McCarthy, Cormac - Two Ungathered Stories
Two very early stories, missing from collections and anthologies, first published in 1959 / 1960 in a University of Tennessee zine.
Both bear a style resemblance to Ernest Hemingway, especially his Nick Adams character.
“Wake For Susan” follows a young man into a rural cemetery, contemplating the gravestone of a 17 year old who had died a century earlier. What was she like? Did she have a fella? Dreams? A life, at 17, somehow cut short.
The second, “A Drowning Incident”, is more bitterish. Seething anger over a lie, a deception, followed by a horrific deed. The discoverer then opts for quiet revenge, and the eventual explosion.
Both hard to find, worthwhile if you can.
These came from a small bookshop in Penrith.