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The Chain
A compelling short science fiction work with real humanity. It follows a disabled boy, a psychic, an explorer, a writer and a host of other characters as they try to change the world for the better.The novella is written as a series of blogs, diaries, memos, police reports, letters and news reports.
- GenresShort Stories
232 pages, Unknown Binding
First published October 18, 2011
55 people want to read
About the author
James Robb
34 books1 followerLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 23, 2026
3 STARS—I LIKED IT
pain begets pain.
A man, Gold, sees a dog attack his daughter; he gets no legal relief as the dog was technically chained, though clearly it was too long to keep the aggressive dog away from potential victims. He tells his friend, Roark, about it who whips him up into a lather about the injustice, and Roark insists on shooting the dog for Gold. Gold demures, but while working at his video-rental place, he thinks about his Jewish heritage, which he believes might lead him to be too philosophical and passive in the face of injustice. He thinks about how the Black kids at his video rental place tease him that because his last name is "Gold" he must be loaded; sometimes Gold feels a bit of "hoarding-Jew" prejudice creep into the teasing. Disturbed by his treatment and his passivity in the face of it, he goes back to Roark and tells him to go ahead and shoot the dog, which Roark does, while Gold and his wife ostentatiously dine at a nice restaurant so they have an alibi. He then begs Roark to never speak of it, because he's afraid of getting caught and ashamed; he knows better. A few weeks later, Roark tells Gold about how his car was side-swiped by a Black man who made eye contact with him but just drove away, and so Roark is stuck paying the deductible. Gold feels beholden to Roark for taking on risk by killing the dog for him, so, even though he really wants nothing to do with it, he offers to mess up the Black man's car for Roark. While Roark is ostentatiously dining at the same fine restaurant for his own alibi, Gold drives to the Black man's place of employment, tutting to himself about how That Community lets their neighborhoods fall into disrepair and lets their children become thugs and hookers and then complains when they're unhappy. He finds the Black man's car and decides, since Roark only got a scratch on his car, he'll limit the damage he does—he wants to be just, after all. He bashes the car's side with a tire iron—right about where the Black man's car left the scratch on Roark's—and drops it, running off. Three hours later, the Black man finds the damaged car and tire iron and, knowing it was Roark seeking vengeance, drives to his apartment in a rage, where he breaks in and finds Roark's nephew, whom he hits with the tire iron in a berserker fury. When the boy drops to the ground, dead, the Black man comes back to himself and is horrified at what he's done; he runs off and tells his mother, crying as she comforts him. She calls the police. The day of the boy's funeral, Gold is back working at his video-rental job, terribly troubled by it all; he knows he acted horribly and violated his own principles. He asks a few kids why they're not in school, and the kid, vamping and deciding to evade suspicion of malingering by playing on the video clerk's empathy, lies and says he was a dear friend of that boy who was just killed and is so devastated by the loss that he can't face school today. Gold is just ruined by this and thinks to himself that the damage will not end here.
The voice actor, Anthony Heald, does a great job.
This is a story of man's inhumanity to man, of cycles of pain and violence, where the absence of justice and comfort beget further injustice. Here Wolff loosely but compellingly connects the persecution of the Jews, classism, anti-Black racism, and structural inequities that press on people, pushing on what empathy they have. Justly enraged, the persecuted seek ersatz justice by taking out their grief on a new victim, calling it "accountability." Thoughtlessness, selfishness, suspicion, and prioritizing personal comfort and gain create an environment of antipathy that then creates prejudices people stoke in order to find a sort of sad comfort (if they can blame their misery on some Othered group, they can find meaning, however misguided, in their suffering), but in the end the misery is prolonged and passed along, and no justice is ever actually found and certainly no equilibrium.
pain begets pain.
A man, Gold, sees a dog attack his daughter; he gets no legal relief as the dog was technically chained, though clearly it was too long to keep the aggressive dog away from potential victims. He tells his friend, Roark, about it who whips him up into a lather about the injustice, and Roark insists on shooting the dog for Gold. Gold demures, but while working at his video-rental place, he thinks about his Jewish heritage, which he believes might lead him to be too philosophical and passive in the face of injustice. He thinks about how the Black kids at his video rental place tease him that because his last name is "Gold" he must be loaded; sometimes Gold feels a bit of "hoarding-Jew" prejudice creep into the teasing. Disturbed by his treatment and his passivity in the face of it, he goes back to Roark and tells him to go ahead and shoot the dog, which Roark does, while Gold and his wife ostentatiously dine at a nice restaurant so they have an alibi. He then begs Roark to never speak of it, because he's afraid of getting caught and ashamed; he knows better. A few weeks later, Roark tells Gold about how his car was side-swiped by a Black man who made eye contact with him but just drove away, and so Roark is stuck paying the deductible. Gold feels beholden to Roark for taking on risk by killing the dog for him, so, even though he really wants nothing to do with it, he offers to mess up the Black man's car for Roark. While Roark is ostentatiously dining at the same fine restaurant for his own alibi, Gold drives to the Black man's place of employment, tutting to himself about how That Community lets their neighborhoods fall into disrepair and lets their children become thugs and hookers and then complains when they're unhappy. He finds the Black man's car and decides, since Roark only got a scratch on his car, he'll limit the damage he does—he wants to be just, after all. He bashes the car's side with a tire iron—right about where the Black man's car left the scratch on Roark's—and drops it, running off. Three hours later, the Black man finds the damaged car and tire iron and, knowing it was Roark seeking vengeance, drives to his apartment in a rage, where he breaks in and finds Roark's nephew, whom he hits with the tire iron in a berserker fury. When the boy drops to the ground, dead, the Black man comes back to himself and is horrified at what he's done; he runs off and tells his mother, crying as she comforts him. She calls the police. The day of the boy's funeral, Gold is back working at his video-rental job, terribly troubled by it all; he knows he acted horribly and violated his own principles. He asks a few kids why they're not in school, and the kid, vamping and deciding to evade suspicion of malingering by playing on the video clerk's empathy, lies and says he was a dear friend of that boy who was just killed and is so devastated by the loss that he can't face school today. Gold is just ruined by this and thinks to himself that the damage will not end here.
The voice actor, Anthony Heald, does a great job.
This is a story of man's inhumanity to man, of cycles of pain and violence, where the absence of justice and comfort beget further injustice. Here Wolff loosely but compellingly connects the persecution of the Jews, classism, anti-Black racism, and structural inequities that press on people, pushing on what empathy they have. Justly enraged, the persecuted seek ersatz justice by taking out their grief on a new victim, calling it "accountability." Thoughtlessness, selfishness, suspicion, and prioritizing personal comfort and gain create an environment of antipathy that then creates prejudices people stoke in order to find a sort of sad comfort (if they can blame their misery on some Othered group, they can find meaning, however misguided, in their suffering), but in the end the misery is prolonged and passed along, and no justice is ever actually found and certainly no equilibrium.
October 3, 2023
( Format : Audiobook )
"A mile or more long."
Tobias Wolff has again crafted a short story, beautifully worded so a joy simply to read, but also one to ponder. Not exactly unexpected in it's results but still interesting and a good reminder of our interconnectedness. His ability to observe and reveal character and emotion in a few brief pages exceeds many other authors ability to do so in much longer books.
Ably read by Anthony Heald, this story is Free to download with the Audible Plus programme.
Definitely recommended..
"A mile or more long."
Tobias Wolff has again crafted a short story, beautifully worded so a joy simply to read, but also one to ponder. Not exactly unexpected in it's results but still interesting and a good reminder of our interconnectedness. His ability to observe and reveal character and emotion in a few brief pages exceeds many other authors ability to do so in much longer books.
Ably read by Anthony Heald, this story is Free to download with the Audible Plus programme.
Definitely recommended..
July 30, 2022
This is a creative short story with many twists and turns. The morale I took from it is that we are all connected, and that our actions may have unintended consequences not necessarily for us, but for someone we do not know.
September 3, 2023
another example of good realism in this short story, similar to the others i have read from this author
a story about an unexpected chain of events, the domino effect of reality, which bites back just as the vicious dog from the beginning of the story
a story about an unexpected chain of events, the domino effect of reality, which bites back just as the vicious dog from the beginning of the story
December 26, 2023
I think I have a new favorite author of short stories. I’ve long been a fan of well-crafted short stories, and Wolff’s short fits the bill. Writing short stories is not as easy as people think, so finding a good one can be tough. Excited to dive into other works by Wolff!
March 20, 2024
another one for uni. idk lol. just wasn't really for me but i guess it was ok! the version i had, had sooo many spelling and grammatical errors and i couldn't look past it T_T. maybe the actual edition doesn't have a million spelling errors but still... also who tf is Devereaux.
October 31, 2019
This story is about a can event that sets other things in motion.
February 21, 2020
Just a really excellent, concise, and thought provoking piece of writing.
November 26, 2020
This was a short story about the consequences of action that start a chain of events. While I knew something was coming, it did not turn out the way I expected. A good story, beautifully narrated.
April 5, 2021
The chain that is through and through. Tobias Wolff is the master of short stories. This is so good.
April 9, 2021
Short story. Tobias' attention to detail and character development are so good.
September 3, 2024
a part of me wants to love Wolff but whenever i read him, and i know this isn’t a fair comparison, but i just think of raymond carver and everyone sucks in comparison to him
May 6, 2013
entertaining short read which cleverly weaves together the lives of disparate strangers and keeps you flipping through. i do wish i knew a bit more about everyone though, perhaps a sequel?
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews