The Story of a Painter

Next week’s story is Escape From Spiderhead by George Saunders

Rated PG-13 for light swearing

This week we discuss The Story of a Painter, a complex Russian short story that straddles the line between Magical Realism, Fairy Tale and a story of madness. Anais had a very different and interesting read of the story compared to the rest of us. Is the painter mad, or does a magical canvas that traps anything painted into the canvas really exist? Meanwhile, Gerald surprised us with his thoughts after several re-readings of the story. Rammy like it a good deal. Maya loved the writing and found the fairy tale aspects charming while still maintaining many layers beneath a strong moral. So what is the difference between mental illness narrative, magical realism and fairy tale? Listen to hear Maya, Rammy, Anais, and Gerald tackle the question.

Don’t forget to rate the story! For the history of our goofy system, see Anais’ post “Read Short Stories or Ray Bradbury Cries.” On a scale of 1-6 Bradberries, how do you rate The Story of a Painter? Tell us in the comments below or via voicemail, and we will give the final tally on the next episode.