The Death of a Basketball Player
Wright Thompson of ESPN has written a powerful narrative about a former college basketball star who disappears into the wilds of Brazil. "The Last Days of Tony Harris" follows Harris as he plays his last days for a Brazilian team and runs from the demons that he is convinced are trying to kill him. Thompson's story is full of tension and brilliant descriptions such as this one that use tiny details to paint the scenes where Harris lived his last days:
The land is frightening and foreign, quilts of open field dotted with termite mounds and tall, tropical trees. There are long runs of covered forest. The greens are psychedelic. Jaguars roam the forests and grasslands, their roar like a loud cough. Water flows, maybe a stream, maybe runoff from a recent shower. Large birds circle the tops of the trees, their shrieks breaking the peaceful gurgle of the water. Songbirds sing a sweet melody in the background. During the day, the sun bakes down, steaming all living things with alternating flurries of sun, rain, then more sun. At night, the chill comes and with it a darkness unlike anything a man from a civilized world has ever seen.
Thompson uses the popular but controversial literary device of describing Harris' thoughts although none of us can know for sure what he was really thinking. Do you think this technique works?
Thank you Daarel Burnette II for recommending this story.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=tonyharris