Critique 5: Red Sky in the Morning

Critique 5

I enjoyed reading the creative nonfiction story Red Sky in the Morning by Patricia Hampl.  It was not typical nonfiction, in that it appeared as a fiction story.  If I had not read that it was a true story, I would have assumed it to be fiction until she strayed from the story with talk of memoirs.   Though her mention of memoirs seemed a bit random, she managed to give her opinions concerning them without preaching or boring the reader.  She says that we like first person narratives because, “we want a voice speaking softly, urgently, in our ear.” She touched upon the personal aspect of it and then went right back to the story.  I still see the memoir talk as a little out of place but I admire how she transitioned back to the story so quickly.  She uses meaningful imagery such as the “red morning” to connect to the passion and love of the farmer’s wife on the bus.  I also liked how she started and ended the story.  The beginning does not mess around; the first action is perhaps the most important.  Then, she ends the story with natural imagery that connects to the current actions in the story.  It obvious that the author has a lot to think about as she stares at the “slow river.”