Read Chilly Scenes of Winter Online
Authors: Ann Beattie
Chilly Scenes of Winter
Chilly Scenes of Winter
Ann Beattie
Random House, Inc. (2011)
Tags: C429, Extratorrents, Kat
C429ttt Extratorrentsttt Katttt
This is the story of a love-smitten Charles; his friend Sam, the Phi Beta Kappa and former coat salesman; and Charles' mother, who spends a lot of time in the bathtub feeling depressed.
Review:
In "Chilly Scenes of Winter," Beattie creates a crisp, objective snapshot of a life. Main character Charles (never Charlie!) yearns for what he doesn't have and believes he wants -- but maybe he doesn't. These are a few days in the life of Charles, his best friend Sam, sister Susan, love-of-his-life Laura, the ghost of Janis Joplin, and step-dad Pete (the dancing, Turtle Wax devotee) and Charles' crazy mother. And these days are at once funny,poignant, sardonic and absolutely riveting. Although it takes place in the mid 1970's, the references are a snap for any pop culture fan and the story is timeless. This is Beattie's first and best book. A must! .
Ann Beattie’s
CHILLY
SCENES
OF WINTER
“Haunting …”
—The New York Times
“Ann Beattie is a writer to read and enjoy.…
Chilly Scenes of Winter
is definitely the book to buy … one of the best novels by a woman writer published.”
—Charlotte Observer
“We deserve more novels by Ann Beattie.”
—Washington Post
“Great skill and perception … compellingly real … a remarkable performance.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“A cast of characters as accurately drawn as any in recent fiction and as believable as the clerk in the supermarket or the young couple just moved in next door … a marvelous sense of black comedy that reminds one of Vonnegut.”
—Baltimore News
ALSO BY ANN BEATTIE
Distortions
Secrets and Surprises
Falling in Place
The Burning House
Love Always
Where You’ll Find Me
Picturing Will
F
IRST
V
INTAGE
C
ONTEMPORARIES
E
DITION
, J
ANUARY 1991
Copyright © 1976 by Ann Beattie
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and distributed in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published in hardcover by Doubleday & Company, Inc., New York, in 1976.
All of the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Grateful acknowledgment is made for the use of random lines of lyrics from the following copyrighted material:
ABKCO Music, Inc.: “Wild Horses,” words and music by Mick Jagger and Keith Richard. Copyright © 1970 ABKCO Music, Inc. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Reprinted by permission.
Dunbar Music, Inc.: “Goodnight Ladies,” words and music by Lou Reed. Copyright © 1972 by Dunbar Music, Inc. & Oakfield Avenue Music, Ltd. Reprinted by permission of Dunbar Music, Inc.
Dwarf Music: “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)” by Bob Dylan. Copyright © 1966 by Dwarf Music. Used by permission.
Al Gallico Music Corp.: “The Name Game,” words and music by Lincoln Chase and Shirley Elliston. Copyright © 1964 by Al Gallico Music Corp. Used by permission.
Dick James Music Limited: “Benny and the Jets,” words and music by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Copyright © 1973 by Dick James Music Limited. Reprinted by permission of Dick James Music, Inc. and Dick James Music Limited.
Metric Music Company, Inc.: “Never Ending Song of Love” by Delaney Bramlett. Copyright © 1971 by Metric Music Company. Reprinted by permission of Metric Music Company, Inc.
Meyers Music, Inc.: “Rock Around the Clock,” words and music by Jimmy de Knight and Max Friedman. Copyright © 1953 by Meyers Music, Inc. Reprinted by permission.
TRO-Essex Music, Inc., New York, controls all publication rights for USA and Canada: “As Tears Go By,” words and music by Mick Jagger, Keith Richard, and Andrew Loog Oldham. © Copyright 1964 by Forward Music Ltd., London, England. Used by permission.
Warner Bros. Music: “Ain’t We Got Fun?,” words and music by Richard Whiting, Gus Kahn and Raymond Egan. Copyright 1921 Warner Bros., Inc. Copyright Renewed. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
ATV Music Group: “The Ballad of John and Yoko” (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) © 1969 Northern Songs Ltd. All rights for the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines controlled by Maclen Music, Inc., c/o ATV Music Group. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Beattie, Ann.
Chilly scenes of winter / Ann Beattie. 1st Vintage contemporaries ed.
p. cm.—(Vintage contemporaries)
eISBN: 978-0-307-79075-0
I. Title.
[PS3552.E177C47 1991]
813′. 54—dc20 90-50186
v3.1
To my
mother
and
father
Contents
ONE
“P
ermettez-moi de vous présenter Sam McGuire
” Charles says.
Sam is standing in the doorway holding a carton of beer. Since Sam’s dog died, he has been drinking a lot of beer. It is raining, and Sam’s hair streams down his face.
“Hi,” Susan says without looking up.
“Hi,” Sam says. He takes off his wet coat and spreads it out on the rug. He goes through the living room to the kitchen and puts two six-packs in the refrigerator. Charles follows him into the kitchen.
“The one who doesn’t speak is a friend of Susan’s from college,” Charles whispers.
Sam rolls his eyes to Charles and holds his hands cupped in front of his chest, moving them up and down.
“Hi,” Sam says to Elise, walking back into the living room.
“Hi,” Elise says. She does not move over on the sofa.
“Move over,” Sam says, sitting down next to her. “How’s school?” he says to Susan.
“I’m sick of it”
“Beats walking the streets,” Sam says.
Elise giggles. “Are you a streetwalker?” she says.
“Me? What are you talking about?”
“Weren’t you just talking about streetwalking?”
“In a manner of speaking,” Sam says.
“I wonder how our failing economy has affected that?” Elise says.
“You wouldn’t know, huh?” Sam says, punching her shoulder lightly.
Elise looks bored. “Didn’t you bring beer with you?” she says.
“Yeah, but I don’t like you. You wouldn’t move over for me, so I won’t give you any beer.”
Elise giggles. No matter what Sam does, he always has great success with women.
“What if I get it myself?” Elise says.
“Ah!” Sam says. “An aggressive woman. Are you an aggressive woman?”
“When Susan and I take to the streets we’re very aggressive,” Elise says.
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Sam says. “College kids are nuts now. You probably do hit the streets.”
“Are you drank?” Susan says.
“No. Just trying to be cheerful. My dog died.”
“We’re eating in five minutes,” Charles calls.
Elise goes out to the kitchen for a beer.
“What happened to your dog?” Susan says.
“Had a heart attack. Eight years old. Everybody’s dog lives longer than that.”
“Is your heart bad?” Elise says, coming back into the room. She puts the beer can on the floor, sits down, puts her head against Sam’s chest.
“How much do you charge for doing a little something more?” Sam asks.
“I bet you think that because I’m a nursing student I don’t charge anything at all,” Elise says.
“Keep it clean,” Charles calls from the kitchen.
“Sam’s drunk,” Susan says.
“Come and eat,” Charles says. He has made chili, and puts the pan on the table.
“What would Amy Vanderbilt say?” Sam says.
“Not much of anything now,” Charles says, dishing up the chili.
“What are you two talking about?” Susan asks.
“Amy Vanderbilt,” Sam says.
“Who’s that?” Elise says.
“Are you kidding?” Sam says.
“No. Who is she?”
“A dead woman,” Charles says.
“She jumped out a window,” Sam says. “Excuse me—fell.”
“You’ve heard of her, haven’t you?” Charles says to his sister.
“No,” Susan says.
“Shit,” Sam says. “These two.”
But everyone is in a good mood during dinner. They are in a good mood until the phone rings, just as they finish. Charles is putting on water to boil for coffee.
“Hello?” he says, phone wedged between chin and shoulder, trying to undo the coffee lid.
“I’m so glad you’re there.”
“What’s the matter, Mom?”
“If you weren’t there I was going to kill myself, I’ve been in the bathtub, trying to get the pain to go away. The pain won’t go away.”
“What are you talking about? Where’s Pete?”
“Is the appendix on the left or the right side, Charles? I think that must be what it is.”
“Susan,” Charles says. He gives her the phone, walks away, still trying to undo the lid.
“Of course I believe you,” Susan says.
Charles doubles up, clenching the coffee jar, his face twisted in mock agony. Susan makes a motion with her free hand as if she’s swatting him away.
“You didn’t take any medicine, did you?” Susan says. “Where’s Pete?”
“He’s probably under a rock,” Charles says.