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Evening in Paradise


"Berlin's new book is a marvel, filled with deeply touching stories about lives ...
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"Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

Created: 11/04/19

Replies: 12

Posted Nov. 04, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

"Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

What did you think of the story "Noel, Texas, 1956", narrated by a woman named Tiny from her roof? Was she justified in her anger? Did you find the ending, where an errant Christmas toy dropped from an airplane killing an elderly shepherd, funny or tragic?


Posted Dec. 01, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
peggyt

Join Date: 08/10/17

Posts: 215

RE: "Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

It did seem she had some things to be displeased about but I’m not sure about the way she decided to express her anger. This story somewhat reminded me of “Why I Live at the P.O.” by Eudora Welty. I hate to confess it but the ending made me laugh out loud.


Posted Dec. 02, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
dianeh

Join Date: 08/01/16

Posts: 70

RE: "Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

This entire story could be made into a cartoon with the three stooges. It was funny in a ridiculous way but, it was also sad and depressing. Tiny's thoughts are somewhat chaotic. She thinks one thing, puts it to writing and then changes her mind and corrects her initial comment.(Kate)
The ending was laugh out loud funny.


Posted Dec. 02, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kimk

Join Date: 10/16/10

Posts: 889

RE: "Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

This was one of my favorite stories. I thought the whole thing was very funny.


Posted Dec. 03, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
caroler

Join Date: 01/12/16

Posts: 24

RE: "Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

How did all the people in all these stories afford Jim Beam? Did Rex and Tyler ever look back and say, “How in the hell did we survive that Christmas Eve?” Did they remember? Yes, story was funny. How often have I wished I could remove myself from a gathering and block it out?


Posted Dec. 03, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
MarieA

Join Date: 10/12/11

Posts: 256

RE: "Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

This is one of the few stories that made me laugh. It provided a bit of comic relief from some of the tragedy and pathos seen in other stories.


Posted Dec. 03, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Maggie

Join Date: 01/01/16

Posts: 434

RE: "Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

Tiny on the roof was funny. Too many people....I would also want to be on the roof! The ending was funny.


Posted Dec. 03, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Lole

Join Date: 11/30/19

Posts: 25

RE:

Seems to me Tiny was allowed to be as angry as she wanted--a surprise Christmas Eve party with 80 people including relatives she wasn't shy about disliking after they lost the "household help"! But the way she expressed her angry feelings was very amusing. I too laughed out loud at the ending--no good deed ever goes unpunished.


Posted Dec. 05, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
skagitgrits's Gravatar
skagitgrits

Join Date: 02/24/17

Posts: 64

RE: "Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

Justification in her anger was not the point. She simply didn't like the people in her family. LOL! I found the whole story to be ridiculously funny.


Posted Dec. 10, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
jennie r

Join Date: 08/06/17

Posts: 56

RE: "Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

I found the story funny, yet also depressingly sad. Yes, I felt Tiny was justified in being angry...her husband was cheating on her AND invited way too many people over at the last minute for a Christmas party. This story in particular made me wonder how much actually happened (if any!) and how much was fiction. I did have to laugh at the ending.


Posted Dec. 10, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Elizabeth Marie

Join Date: 05/26/18

Posts: 77

RE: "Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

I do think Tiny was justified in her anger. I loved the way she described the people and events in her life. I found the ending both funny and tragic. Berlin has a way of finding both humor and pathos in her stories.


Posted Dec. 12, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
dianaps

Join Date: 05/29/15

Posts: 460

RE: "Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

I saw it as sadly funny.


Posted Dec. 17, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
juliaa

Join Date: 12/03/11

Posts: 276

RE: "Noel, Texas, 1956": Was Tiny justified in her anger? Did you find the ending funny or tragic?

The story was funny for a while. Who among us hasn't been at one time or another in a situation from which we wanted to escape. The roof was made comfortable for Tiny by Esther, and Tiny could see and hear everything that was going on. The tragic death of the shepherd, hit by a can of ham, was resented in a gently ironic way. I found the ending:"Come down off that roof now, Tiny. Please." to be as Diana said, sadly funny.


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