Fred Rimble, a Short Story by John B. Keane
This is a funny story of how Jim Conlon survives amidst his hypochondriac, exceedingly needy mother, Maggie Conlon, whose manner of operation had already put two husbands in their graves. The only way Jim is able to get some relief from his mother’s excessive complaints and neediness is by creating and telling stories about his “friend†Fred Rimble. The irony is that in order to get one more moment of peace from his mother, Jim has to sacrifice his friend and give up his only solution to peace of mind.
It takes place in 1979-1980 in a town called Dirrenroe. Is this a fictitious town in Ireland? When I googled it, all that came up were two references to this story.
This short story can be found in: The Teapots are Out and Other Eccentric Tales from Ireland and Irish Stories.
Posted: March 26th, 2007 under Literature.
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