Safe Return Doubtful

Loring and her husband Ezra were chess-masters, and when Ezra dies Loring in an effort to overcome some of her grief decides to offer lessons. The mother of a 5 year old, Stan, wants her tutoring services for her son, who, she believes, is a prodigy. It so happens the boy was born at the exact same time that Ezra died.

It is clear to Loring pretty soon that young Stan is no prodigy, but she enjoys his company, and he, hers. Over the weeks they have seven lessons, each of a day, though Loring, in her interest in the boy, is pursuing another agenda.

Written lightly, with an absurdist style typical of Ball, and in short chapters, this is best enjoyed as a fable, though it is also a meditation on chess. It addresses loss and grief, how society treats old people, and challenges traditional religious beliefs.

Here’s a clip..

—Did you ask the man to deliver that wing? asked Stan. He sat on the floor and stared up at Loring, who sat in the chair. They were in the middle of talking about pawn formations. —Of course, she said. I thought it would be good for you, once in your life, to open a package and find something that you could never predict. It will change how you open packages from now on. The delivery of the package: that was today’s lesson.