“Death by Scrabble” by Charlie Fish
I love boardgames, that’s no secret. So when I ran across this short story over at East of the Web, I had to read it. I’m not going to say it’s a work of literary genius but it definitely made me laugh. I do love a quirky sense of humor.
A couple is playing Scrabble on a hot, sticky day. The man is miserable. He hates his wife. He’s sure that if she were dead he would be doing something better than playing a stupid game of scrabble, a game he’s pretty sure he’s not even going to win.
If she wasn’t around, I’d be doing something interesting right now. I’d be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. I’d be starring in the latest Hollywood blockbuster. I’d be sailing the Vendee Globe on a 60-foot clipper called the New Horizons – I don’t know, but I’d be doing something.
He begins thinking of words like murder, kill, stab. Did I mention he hates her and wants her dead? Then it seems like the words he spells on the board may be coming true. He plays ZAP and she gets shocked by the air conditioner. You may think you know where this one’s going, but the ending was a cute little twist. Okay, cute’s not the right word, but funny in a kind of gruesome way.
I think one of the main reasons I liked this is because David and I have a tendency to trade phrases like “I hate you” and “You stole my letter” when we’re playing Scrabble. All in good fun of course, but I could relate to the characters to a small extent. At least I think it’s all in good fun and he doesn’t seriously want to kill me when I use all my letters in one word, 50 points is a nice bonus.
If you want to read it, the links at the top will take you to it. John hosts Short Story Monday at The Book Mine Set. Head over there to see what he and others have been reading.
Wow, what a coincidence that we read and reviewed the same story this week. We even said very similar things and used one of the same examples. Very odd.
I agree it’s not “literary genius” but it was a nice change of pace from what I normally read.
Lol. It sounds creative that’s for sure!
I’m going to have to break down and read this one. You’re the 3rd person to mention reading it in the past 2 weeks.
Sounds like a fun read:D
I finally did get scrabble, I have wanted it all my life, yay
Sounds really great! Have to watch for it!
Sounds like a cute little read, I’ll head over there now.
I think Margot at Joyfully Retires read this one too and it caught my attention. All bets are off when we play Scrabble or any other board game. We’re both pretty competitive!