The Vine: March 4, 2015
I am remembering only a small part of a book I recently read, which is making it difficult to Google.
In the part I remember, I think it’s around the 1940s-1950 and an adolescent girl is living in a rural area with people who aren’t her family (maybe as a maid/helping the children). An older guy comes to town with a small plane, and he gives rides to the people from the town. The girl and him start a romantic relationship, but then he leaves and says he’ll send her letters — but he never does, I think he’s actually already married. Then she happily marries someone else (maybe the dentist from the town?).
I’m pretty sure this whole story was just a small part of the book, so maybe it’s the protagonist relaying the story of her ancestors, or something? Not sure.
Thanks!
Jackie
Tags: Ask The Readers popcult
Was this book published recently? Is it for kids or adults? Your description is reminding me of the book Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson, for what it’s worth.
This is the short story “How I Met My Husband” by Alice Munro. You can find a PDF of the full text here: http://sheppardsflock.weebly.com/uploads/4/8/2/6/4826909/how_i_met_my_husband_by_alice_monroe.pdf
Sounds like Fannie Flagg’s The All-girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion. And if it’s not, I recommend it as a fabulous read!
Liz, you’re my hero! Thank you so much, this has been driving me crazy for months.
What a beautiful melancholy story, thank you for sharing. I don’t know why I haven’t ever read Alice Munro before. Time to go read some more, I think!
Dang it, Liz, I finally knew one and you beat me to it!
I feel like no discussion of “How I Met My Husband” is complete without a mention of the brilliantly funny “How I Met My Wife”: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~beatrice/humor/how-i-met-my-wife.html
:-D Nice one. Silly me kept trying to look up “chalant” in several dictionaries before reading on…