#36: The Scarlatti Tilt by Richard Brautigan

Available: Revenge of the Lawn

Richard Brautigan was a novelist, poet and short story writer in the 1960's and 70's. Depending on who you talk to, his work was beautiful or depressing, funny or tragic, and perhaps both at the same time. Opinions being opinions, I won't bore you with mine, but to say that at his best, he wrote some of the most stunningly beautiful fiction I've ever read.

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Brautigan's work may have been many things, but it was never predictable. With The Scarlatti Tilt, he wrote his own riff on "short" short stories with a tale to rival Hemingway's classic "For sale: baby shoes, never worn". 'The Scarlatti Tilt', while no match for Hemingway, is still worthy of praise, if only for its sense of humour. And although Brautigan sadly took his own life in 1984, he left behind some incredibly funny, strange and memorable poetry and prose for us to feast on.

The Story

I'll break from tradition for this particular story, in that it's only two sentences long and is better read than discussed . So, here we go:

"It's very hard to live in a studio apartment in San Jose with a man who's learning to play the violin." That's what she told the police when she handed them the empty revolver.

-Richard Brautigan, 'The Scarlatti Tilt',  from Revenge of the Lawn, 1974, Picador.

Why it Sticks

Literature often takes itself far too seriously. In this story, Brautigan is happy to simply tell an incredibly short story with a comic touch, and for this, he's to be commended.

Revenge of the Lawn is, in my opinion, a frustratingly uneven collection of short stories, and I might be better suggesting either Trout Fishing in America or In Watermelon Sugar for those seeking Brautigan at his best. That said, it's still nice to read a collection so seemingly indifferent to literary rule or convention. The Scarlatti Tilt succeeds precisely because it cares not for restrictive rules on length, tone, or style of composition. If I could review two stories in this post, I would also tell you to read 'Pacific Radio Fire' as well; it's also short and yet strangely difficult to forget.

Perhaps 'Pacific Radio Fire' would have made for a better post, but then blogging isn't always about creating the illusion of order, or dishing out meaning in bite sized chunks. Sometimes it's just a shared joke, spread over the internet, to remember a man both funny and frank...be he consistent, inconsistent, or both, all at the same time.