Sintra

This story was reviewed by Maja Isailovic, 17, from Valjevo, Yugoslavia

Alice Adams was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and graduated from Radcliff College. Her stories have appeared in the O' Henry Prize Stories many times, and her collections of short fiction include Beautiful Girl, To See You Again, and Return Trips. Her novels include Careless Love, Families and Survivors, Listening to Billie, Rich Rewards, and Superior Women. She now lives in San Francisco.

Sintra is a story about Arden Kinnell, an American woman who is on vacation in Lisbon, Portugal with her younger lover, Gregor. She is a journalist, a political-literary critic while Gregor is a photographer. In this story Arden thinks about her earlier love affair with Luiz, a Portuguese painter who took part in the revolution of April 1974, the so-called Generals' Revolution that ended the fascism in Portugal. She likes Lisbon and everything in Lisbon reminds her of Luiz. Suddenly she remembers that at a recent party in San Francisco, where she lives, a woman told her that Luiz was dying. She is so occupied with thoughts of Luiz that she doesn't notice Gregor's presence. She thinks about days, she spent with Luiz, full of joy and happiness. She can remember the day when they first met each other, at a gallery opening, as if it was yesterday. She can remember his love for her. When she is watching Gregor doing something, she is thinking how Luiz would do that. In every Gregor's move she sees a fault. But she also remembers that Luiz was married and that his wife didn't want to give him divorce, so they couldn't be entirely happy. Gregor knows about Luiz and he wants Arden to stop thinking about him. He rents a car, and he takes Arden to some beautiful places in Portugal, like Sintra, Estoril, and Cascais. Every word Gregor says makes her unloved. All the time spent with Gregor, she is thinking about Luiz and his illness, and she is wondering if he is alive or dead. At the end, when she has returned to America, she finds out that Luiz has died. There is a great deal of sorrow in her heart but she manages to cope with it. This is very sad and beautifully written story. It is a story that can evoke feelings in almost everyone. The writer, herself, says that this story is a particular favorite because "it was torn from my heart."