“Enter Ramona, Laughing” by Wayne Ude

 

“As usual in the evening, Ramona Laughing sits on a stool at the bar’s end farthest from the door and stares at her hands, spread out before her on the polished bar top. They are small hands, like her grandmother's, but useless: good only to excite a man. Ramona's glass is neglected, half filled with warming beer. The bar as yet is quiet; it will fill up later, and Ramona may or may not notice: she also is quiet tonight. Some nights she may be feverish in her conviviality, and others sullen, almost murderous in her silence. She once stabbed a man, though not seriously, and it is widely agreed that he should have known better.

This 1975 story from Ude was selected by Jon Lewis as one of the 100 Best Western Short Stories of all time. It was a devil to track down; I found it in the fall 1975 issue of Transatlantic Review. It was later collected into a slim anthology of like stories titled Buffalo and Other Stories.

This story clocks in at a mere 5 pages, but damn does it pack a whole lotta livin’ in that brief page count.

It captures despair, loss of connection with tribal culture, smalltown barroom desperation and a bit of “Taken for granted” indigenous mysticism.

In short, a mini masterpiece of observation, well worth a read by the mature reader who appreciates that the genre can do so much more, be so much more than formula.

Review in a single word: Superlative!