The New Yorker: Fiction Lydia Davis Reads Robert Gorham Davis
13 snips
Nov 2, 2015 
Lydia Davis reads and discusses her father Robert Gorham Davis's story 'Then We'll Set It Right.' They explore themes of children with guns and manliness in the story, discuss the author's role as a father, analyze the controversial actions of the protagonist, and reflect on the author's regrets and writing style. They also discuss the potential use of the author's unpublished novel for biographical material.
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Daughter Chooses Her Father's New Yorker Story
- Lydia Davis chose her father Robert Gorham Davis's story because she remembered it vividly from childhood.
- She describes his brief fiction career, three New Yorker stories in the early 1940s, and that both her parents published there.
A Gun Creates Narrative Inevitable Without Killing Surprise
- Lydia argues that introducing a real gun creates narrative inevitability but doesn't make the outcome fully predictable.
- She notes multiple plausible alternative outcomes and that the gun's appearance is an effective plot move rather than a cliché.
Story Functions As Wartime Allegory
- Davis reads the story as broadly allegorical and anti-war given its 1943 publication during World War II.
- She connects the boys' play and the tragic outcome to a warning about militarization and training.