Short Story #154: The Night Club by Katharine Brush

Title:  The Night Club

Author:  Katharine Brush

Summary

Mrs. Brady arrives at work at the night club per her usual and talks with Miss Levin, the coat-check girl.  They talk about the challenges of their jobs before Brady heads into the bathroom to set up the area that is hers to monitor and work throughout the evening.  With the start of the night club, she serves to maintain and upkeep the bathroom as women come in and out, together and singularly.  Over the course of the evening, women come in carrying with them the emotions of what is happening out in the club and in their personal lives.  Women enter who are crying, laughing, angry, sad, and much more.  Some are plotting how to avoid their dates, others scheme treachery, and still others are plotting murder.  Brady responds in kind where necessary and avoids getting too involved, often acting as a fixture to the bathroom.  When things slow down, she takes out a magazine that is chockful of supposedly true stories that she finds exciting and interesting in comparison to her "drab pattern of the her night."  

Reflection

The story's punchline is rich!  That she misses the forest while among the trees is quite well done and speaks to the larger ways in which we conduct our lives  We often miss the daily complexities and nuances of our lives and seek the excitement somewhere else, be it in a magazine, a book, or a movie.    

Short Story #154 out of 365
Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)
Date Read:  5/31/2014
Source:  The Bedside Book of Famous American Short Stories edited by Angus Burrell and Bennett A. Cerf.  Random House, 1936. This story can also be found on this site.

For a full listing of all the short stories in this series, check out the category 365 Short Stories a year.

Have you read this story?  What did you like or dislike about it?  What are your thoughts?

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