "Hey Sailor, What Ship?" an alcoholic sailor on shore leave visits a family of old friends in San Francisco. His efforts to impress fall on deaf ears with the eldest daughter, but her parents continue to have time for their old friend, as "once they had been young together."
In "O Yes," a white girl goes to her black childhood friend's baptism with her mother, but her mother's efforts to maintain the friendship underscore how the girls are growing apart ("They're in junior high, Mother. Don't you know about junior high? How they sort? And it's all where you're going.")
And in the title novella, "Tell Me a Riddle," an elderly couple battle over whether to sell the house, until unexpected news changes their direction. "For forty-seven years they had been married. How deep back the stubborn, gnarled roots of the quarrel reached, no one could say - but only now, when tending to the needs of others no longer shackled them together, the roots swelled up visible, split the earth between them, and the tearing shook even to the children, long since grown."
It's compelling reading and a compelling voice.
In "I Stand There Ironing," a mother faces a visitor who is "deeply interested in helping" her eldest daughter. She reflects on whether she failed her daughter during her childhood, remembering the times she had to leave her or couldn't pay attention to her. "I stand here ironing and what you asked me moves tormented back and forth with the iron. 'I wish you would manage the time to come in and talk with me about your daughter. I'm sure you can help me understand her.'"
In "Hey Sailor, What Ship?" an alcoholic sailor on shore leave visits a family of old friends in San Francisco. His efforts to impress fall on deaf ears with the eldest daughter, but her parents continue to have time for their old friend, as "once they had been young together."
In "O Yes," a white girl goes to her black childhood friend's baptism with her mother, but her mother's efforts to maintain the friendship underscore how the girls are growing apart ("They're in junior high, Mother. Don't you know about junior high? How they sort? And it's all where you're going.")
And in the title novella, "Tell Me a Riddle," an elderly couple battle over whether to sell the house, until unexpected news changes their direction. "For forty-seven years they had been married. How deep back the stubborn, gnarled roots of the quarrel reached, no one could say - but only now, when tending to the needs of others no longer shackled them together, the roots swelled up visible, split the earth between them, and the tearing shook even to the children, long since grown."
April 1, 2017
A norte-americana Tillie Olsen (1912 – 2007) além de escritora foi uma activista política na década de 1930 e uma das primeiras feministas; esteve presa duas vezes (em 1932 e em 1934) acusada de ser uma agente de Estaline.
”Conta-me Uma Adivinha”, o seu primeiro livro publicado originalmente em 1961, é uma colectânea de quatro contos: Estou aqui a engomar, Eh, marujo, que navio?, Oh, sim e Conta-me uma adivinha.
Neste livro, Tillie Olsen, privilegia quase exclusivamente a perspectiva de mulheres, numa narrativa corajosa e dramática, narrando e descrevendo relatos do dia-a-dia, agrupando algumas personagens recorrentes nos três últimos contos, membros familiares que se cruzam em diferentes períodos temporais e que são evocativas de um grupo socioeconómico que enfrenta dificuldades acrescidas num quotidiano repleto de desencantamento e amargura.
Destaco um conto:
Estou aqui a engomar - um monólogo da mãe de Emily que começa, ”Estou aqui a engomar, e o pedido que me faz anda para lá e para cá, atormentado, ao ritmo do ferro.”; um conto introspectivo sobre a maternidade precoce e o abandono por parte do pai de Emily; no modo como as dificuldades financeiras afectam os relacionamentos e os vínculos familiares, nomeadamente, pela necessidade imperiosa de trabalhar durante largos períodos do dia, deixando as crianças com outras pessoas e pelo modo como as vivências quotidianas entre os membros da mesma família afectam de modo profundo o comportamento e as ligações entre elas.
March 22, 2022
[3.4] Reading these stories only once feels inadequate. Especially the title story about a woman at the end of her life, trying to live the way she wants, with a torrent of thoughts and words about her past as a mother, a wife, a young girl in Russia. Although I feel they deserve more attention, reading them feels like work. So for now, I will not go further. [Note to self: Read again someday.]
June 2, 2013
This short story was a game changer for me -- after reading it, I was certain I wanted to major in English literature. Before that, I knew I wanted to teach high school English, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to focus on literature or writing in my major. As I sat on my bed in my freshmen dorm room, silently and uncontrollably crying as Olsen pushed the story further and further, I knew this story had turned on a switch within me. I then went on to write the first literary analysis paper that I was truly proud of -- and am still proud of -- that also won me a place at a national English honor society conference. Tillie Olsen pushed me to realize literature allows us to understand our commonalities in spite of our many differences.
August 26, 2021
Espero muchos meses para que este libro llegara a Argentina y valió la pena. Consta de cuatro cuentos que te conmueven de una manera impensada, te atacan, me atrevería a decir, un lado íntimo que muchos de nosotros desconocemos tener.
November 25, 2022
Hoy os hablo del que ha sido mi primer acercamiento a Tillie Olsen, pero ya adelanto que no será el último. Olsen (1912-2007) formó parte de la primera generación autoras feministas estadounidenses y es especialmente reconocida por dar voz a la clase obrera de ese país. Hija de inmigrantes rusos y parte de una familia numerosa, a los 15 años tuvo que dejar los estudios para comenzar a trabajar en empleos bastante precarios. Eso, unido a la educación política que recibieron en casa, desembocó en un activismo político durante toda su vida, estuvo afiliada al partido socialista y participó en revueltas sindicales. En 1932, comenzó a escribir su primera novela, que quedó inacabada al dar a luz a su primera hija.
Con esta sencilla aproximación a la biografía de Tillie, es fácil percibir como ella conocía de cerca los temas que explotará en los relatos que conforman ‘Dime una adivinanza’, ya fuera por sus propias vivencias como por las de las gentes de sus círculos. De los cuatro relatos, sutilmente interconectados, el primero y el último han sido mis favoritos (y de los que hablaré aquí por cuestiones de espacio), de esos que después de leerlos, requieren unos minutos para para “volver al mundo”, al que de pronto, miras un poco diferente.
Me ha gustado mucho el estilo de Olsen: crudo, directo, incisivo, sin filtros y totalmente efectivo. Quizá resultado de ser autodidacta, o quizá simplemente de su forma de ver la vida. Una visión sin endulzar de la realidad de muchas personas, y en concreto, de muchas mujeres. De las tensiones y los problemas de la vida familiar. Escenas y recuerdos íntimos, llenos de tensión.
‘Aquí estoy planchando’ es brutal, ya desde el título es toda una declaración de intenciones. Explora el sentimiento de culpa de una madre, el cuestionamiento de todas y cada una de las decisiones tomadas desde el nacimiento de su hija. ¿Tiene culpa del presente de su hija? La protagonista la asume, pero al mismo tiempo, expone una realidad compleja de una madre soltera que tenía que trabajar para poder sacar adelante a su hija y su vida. ¿Se puede trabajar y no estar ausente? En pleno siglo XXI aún trabajamos para que la conciliación sea algo real (y no privilegio al alcance de pocos) imaginad en los años 30 con absolutamente ningún tipo de ayuda. Saber que hizo lo que podía, no hace que la culpa de esa madre desaparezca. El relato tiene un sabor amargo, pesimista, pues quien lo narra conoce muy bien el techo de cristal que se cierne sobre la clase obrera.
"Yo era una madre joven, una madre descentrada. Había otros hijos creciendo, con sus demandas. La sabiduría me llegó tarde. Pese a lo mucho que tiene dentro, no conseguirá sacar más que una pequeña parte. Es hija de su época, de la depresión, la guerra y el miedo."
Este relato destila realidad, podría ser cualquier madre… y volviendo a la vida de la autora, Margaret Atwood dijo de Olsen "Ella no escribió por una razón muy simple: un día tiene 24 horas. Durante 20 años no tuvo tiempo, ni energía y nada del dinero que habría comprado ambos". ¿Sentiría Tillie también culpa? ¿O quizá algo de resentimiento por todos sus sacrificios en pos de su familia? Este tema se explora magistralmente en el último relato, ‘Dime una adivinanza’
‘Dime una adivinanza’ es una cosa potentísima. Un matrimonio tras una vida entera juntos, no tienen nada en común. Ni en el presente ni en las expectativas de futuro. Una vida de soledad, de criar a siete hijos, de renuncias, hace que Eva carezca de conexión con su marido. De nuevo, los problemas económicos aparecen, después de toda una vida trabajando David quiere pasar la vejez en un hogar de jubilados donde “se lo dan todo hecho” y podrá tener vida social, el paraíso en la tierra. Eva no piensa abandonar su casa, ahora por fin, quiere vivir a su ritmo, sin imposiciones de nadie. ¿Qué hacer con esas diferencias? Ya así podría haber sido un relato estupendo, pero mete además se introduce un hecho que lo cambiará todo.
Un relato valiente, que rompe el molde de muchas ideas arraigadas en nuestra cabeza sobre la vejez y los cuidados. Una historia sobre el rencor acumulado, la incomprensión, la insatisfacción, las ausencias… marcan una vida y que te hace reflexionar sobre el perdón, algo que no necesariamente debe llegar siempre.
Los otros dos relatos abordan temas como el desarraigo y la pertenencia, las adicciones, la culpa, el desencanto. El racismo, las diferencias sociales… y la imposibilidad de huir de ellas. No son relatos alegres los de Olsen, pero abre un agujerito por el que mirar realidades alejadas del foco, presenta y crea referentes y eso, es muy necesario.
Con esta sencilla aproximación a la biografía de Tillie, es fácil percibir como ella conocía de cerca los temas que explotará en los relatos que conforman ‘Dime una adivinanza’, ya fuera por sus propias vivencias como por las de las gentes de sus círculos. De los cuatro relatos, sutilmente interconectados, el primero y el último han sido mis favoritos (y de los que hablaré aquí por cuestiones de espacio), de esos que después de leerlos, requieren unos minutos para para “volver al mundo”, al que de pronto, miras un poco diferente.
Me ha gustado mucho el estilo de Olsen: crudo, directo, incisivo, sin filtros y totalmente efectivo. Quizá resultado de ser autodidacta, o quizá simplemente de su forma de ver la vida. Una visión sin endulzar de la realidad de muchas personas, y en concreto, de muchas mujeres. De las tensiones y los problemas de la vida familiar. Escenas y recuerdos íntimos, llenos de tensión.
‘Aquí estoy planchando’ es brutal, ya desde el título es toda una declaración de intenciones. Explora el sentimiento de culpa de una madre, el cuestionamiento de todas y cada una de las decisiones tomadas desde el nacimiento de su hija. ¿Tiene culpa del presente de su hija? La protagonista la asume, pero al mismo tiempo, expone una realidad compleja de una madre soltera que tenía que trabajar para poder sacar adelante a su hija y su vida. ¿Se puede trabajar y no estar ausente? En pleno siglo XXI aún trabajamos para que la conciliación sea algo real (y no privilegio al alcance de pocos) imaginad en los años 30 con absolutamente ningún tipo de ayuda. Saber que hizo lo que podía, no hace que la culpa de esa madre desaparezca. El relato tiene un sabor amargo, pesimista, pues quien lo narra conoce muy bien el techo de cristal que se cierne sobre la clase obrera.
"Yo era una madre joven, una madre descentrada. Había otros hijos creciendo, con sus demandas. La sabiduría me llegó tarde. Pese a lo mucho que tiene dentro, no conseguirá sacar más que una pequeña parte. Es hija de su época, de la depresión, la guerra y el miedo."
Este relato destila realidad, podría ser cualquier madre… y volviendo a la vida de la autora, Margaret Atwood dijo de Olsen "Ella no escribió por una razón muy simple: un día tiene 24 horas. Durante 20 años no tuvo tiempo, ni energía y nada del dinero que habría comprado ambos". ¿Sentiría Tillie también culpa? ¿O quizá algo de resentimiento por todos sus sacrificios en pos de su familia? Este tema se explora magistralmente en el último relato, ‘Dime una adivinanza’
‘Dime una adivinanza’ es una cosa potentísima. Un matrimonio tras una vida entera juntos, no tienen nada en común. Ni en el presente ni en las expectativas de futuro. Una vida de soledad, de criar a siete hijos, de renuncias, hace que Eva carezca de conexión con su marido. De nuevo, los problemas económicos aparecen, después de toda una vida trabajando David quiere pasar la vejez en un hogar de jubilados donde “se lo dan todo hecho” y podrá tener vida social, el paraíso en la tierra. Eva no piensa abandonar su casa, ahora por fin, quiere vivir a su ritmo, sin imposiciones de nadie. ¿Qué hacer con esas diferencias? Ya así podría haber sido un relato estupendo, pero mete además se introduce un hecho que lo cambiará todo.
Un relato valiente, que rompe el molde de muchas ideas arraigadas en nuestra cabeza sobre la vejez y los cuidados. Una historia sobre el rencor acumulado, la incomprensión, la insatisfacción, las ausencias… marcan una vida y que te hace reflexionar sobre el perdón, algo que no necesariamente debe llegar siempre.
Los otros dos relatos abordan temas como el desarraigo y la pertenencia, las adicciones, la culpa, el desencanto. El racismo, las diferencias sociales… y la imposibilidad de huir de ellas. No son relatos alegres los de Olsen, pero abre un agujerito por el que mirar realidades alejadas del foco, presenta y crea referentes y eso, es muy necesario.
August 30, 2016
Una scrittura immediata, diretta; pensieri espressi senza traduzione, né intermediari. Voci della mente, impressioni pure. Una scrittura inusuale, “strana” che mi ha preso alla sprovvista e inizialmente sconcertato: talmente coinvolgente da provare smarrimento, e diffidenza, come nei primi rapporti con una persona che ti appaia troppo invadente: ci si irrigidisce, si rimane in controllo.
Per questo motivo, forse, i primi tre racconti mi sono scivolati via senza che riuscissi ad immergermi completamente; sono restata a nuotare in superficie, all'erta; finché “Fammi un indovinello”, il quarto racconto, mi ha catturato e trascinato fino alla profondità; mi ha coinvolto e trovato vulnerabile allo spasmo; l’ho condiviso in ogni parte, come madre, come figlia, come moglie,… trasportandomi anche fisicamente.
Recommended by: Fewlas
Per questo motivo, forse, i primi tre racconti mi sono scivolati via senza che riuscissi ad immergermi completamente; sono restata a nuotare in superficie, all'erta; finché “Fammi un indovinello”, il quarto racconto, mi ha catturato e trascinato fino alla profondità; mi ha coinvolto e trovato vulnerabile allo spasmo; l’ho condiviso in ogni parte, come madre, come figlia, come moglie,… trasportandomi anche fisicamente.
Recommended by: Fewlas
January 22, 2021
Uno de esos libros imprescindibles. No lo digo yo nada más, también lo dicen Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood.
April 10, 2024
Primero: TODOS debiéramos leer este libro / diáspora.
Segundo: NADIE puede negar el talento inmanente de Tillie.
Tercero: TERNURA en sus cuatro relatos, que además confabulan con el lector. De una inteligencia emocionante, radical e insospechada.
Cuarto: La traducción es horrible, pero me quedo con el libro y no la experiencia lectora. De a poco voy detestando más las traducciones ibéricas por un buen motivo.
Segundo: NADIE puede negar el talento inmanente de Tillie.
Tercero: TERNURA en sus cuatro relatos, que además confabulan con el lector. De una inteligencia emocionante, radical e insospechada.
Cuarto: La traducción es horrible, pero me quedo con el libro y no la experiencia lectora. De a poco voy detestando más las traducciones ibéricas por un buen motivo.
March 30, 2023
Leer dime una adivinanza me ha dejado un tremendo posó. Concretamente los relatos aquí estoy planchando y el que da título al libro , dime una adivinanza me parecen perfectos.
Qué manera de hablar sobre la maternidad y lo que conlleva .
Los cuidados, el trabajo, el cansancio, los sentimientos de culpa y la necesidad de estar sola, tranquila cuando ya poco puedes hacer por los demás.
Me veo a veces representada en alguno de sus personajes y me genera angustia .
"Todo lo hice por amor". Y si es verdad, yo hago también las cosas por amor a mi hija pero el amor no me obliga a ser cuidadora . Son las faltas de medios y ayudas las que nos obligan a .
"Yo era una madre joven, una madre descentrada. Había otros hijos creciendo, con sus demandas. La sabiduría me llegó tarde. Pese a lo mucho que tiene dentro, no conseguirá sacar más que una pequeña parte. Es hija de su época, de la depresión , la guerra y el miedo."
.
" Por fin era capaz de vivir con ella misma, sin moverse al ritmo de los demás, según le ha impuesto la vida: la ha negado, apartado y asilado, le ha quitado a los niños uno a uno... Y por fin le ha concedido la soledad, y en esa Soledad obtuvo la paz".
Qué manera de hablar sobre la maternidad y lo que conlleva .
Los cuidados, el trabajo, el cansancio, los sentimientos de culpa y la necesidad de estar sola, tranquila cuando ya poco puedes hacer por los demás.
Me veo a veces representada en alguno de sus personajes y me genera angustia .
"Todo lo hice por amor". Y si es verdad, yo hago también las cosas por amor a mi hija pero el amor no me obliga a ser cuidadora . Son las faltas de medios y ayudas las que nos obligan a .
"Yo era una madre joven, una madre descentrada. Había otros hijos creciendo, con sus demandas. La sabiduría me llegó tarde. Pese a lo mucho que tiene dentro, no conseguirá sacar más que una pequeña parte. Es hija de su época, de la depresión , la guerra y el miedo."
.
" Por fin era capaz de vivir con ella misma, sin moverse al ritmo de los demás, según le ha impuesto la vida: la ha negado, apartado y asilado, le ha quitado a los niños uno a uno... Y por fin le ha concedido la soledad, y en esa Soledad obtuvo la paz".
February 18, 2023
No conocía a esta autora y gracias al grupo de lectura he podido acercarme a su obra.
Los relatos de este libro me han hecho reflexionar mucho. Los temas que la autora plantea siguen vigentes hoy en día.
No puedo hablar más sin destriparlo, así que recomiendo leerla.
Los relatos de este libro me han hecho reflexionar mucho. Los temas que la autora plantea siguen vigentes hoy en día.
No puedo hablar más sin destriparlo, así que recomiendo leerla.
March 17, 2019
Gostei do primeiro e do último conto. Os dois do meio li sem ler e esqueci porque não apreciei a forma de narrar e me aborreci logo no início.
Estou Aqui a Engomar é um monólogo interior de uma mãe sobre a personalidade da filha mais velha, considerada problemática pelos professores.
Trabalhava, havia quatro mais pequenos, faltava-me o tempo para ela. Ela tinha de ajudar, fazendo de mãe, de governanta, indo às compras. Manhãs críticas, a raiar o histeria, ao tentar preparar as cestinhas com o almoço, pentear cabelos, desencantar sapatos e casacos, levar todos à escola ou ao infantário a tempo e horas...
Conta-me Uma Adivinha é a história de um casal de idosos que, após quarenta e sete anos de casamento, entram em litígio. Ele, cansado de uma vida de trabalho e deveres, quer vender a casa para passarem o resto dos seus dias numa casa de repouso; ela nem quer pensar nisso.
Estou Aqui a Engomar é um monólogo interior de uma mãe sobre a personalidade da filha mais velha, considerada problemática pelos professores.
Trabalhava, havia quatro mais pequenos, faltava-me o tempo para ela. Ela tinha de ajudar, fazendo de mãe, de governanta, indo às compras. Manhãs críticas, a raiar o histeria, ao tentar preparar as cestinhas com o almoço, pentear cabelos, desencantar sapatos e casacos, levar todos à escola ou ao infantário a tempo e horas...
Conta-me Uma Adivinha é a história de um casal de idosos que, após quarenta e sete anos de casamento, entram em litígio. Ele, cansado de uma vida de trabalho e deveres, quer vender a casa para passarem o resto dos seus dias numa casa de repouso; ela nem quer pensar nisso.
April 10, 2021
Four short stories. Four sort of confusing short stories. Introspective, with some stream-of-consciousness writing which left me often baffled, befuddled and thinking: what am I missing???
That Ms. Olsen was recognized as a master in her field, went on to win numerous awards, I am very aware. I've read about her, her life, her difficulty in finding time for writing as she was busy with a large family, always, it seems with a little one underfoot. Finding time for oneself, whether it be for painting, writing, design, or any other creative endeavor, has always come harder for women - overall - than for men. I'm aware of that, too. Time becomes so precious, but when there's supper to be prepared, laundry and ironing, cleaning and children who need homework help, it's an age-old - or at least modern age-old - issue.
But write she did, when she could, and her stories are considered small masterpieces. Written from a working-class point of view, often with an awareness of lost time and lost opportunity, and regardless of who the MC is, they're sad, wistful and melancholy.
But I had to re-read many passages, entire sections, even a whole story as I really didn't know who was who and what was going on. The one about a little white girl who is friends with a black girl, and her awareness that their friendship had to eventually end - heart-breaking.
Three stars.
That Ms. Olsen was recognized as a master in her field, went on to win numerous awards, I am very aware. I've read about her, her life, her difficulty in finding time for writing as she was busy with a large family, always, it seems with a little one underfoot. Finding time for oneself, whether it be for painting, writing, design, or any other creative endeavor, has always come harder for women - overall - than for men. I'm aware of that, too. Time becomes so precious, but when there's supper to be prepared, laundry and ironing, cleaning and children who need homework help, it's an age-old - or at least modern age-old - issue.
But write she did, when she could, and her stories are considered small masterpieces. Written from a working-class point of view, often with an awareness of lost time and lost opportunity, and regardless of who the MC is, they're sad, wistful and melancholy.
But I had to re-read many passages, entire sections, even a whole story as I really didn't know who was who and what was going on. The one about a little white girl who is friends with a black girl, and her awareness that their friendship had to eventually end - heart-breaking.
Three stars.
February 2, 2020
Not pretty or happy or easy. Not entertaining or superficial, but food for the soul. Tillie Olsen lived Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, and it shows in each of these stories. Here is the American blue collar, hand-to-mouth life that we rarely acknowledge, without the romanticism of Bukowski and his ilk. No one wants to live these lives, but many do, and Olsen tells how it is. Tell Me a Riddle demonstrates the necessity of simple human kindness, how we should always try to be kinder than we need to be.
April 29, 2021
ay
qué seca
qué seca
September 3, 2022
This is a short collection of short stories by Tillie Olsen, which I have owned since college, but I have not picked up this little book since then (125 pages total). All four stories are exquisitely crafted and profoundly moving.
I’ve been following George Saunders’ substack, Story Club (https://georgesaunders.substack.com/), for a few months, which I cannot recommend highly enough . I dug Olsen’s stories out of the back of my book shelf when George Saunders picked one of them, “I Stand Here Ironing,” to look at and discuss. It was the same one I remember studying in college, but I don’t think I’ve ever read the other three stories in this volume until now. The last one, “Tell Me A Riddle,” I think I would remember, because it is more than moving or heart-rending; it is brutal.
I had to postpone writing this for a while, until I stopped sobbing. I’m alright now. Really.
I’ve been following George Saunders’ substack, Story Club (https://georgesaunders.substack.com/), for a few months, which I cannot recommend highly enough . I dug Olsen’s stories out of the back of my book shelf when George Saunders picked one of them, “I Stand Here Ironing,” to look at and discuss. It was the same one I remember studying in college, but I don’t think I’ve ever read the other three stories in this volume until now. The last one, “Tell Me A Riddle,” I think I would remember, because it is more than moving or heart-rending; it is brutal.
I had to postpone writing this for a while, until I stopped sobbing. I’m alright now. Really.
April 12, 2018
There’s something akin to Grace Paley in Tillie Olsen’s tales of maternal sublimation and the darkness of midcentury conformity. Like Paley’s characters, Olsen’s women seethe quietly against the thankless, endless sacrifices of motherhood. What could let you know what you’re in for more succinctly than a collection whose first story is titled “I Stand Here Ironing”? The voices are as strong as Paley’s, too; the immigrant couple of the title story, with their inside-out syntax, remind one of Paley’s Ukrainians.
In style, though, there is more of Virginia Woolf in these stories. Olsen veers from thought to thought and often viewpoint to viewpoint in a style that is both choppy and fluid, breaking sentences down into fragments, phrases, individual words that at times are set on the page with poetry-like visual arrangement.
When you read with that flow, as much for feeling and rhythm as for precise comprehension, the stories are uniformly moving. In particular, “I Stand Here Ironing” is a woman’s affecting lament at how little she was able to do for her now-adult daughter, constrained by depression-era poverty and unable to fend off the external pressures of girlhood. “O Yes” addresses the creeping effects of the matrix of racism in which we all live, as a black girl and white girl, best friends as children, are driven apart as they reach the social crucible of junior high school.
The title story “Tell Me A Riddle” presents an aging couple facing an expansive rift after nearly half a century of failing to communicate with one another, a dying woman who devoted every ounce of her life’s energy to raising her seven children and her devoted but entitled husband, mystified at her spasmodic, experimental expressions of a long-suppressed will. This captures the overarching theme of the book, souls straining for expression against inescapable constraints.
In style, though, there is more of Virginia Woolf in these stories. Olsen veers from thought to thought and often viewpoint to viewpoint in a style that is both choppy and fluid, breaking sentences down into fragments, phrases, individual words that at times are set on the page with poetry-like visual arrangement.
When you read with that flow, as much for feeling and rhythm as for precise comprehension, the stories are uniformly moving. In particular, “I Stand Here Ironing” is a woman’s affecting lament at how little she was able to do for her now-adult daughter, constrained by depression-era poverty and unable to fend off the external pressures of girlhood. “O Yes” addresses the creeping effects of the matrix of racism in which we all live, as a black girl and white girl, best friends as children, are driven apart as they reach the social crucible of junior high school.
The title story “Tell Me A Riddle” presents an aging couple facing an expansive rift after nearly half a century of failing to communicate with one another, a dying woman who devoted every ounce of her life’s energy to raising her seven children and her devoted but entitled husband, mystified at her spasmodic, experimental expressions of a long-suppressed will. This captures the overarching theme of the book, souls straining for expression against inescapable constraints.
March 14, 2012
Though bleak, it's refreshing reading honest stories of the "other" San Francisco: families scraping by year after year, earning wisdom through deep regret and being experienced have-nots. There are still quite a few folks like these, though you'd never know it through the media's hipster and old-money portrayals of the city. The title story is a challenge to the idea of waiting for retirement.
April 19, 2021
Al primer cuento le doy 5 estrellas, al último le doy mil.
January 15, 2023
el primer cuento es excelente
el último, más!
el último, más!
January 10, 2024
Quería que me gustara más. No sé qué me pasa con la literatura estadounidense, quizá son las traducciones las que no me convencen. La última historia fue mi favorita.
March 17, 2021
Necesito una pala pa recogerme después de esto
June 1, 2021
Me ha costado entrar en el libro.
No esperaba esa crudeza en las historias tras ese título.
Es muy real a pesar de la distancia temporal que ya nos separa con el año en que fue escrito.
Los cuidados.
Qué complejos y qué fáciles.
Qué incómodos tantas veces.
Sí, eso.
Lo incómodo de la realidad.
No esperaba esa crudeza en las historias tras ese título.
Es muy real a pesar de la distancia temporal que ya nos separa con el año en que fue escrito.
Los cuidados.
Qué complejos y qué fáciles.
Qué incómodos tantas veces.
Sí, eso.
Lo incómodo de la realidad.
March 23, 2023
Good writing with a poetic style. This book is in the "Feminista" list. I read the four short stories and the unfinished novella "Requa I". I liked Requa I the best, wished it had an ending.
May 16, 2013
In my continuing attempt to read things with some Nebraska connection, and also (mostly) in honor of Olsen's passing at the beginning of the year, I thought I would read something from her. It turns out that this is really her only completed book of fiction, so I suppose it's not unusual that this is the one I would settle on. Having read the book, in any case, there is one thing I can say for sure: Holy hell, this woman could write. I'm not sure I've ever read a more powerful collection of stories. She has an incredibly tight grip on the human psyche, and from the very first page she takes you exactly where she wants you to go. Not to say that the writing is manipulative. It's just so evocative and compelling. If you don't cry while reading this book, you're not human. When I finished the last (and most gripping) story, I was physically unable to rise from the chair.
In case you hadn't guessed, this isn't a real light, cheery book. This may give you some sense: I found myself thinking, throughout the book, that Olsen is the writer Annie Proulx wishes she could be. There are several significant differences between the two (not least that Olsen is simply a better writer), but the one that stands out for me most now that I've finished the book is that Olsen's writing—while every bit as depressing as Proulx's—has more to it. After reading Annie Proulx, you get this feeling that someone has just drug you to the ground and kicked the hell out of you for no good reason. With Olsen, on the other hand, it's more like you've spent time with an angel, or even a god, who has managed to illuminate for you some of the inner workings of the world and the human mind. There is a sadness which suffuses the book, but that's not its goal.
I'm not sure why I'm spending so much time comparing these two authors, in any case. But there you go.
In case you hadn't guessed, this isn't a real light, cheery book. This may give you some sense: I found myself thinking, throughout the book, that Olsen is the writer Annie Proulx wishes she could be. There are several significant differences between the two (not least that Olsen is simply a better writer), but the one that stands out for me most now that I've finished the book is that Olsen's writing—while every bit as depressing as Proulx's—has more to it. After reading Annie Proulx, you get this feeling that someone has just drug you to the ground and kicked the hell out of you for no good reason. With Olsen, on the other hand, it's more like you've spent time with an angel, or even a god, who has managed to illuminate for you some of the inner workings of the world and the human mind. There is a sadness which suffuses the book, but that's not its goal.
I'm not sure why I'm spending so much time comparing these two authors, in any case. But there you go.
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