‘The Third Bank of the River’ by João Guimarães Rosa, trans. Barbara Shelby

I love stories with question marks. Ones that make me wonder what is happening, why, and if events are real or imagined. I love stories that me think about what the story is about. Really about. And then to leave me with a few more questions that will take time to untangle. ‘The Third Bank of the River’ is such a story. It is a haunting tale. A man leaves his family to live on a boat in the river. Told from the viewpoint of the son, who seeks to understand his father’s mysterious behavior, wanting to connect with him, hoping he’ll return. What causes people to withdraw? How do they sustain themselves?

First published in Primeiras Estórias, 1962. Translated into English in The Third Bank of the River and Other Stories, Knopf, 1968