Mere Suggestion by Fernando Sorrentino

Mere Suggestion Reviews

• 
  Glenn Russell

  
  
  
  “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
  ― Frank Herbert, Dune
  
  When it comes to fear, this Frank Herbert quote expresses the key: the more we are a captive of fear, the more our personhood is destroyed; when we overcome our fear, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, our personhood is restored in all its splendor and beauty.
  
  Perhaps you are familiar with "House Taken Over" by Julio Cortázar, a short story where a man and woman, brother and sister, sense a mysterious, diabolical, unseen presence lurking in the back rooms of their house. The fear of the brother feeds the fear of the sister and the fear of the sister, in turn, feeds the fear of the brother, fear spiraling, escalating, until driven by fear, both brother and sister, completely terrorized, hastily pack their bags and, hand in hand, flee, running out the front door, down the front steps, along the sidewalk, never to return.
  
  What I enjoy about this very short Fernando Sorrentino comic tale is the way the author plays with how we can be held by fear without even mentioning the word. Rather, the narrator alludes to how he falls prey to the power of suggestion - case in point, one late Thursday morning, drawn deep into the pages of his horror novel, his imagination runs wild with the power of suggestion. What is he reading that provides the trigger? Stephen King, perhaps? Cuijo? Misery? Carrie? Any other suggestions, Stephen King fans? Please take a moment to read below and let me know.
  
  MERE SUGGESTION by Fernando Sorrentino
  
  My friends say I am very suggestible. I think they're right. As evidence of this, they bring up a little incident that I was involved in last Thursday.
  
  That morning I was reading a horror novel and, although it was broad daylight, I fell victim to the power of suggestion. This suggestion implanted in me the idea that there was a bloodthirsty murderer in the kitchen; and this bloodthirsty murderer, brandishing an enormous dagger, was waiting for me to enter the kitchen so he could leap upon me and plunge the knife into my back. So, in spite of my being seated directly across from the kitchen door, in spite of the fact that no one could have gone into the kitchen without my having seen him, and that there was no other access to the kitchen but that door; in spite of all these facts, I, nonetheless, was fully convinced that the murderer lurked behind the closed door.
  
  So I fell victim to the power of suggestion and did not have the courage to enter the kitchen. This worried me, because lunch time was approaching and it would be indispensable for me to go into the kitchen. Then the doorbell rang.
  
  "Come in!" I yelled without standing up. "It's not locked."
  
  The building superintendent came in, with two or three letters.
  
  "My leg fell asleep," I said. "Could you go to the kitchen and bring me a glass of water?"
  
  The super said, "Of course," opened the kitchen door and went in. I heard a cry of pain and the sound of a body that, in collapsing, dragged with it dishes or bottles. Then I leaped from my chair and ran to the kitchen. The super, half his body on the table and an enormous dagger plunged into his back, lay dead. Now, calmed down, I was able to determine that, of course, there was no murderer in the kitchen.
  
  As is logical, it was a case of mere suggestion.
• 
  Sheri

  Clever, matter-of-fact über short story with an ambiguous enough ending that you need to go back and re-read it. Very well done despite its brevity!
  
  
  http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-sto...
  
• 
  Jason

  What a mad little story, It is barely a page long but it is an instant gripping chiller. The matter of fact ending had me chuckling to myself. Very impressed somebody can get this story across in so few words.
• 
  Tina

  You can read the story in this
  link. I find The style of Sorrentino's writings amusing and symbolic (just like how I feel about Woody Allen), and I like his stories, mostly. But about this one, I quite didn't get its objective. I'd be glad if you'd like to share your opinion about this story in the comment section!
  
  More stories by Fernando Sorrentino can be found
  here.
  
  Update:
  I have asked
  Glenn Russell about his view on "Mere Suggestion" and he kindly and comprehensively told me his insightful opinion of the book. You can find it at the end of
  this page! That I believe will clean possible ambiguities about "Mere Suggestion".
• 
  Annette

  Just the right suggestibility , gullibility, premonition, and funny short story.
• 
  surfmadpig

  I'm very much enjoying Mr. Sorrentino's translated uber-short stories on East of the Web.
  If you have time to kill and like to be annoyed, click on "Show Comments" to get some YouTube-level commentary.
• 
  Asma

  Catchy.