Nocturne

Page 1

Utah Arts Council Original Writing Competition 2008 Class F/Short Story 1st Place: F28-"Nocturne" In the short story, "Nocturne," the night nurses in a hospital cancer unit organize a "death pool"-they place wagers on which of their patients will die next. Though the premise offers the obvious invitation to irreverence and dark humor, the author chooses a more challenging path, thereby taking the reader into the hearts and minds of the narrative's complex characters. The story's very first line is a worthy example of the highly nuanced control that guides the narrative to its successful conclusion: "Weeks later, as she stood over Mark Grover's dead body and saw her bent reflection in the bars of his bed, Carolyn Willis remembered when management banned reading-when she stopped bringing award-winning titles to work and leafing through newly printed pages-the time when the nurses on the cancer unit began to wager on the possibility of death." A quiet story, "Nocturne" unfolds in a transparent prose that deftly manages a complex structure. The omniscient narrator shifts its attention from character to character without confusion or heavy-handedness. And despite the story's brevity, the development of the various characters feels rich and surprisingly complete, an accomplishment made possible by the precision and resonance of detail. These are people we know because we have met them in our own lives. Notably, the author achieves this fullness without a single line of dialogue -a difficult thing to do. The reader never feels as though s/he is being manipulated into a prescribed manner of perceiving. Indeed, "Nocturne" is a story that leaves itself open to varied interpretations. The characters' foibles make them sympathetic; their tasteless behavior is measured against death's relentless and undignified march, and the unimaginable becomes oddly necessary. Cancer is more than a disease of the body, and its victims do not always die in the obvious ways. Nor, for that matter, do they survive in the obvious ways. "Nocturne" is a beautifully rendered story, and this year's best. It deserves 1st Place in 2008's Utah Original Writing Competition. Congratulations!