| Title | : | The Ambush |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle , Hardcover , Paperback , Audiobook & More |
| Number of Pages | : | 20 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2006 |
A young girl befriends a newcomer to the neighborhood and grapples with fallout from the Vietnam War.
The Ambush Reviews
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When 8 year old Evie becomes friends with newcomer 7 year old Tim, she's told not to ask about his father, who was killed in Vietnam. People are worried about the effect it might have on him, but Tim is more than happy to talk about his father, and soon has Evie acting out scenes from Vietnam and in particular his father's death scene. The firefights continue daily, and become ever more frantic. Tim's behaviour gets increasingly worse, but his mother and grandmother are unwilling to chastise him, and leave him to grieve in the only way he knows how.
It's always difficult for me to review a short story as there is never enough depth of feeling for the characters and background, but the author has done a good job in this case, of getting straight to the nitty gritty. Ultimately though, it confirmed my views about prejudice - that whatever form it takes, it's never pretty. -
Grieving the death of a loved one can take many forms. Seven year old Tim, with the aid of eight year old Evie, acts out different battle scenarios trying to come to grips with his father's death in Vietnam. Daily barrages of firefights continue for hours on end. While Tim's behavior deteriorates, other family members turn inward. "The Ambush" by Donna Tartt is a multi-layered window into the action or inaction caused by personal loss.
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WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!
last year,
amy(other amy) tipped me off to this cool thing she was doing: the short story advent calendar, where you sign up to this thingie
here and you get a free story each day.
i dropped the ball and by the time i came to my senses, it had already sold out, so for december project, i'm going rogue and just reading a free online story a day of my choosing. this foolhardy endeavor is going to screw up my already-deep-in-the-weeds review backlog, so i don't think i will be reviewing each individual story "properly." i might just do a picture review or - if i am feeling wicked motivated, i will draw something, but i can't be treating each short story like a real book and spending half my day examining and dissecting it, so we'll just see what shape this project takes as we go.
and if you know of any particularly good short stories available free online, let me know! i'm no good at finding them myself unless they're on the tor.com site, and i only have enough at this stage of the game to fill half my calendar. <--- that part is no longer true, but i am still interested in getting suggestions!
DECEMBER 16
"It's an ugly world," she said. "An ugly, stinking world."
another wonderful donna tartt surprise. not surprising that it was wonderful, but it's a true christmas miracle to think you've read all the donna tartt there was and to then discover SECRET SHORT STORIES BY DONNA TARTT FOR FREE ON THE INTERNET!!
what other secrets does internet hold? let's find out together!
read it for yourself here:
http://www.languageisavirus.com/donna...
DECEMBER 1: FABLE - CHARLES YU
DECEMBER 2: THE REAL DEAL - ANDY WEIR
DECEMBER 3: THE WAYS OF WALLS AND WORDS - SABRINA VOURVOULIAS
DECEMBER 4: GHOSTS AND EMPTIES - LAUREN GROFF
DECEMBER 5: THE RETURN OF THE THIN WHITE DUKE - NEIL GAIMAN
DECEMBER 6: WHEN THE YOGURT TOOK OVER - JOHN SCALZI
DECEMBER 7: A CHRISTMAS PAGEANT - DONNA TARTT
DECEMBER 8: DEEP - PHILIP PLAIT
DECEMBER 9: COOKIE JAR - STEPHEN KING
DECEMBER 10: THE STORY OF KAO YU - PETER S. BEAGLE
DECEMBER 11: THE HEEBIE-JEEBIES - ALAN BEARD
DECEMBER 12: THE TOMATO THIEF - URSULA VERNON
DECEMBER 13: THE JAWS THAT BITE, THE CLAWS THAT CATCH - SEANAN MCGUIRE
DECEMBER 14: ROLLING IN THE DEEP - JULIO ALEXI GENAO
DECEMBER 15: ANTIHYPOXIANT - ANDY WEIR
DECEMBER 17: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A TRAITOR AND A HALF-SAVAGE - ALIX HARROW
DECEMBER 18: THE CHRISTMAS SHOW - PAT CADIGAN
DECEMBER 19: THE GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS - PAUL CORNELL
DECEMBER 20: THE TRAINS THAT CLIMB THE WINTER TREE - MICHAEL SWANWICK
DECEMBER 21: BLUE IS A DARKNESS WEAKENED BY LIGHT - SARAH MCCARRY
DECEMBER 22: WATERS OF VERSAILLES - KELLY ROBSON
DECEMBER 23: RAZORBACK - URSULA VERNON
DECEMBER 24: DIARY OF AN ASSCAN - ANDY WEIR
DECEMBER 25: CHANGING MEANINGS - SEANAN MCGUIRE
DECEMBER 26: SHOGGOTHS IN BLOOM - ELIZABETH BEAR
DECEMBER 27: THE CARTOGRAPHY OF SUDDEN DEATH - CHARLIE JANE ANDERS
DECEMBER 28: FRIEDRICH THE SNOW MAN - LEWIS SHINER
DECEMBER 29: DRESS YOUR MARINES IN WHITE - EMMY LAYBOURNE
DECEMBER 30: AM I FREE TO GO? - KATHRYN CRAMER
DECEMBER 31: OLD DEAD FUTURES - TINA CONNOLLY
come to my blog! -
One word: Brilliant. What a story...!
I'm a big fan of Donna Tartt and the books she has written are pretty substantial in size. But now I know she can write short stories too. Very excited when I found this collection of short stories via Goodreads, wow.... The Ambush has the same broody atmosphere her books have. You just know something is going to happen that is not going to be very good...
It's the story of an 8-year old girl Evie, who meets a 7-year old boy Tim, whose father was killed in Vietnam. It all starts out with them playing out his father's death in Vietnam in the garden of Tim's grandmother. A weird play by kids, but seemingly innocent. And things go from there... Telling more would be spoiling. A must-read for Donna Tartt fans and more, you can find it here:
http://languageisavirus.com/donna_tar...
Before I met Tim - who, in spite of everything I'm about to tell you, would be my best friend for the next four or five years - my mother warned me on the way over to his grandmother's house that I had to be nice to him. "I mean it, Evie. And don't mention his father." -
I love it when I come across freebie short stories written by writers I admire. True, you’re not going to get the depth of story or learn to love or hate the characters therein to the same extent as in a full length novel, but the trade off is that it’s likely to pack a punch and deliver a quick, satisfactory interlude to your day. And this one delivers just that.
There’s no time for a build up, you’re straight in. A young girl visits the house of a boy she doesn’t know – Seven-year-old Tim is the grandson of a friend of her grandmother. She’s warned not to ask the boy about his dad who was killed in the Vietnam War, quite recently. However, it transpires that Tim is keen on re-enacting the event – he playing the part of his father.
The few players in this story are well framed and the interactions and behaviours of the children feel true, if a little strange. But then again, who is to say they’re a little strange? I’ve no idea how I would have reacted to such a cataclysmic event at such a young age. It’s a thought provoking piece and it certainly kept me interested for the short time it took to finish the story.
Tartt is a classy writer and I’d have expected no less from her. What it’s really done though is to further whet my appetite for her next full length novel.
Link:
http://www.languageisavirus.com/donna... -
4 stars
A short story and one where the ending is maybe not so clear. For me, I interpreted this story as a boy trying to come to terms with the death of his father in Vietnam. Tim is constantly re-enacting war scenes to try and make sense of his loss. His new friend, Evie, goes along with play-acting war. Tim's mother and grandmother are background characters who are also grappling with loss and the changes in their lives. The ending shows how each of them in this small family of three is coming to terms with the death of father, husband and son; and how those in the community cannot come close to understanding. Poignant story. -
4 Stars
I will admit to a little bit of scepticism regarding Tartt’s ability to hammer out a concise short story. While I simply adored both
The Secret History and
The Goldfinch, the reasons that both these novels worked for me – melodic, shattering, flowing prose that weaves into the peaks and valleys of my mind’s jumbled mess of life experiences – are precisely why I worried she would not do well in a genre which often requires that the most impact be infused into a short number of words. In simple, it is style which I did not expect Tartt to excel at.
However, The Ambush surprised me.
This was a really well written short story. It manages to meld Tartt’s talent for drawing multiple vivid and compelling aspects out of one story with the precision required to wrap a story up in a short timeframe. A story of an unusual friendship, which stems from a young girl befriending a troubled young boy desperately coping with the loss of his father by mimicking the situation of his father’s last moments.
It’s a shattering, multi-layered short story that can be looked at from several different angles. None of which are overly pleasant. -
This insightful story is well written and explores the different ways of coping with death, loss, grief and sorrow. The deeper meaning of the text is exactly to the point until the end. Donna Tartt's writing is metaphorical, beautiful, and richly detailed as usual. I enjoyed this story, and it really spoke to me 🖤
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Delicious short by Donna Tartt. I have two more stacked up and I'll see how long I can keep away from those. Writing's five-star of course, but the length of the piece is an obstacle to full-on immersion - it's just over too soon! I'm not going to do a synopsis, the title is adequate and now just read it!
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"Tartt" rhymes with "art".
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The Ambush is a short story by author Donna Tartt. It has the vibes of The Little Friend, her other novel, being narrated by a young girl, and describing an incident that took place when she was playing with her best friend.
For a short story, the author does a great job presenting the characters and their motives and giving a wholesome story that gives food for thought.
The writting style, in addition, is easy going, with a fast paced narration and a melancholical mood. -
Was googling Donna Tartt and found this. Well written, as expected. Even in limited length, Tartt manages to create an engaging setting and deliver a jaw-dropping conclusion.
The childhood games always remind me of To Kill A Mockingbird, which, for me, has a bright carefree sunshine vibe. The Ambush stems from a similar vibe in my heart, but comes a little tainted. Where TKAM was dazzling sunshine, this story is like sitting in the shade of very dense tree and looking out into the bright world with squinting eyes.
Idk, make of it what you will. But overall, me likey. -
Ambiguity may be this short stories best asset. While Tim misses his father, he feels good when playing war convincingly even at the expense of others getting hurt. Tim's mother recognizes that her son's behaving badly, but does she ignore it out of grief or fear of his grandmother asking them to leave the house. Is Evie a good or bad child?
Children need to play games so as to understand the world better, but I can't say with certainty what those two learned. -
This was an odd little story that left me wondering just what Tim's mother was really like. Was she grieving, was she street smart, was she mentally ill? Why wouldn't she let Evie use the phone to call 911? I wish the story would have been longer.
On another thought, Tim & Evie ambushed Tim's grandmother when she was coming down the porch steps with the cake, but then again Tim's mother ambushed Evie when she went into the house to call 911. Ms. Tartt was trying to suggest many of the faces of evil, I think. -
Short stories by authors whose work I have read and loved are always on my radar, so I was pleased to come across this one by
Donna Tartt, the author of one of my favorite books,
The Goldfinch.
The narrator of this short story, Evie, reflects back to a time when she was eight years old and befriends Tim, the seven-year-old grandson of her grandmother's friend. Tim had just lost his father in the Vietnam War and this story centers around a game that Tim teaches Evie to play in which they reenact how Tim's father died in the war. They play this game every day and it is evident how deeply war affects children.
This story resonated with me because I was close to Evie's age during the time this story takes place and also because Tartt handled the short story form well, which can be a hit or miss given the parameters of a short story. -
Heard this one on a recent Selected Shorts podcast and when I saw that it was freely available on the internet, I decided to read it instead.
Really very good. Two kids, Evie (8) and Tim (7), spend their summer days playing in the yard of southern town. Except, the boy recently lost his father in Vietnam. The kids are all too eager to act out what they know of what is going on there.
Short story, but richly drawn. -
BRILLIANT. I am in complete awe of how she is able to write children and take them completely seriously while not compromising their inherent lack of judgment or occasional (for lack of a better word) foolishness. I tend to feel weird about children in writing but Donna ALWAYS does it exactly right. Also this story had me in TEARS it’s absolutely hilarious. What a banger!
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This was an odd little tale about how different people deal with death differently.
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Holy cow what a wild ride, we love a good Donna short
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ms tartt u have done it again
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Great character voice, it's not overbearing but it gives the main character personality, and the story, too, in a way.
Also, it is a fun read. Really enjoyed the ending? Usually endings (be it in novels or in short stories) fail with me. I'm not saying I dislike endings by any means, but very little endings wow me, and there doesn't seem to be a formula for what type of endings I resonate with. But I liked this one, it seemed to be a great culmination of everything that went on and ended the story on a high note (And a great last sentense).
I'd call this a pretty memorable story, since I remember it very clearly, and read it a little while ago now.
Definetly recommend for fans of Donna Tarrt's writing!!!
edit: for some reason, i always think abt this -
"Before I met Tim- who, in spite of everything I'm about to tell you, would be my best friend for the next four or five years - my mother warned me on the way over to his grandmother's house that I had to be nice to him."
"Tim's mother looked over at me and smiled, with a sort of grateful surprise; and something about the smile made me angry. It was a comradely, confidential smile, as if she assumed that I was her ally and not Tim's."
This was a lot like The Little Friend- two children in the south spending their summer playing and doing things they know they shouldn't, obsessed with the death of someone close to one of them. I really enjoyed this one, and though it is a short story, it wasn't lacking in any area. Tartt supremacy!!! -
A young girl befriends a new neighbor, a young boy still coming to terms with the violent death of his father during the Vietnam war.
The young boy has become obsessed with the details of his fathers death and insists on re-enacting the fight over and over again.
His widowed mother watching from inside is dealing with the loss of her husband as well as her sons grief. -
This was my first story by Donna Tartt. The Ambush is a very good short story about children in the time of Vietnam war. Tim's father died in this war. He and his mother move to his grandmother's house in Evie's town. And now Evie is in their garden every day playing with Tim. I don't want to give away too much of the content because it can quickly contain spoilers.
This short story convinced me to read some more of Donna Tartt's work.
If you would like to read it, you can read it here for free:
The Ambush. -
As much as I loved this story, as well as "A chrismas Pageant", that I read yesterday I think I prefer my Donna Tartt literature in a larger format. I am left with many questions about Tim's bizarre mother also..
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This short story has such a strong impact on the reader. It portrays grief, the cruelty and innocence of children, and complex relationships between adults quite brilliantly.
The ending had me glued to my seat. I loved it. -
A short story where a child play-acts his father's death in Vietnam every day for months with a neighborhood girl. Their play escalates until he causes his grandmother to have an accident and his mother screams bad words at the girl, with the girl remembering this into adulthood,
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More of a 4.5. Great read.
