Poll

I read "Foster" a few years ago when it appeared in The New Yorker. I quite liked it. If I'm being honest with myself, it's probably deeper and richer than "The Open Window," but man I love "The Open Window." It's a bit of a gotcha story, but the trick at the end is perfect and opens the story up nicely rather than shut it off. I can't vote quite yet (and I hope I'm asleep when this opens), but I will be voting for "The Open Window" tomorrow when I get up.

The Open Window was fun, but Foster was a lot deeper and touched me - so Foster gets my vote :-)

I have not read "Foster" so I won't be voting on this one, but "The Open Window" is a wildly overrated story. I first read it in school when I was around 12, and that seems to be the right place for it. It's really more a long telling of a joke than a story. It's classic literature for people addicted to the too-clever-by-half plot twist. If I had read "Foster", I would be left with one of two options: (1) "Foster" was clearly better, so I'd vote for it or (2) "Foster" was even worse, which would leave me not wanting to vote for either. But both outcomes would leave me not voting for "The Open Window". I hope "Foster" wins, if for no other reason than it will mean I'll probably take the time to read it when we get to round 2. But for now, I'll abstain.

The Open Window too gimmicky; you see it coming because too many stories use that technique. Don't ask me to name one. I'm Mad Hattering, as it is, to read these stories.

Foster could have been pithier by half and still as revelatory, but I voted for it. Within the first few pages, Keegan implies most of the story, and the girl's voice isn't fully credible as a nine-ish? year old (who can top Kelman at that?), but I can't tell if she is narrating as a child or recalling.

This is really annoying - they're both in my top 10. I had read Foster at the same time as Trevor, with loads of discussion which I re-read in preparation for this tournament.

http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews/20...

(I am Colette Jones - perhaps you can tell by the cat avatar).

I kind of agree that you see it coming with The Open Window, but not too far before the end, which isn't quite the end, because the niece has more to add. I suppose we need to avoid spoilers so I'll leave that a bit cryptic.

What to do, what to do?

Edit: I've gone for Foster but might change my mind.

I liked Foster a lot and I felt deep empathy for the girl, especially. However, “The Open Window” was the first story I read for this competition. I had not read it before and was so tickled I determined to read them all. I was not disappointed. Most of my votes will likely be very difficult!

This was my first Keegan story. Thanks to you folks for the introduction. "Foster" was one of my top ten favorites of all the short stories. I especially liked the way Keegan developed the relationship between John Kinsella and the narrator. I read the New Yorker version. I will have to get to the expanded revision for a reread soon. Did anyone's thoughts flash over to Reservoir 13 while reading this one?

While I totally get that "The Open Window" can feel gimmicky, I don't think it's about the plot and the subsequent twist. To me this is a classic Saki story about the diabolical nature of children. She does not understand what she's doing, really, and yet she is very effective. I think, in a few pages, Saki creates real people, real menace, and then surprises us by showing an even greater menace.

I've changed my vote to The Open Window. Not to take anything away from Foster, but surely Saki deserves to get further in this competition, and Estelle and Trevor have reminded me what I liked about it.

Sam, I think the New Yorker story and the printed Foster are exactly the same. I purchased it when it came out shortly after our Mookse blog reading and it was the same. Maybe there is another version you have found?

The description of "Foster," the novella, on the Faber and Faber site stated it was a revised version
.https://www.faber.co.uk/9780571255658...
I haven't seen the book to confirm.

That's the one I have and the one I must have thought matched the New Yorker story, but I could be wrong. It does say on the front flap that it's a revised and expanded version.

I just did a quasi-scientific check and I would say that "Foster", the novella, is about one-and-a-half times the length of "Foster", the short story. Even at the longer length, "Foster", the novella, is short enough that some would count it as still a short story, but for the book publication they used a large font, wide spacing and margins, and it still comes in less than 100 pages. The long version is really more like 40 pages long.

I can't vote against Saki!

Ang wrote: "That's the one I have and the one I must have thought matched the New Yorker story, but I could be wrong. It does say on the front flap that it's a revised and expanded version."

Out of curiosity Ang, did you get any sense that John might be the girl's biological father? Or did anyone get a sense of that? I was wondering if I was over reading or others picked that up.

I didn’t go back to review all of the comments but if memory serves quite a few people got that sense back when the story appeared and I posted on it at my blog. You can see the post and comments here.

There's an even longer version of "Foster" out there? I voted for Saki because the New Yorker version of "Foster" felt padded, so I'm surprised that the re-release extends the length. (I might be the only one here actively indifferent toward Foster.)

Sam wrote: "Out of curiosity Ang, did you get any sense that John might be the girl's biological father?."

I thought that Edna and Mary were sisters, but that wasn't a common interpretation when I look back at the comments on Trevor's blog post.

Getting to this late, but:

"Foster" wins, taking down the mighty Saki!

I am disappointed in this. I like "Foster" okay, I guess, but I love Saki and "The Open Window." I shall soldier on, though!