Tillie Olsen

Olsen, Tillie. Tell Me a Riddle. Labor organizer Tillie Olsen recounts an old woman's death by cancer. The principles resemble her parents demographically, and the narrative feels recalled more than invented. The ethnic dialog gives some nice rhythms. The unsettled nature of the woman and her life, the systemic privation, is clear throughout.

The plot's simple. She'd live hither, her husband yon. They fight and snipe over old wounds. She's diagnosed with cancer. They go to a 3rd place, for medical reasons that don't make sense or help. No one supports or cares well or has more than a few good memories. She and her husband say they have taken advantage of each other all their lives. She won't budge. He finally caves in a bit when he finds she's dying. The characters seem uninterested in the social fountains of their misery. Olsen sees it, but she's above preaching, and one wants to cry with it.