The Third Bank of the River (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: João GuimarãesRosa
- First Published: 1962
- Type of Plot: Mystery and detective
- Time of Work: Perhaps the twentieth century
- Setting: Probably central Brazil
- Principal Characters: The unnamed narrator, His father, His mother, His sister, His sister's husband, His brother
- Genres: Short fiction, Mystery and detective literature
- Subjects: Parents and children, Perception, Alienation, Fathers, Eccentrics or eccentricities, Canoes or canoeing
- Locales: Brazil
The Story
One day, quite unexpectedly, the narrator's father orders a canoe made. His wife thinks it absurd for a man his age to think about hunting and fishing, but the man offers no explanation. When the canoe, sturdy and built to last, finally arrives, the man solemnly paddles it into the middle of the river. During the first few days after this strange withdrawal, the narrator worries about his father and regularly leaves some food along the riverbank for his father's sustenance. The days become weeks, months, years, and it finally becomes clear that his father will never...
[The entire page is 1113 words long]
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