A story about narrators and viewpoints, and a story about children. I was a kid, maybe a tween- or teenager, when I found 75 Short Masterpieces in a used bookstore. I read ‘Charles’ and my world broke open. I felt pure shame, even though it wasn’t mine, and it wasn’t real. But it was mine, as I relived my memories of first grade—not kindergarten, I wasn’t retaining memories yet—and saw myself first as Laurie observing Charles, and then, against my will, as Charles. I haven’t reread this story, but I want it in my anthology so that I can, if I ever muster the courage.
First published in Mademoiselle in 1948. Collected in The Lottery and Other Stories, FSG, 1949; and in 75 Short Masterpieces: Stories from the World’s Literature, Bantam, 1983
A Personal Anthology 