The Last Leaf

What a bittersweet little story. The sacrifice and power of love and friendship battles despair and hopelessness. I’m amazed at how such a short story with a minimal amount of characters can be so—substantial. A near perfect short story.

I just picked up reading again (after a too long stretch of listening to audiobooks that I’d managed to tune out and had to repeatedly play back. I couldn’t even be bothered to take notes or write reviews like I used to) and I’ve found the two stories I’ve read so far to be so refreshing.

Nothing compares to reading the details for yourself and envisioning how the characters should appear and sound. O. Henry’s vivid depiction of all of the characters and the Greenwich apartment really come to life. I mean, Behrman’s accent. His beard. The ivy. I can see it all so clearly. No more audiobooks for me. Thanks, Elwira for giving me that spark to want to read physical/digital books again!

My takeaway: where there is hope, there is a chance to see things through. Hang on to it. Behrman had enough hope for all. That was his masterpiece.