The Enlargement of Bethany single work   short story  
Issue Details: First known date: 1987... 1987 The Enlargement of Bethany
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Latest Issues

VIEW ALL ISSUES (C28011)

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Harry Stone runs an optometrist's in Woodpecker Point, where he knows nearly every one of the residents. He is smitten with Bethany Grey, the owner of the Orchid Frock shop across the street, but she has never come in for an appointment.

As Harry's receptionist, Lisa, gets married, he tries to connect with Bethany Grey, but loses his courage. He plans on gifting an enlarged photograph of her at the wedding to her. When he looks at the photo, he sees skulls in her eyes.

Harry gives a smaller version of the photo instead, one without the skulls visible. Bethany thanks him and mentions she's been meaning to make an appointment.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Woodpecker Toy Fact and Other Stories Carmel Bird , Fitzroy Ringwood : McPhee Gribble Penguin , 1987 Z364855 1987 selected work short story To read these stories is to look into a kaleidoscope - or a peepshow where, against bright backdrops, people and their passions shift and slide with a mysterious dark daring. (Souce: back cover, 1987 edition) Fitzroy Ringwood : McPhee Gribble Penguin , 1987 pg. 79-88
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Fine Line no. 1 February 1987 Z1181296 1987 periodical issue 1987 pg. 63-68
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Woodpecker Point and Other Stories Carmel Bird , New York (City) : A New Directions Book , 1988 Z284128 1988 selected work short story This collection of short stories about everyday life hint at the ominous as they skate a fine line between the mundane and the fantastic and familiar images become startling icons. (Source: Copac) New York (City) : A New Directions Book , 1988 pg. 75-81
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon The Essential Bird Carmel Bird , London Sydney : Fourth Estate , 2005 Z1190499 2005 selected work short story essay biography prose

    Enter the world of a murdered socialite, be consumed by rural madness, be ignited by the longings of an obsessive optometrist, engrossed by unorthodox book-binding, and moved by a heartbreaking meditation on the Oklahoma bombings. With its bewitching language, full of subtle harmonies and rhythms, The Essential Bird takes the reader on a voyage that delights, amazes and fascinates. Carmel Bird weaves fact, fantasy and history into a shimmering fabric of fiction that creates a world of hyper-reality both tender and profound. (Source: back cover)

         London Sydney : Fourth Estate , 2005     pg. 216-224
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()
Last amended 6 Mar 2018 15:44:14
Subjects:
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X