Alina Bronsky

Sep 16, 2023 | bookreporter.com | Alina Bronsky |Tim Mohr

BARBARA ISN’T DYING by Alina Bronsky is actually about Barbara dying. We don't realize that at first, and while the main character, Herr Schmidt (as he is referred to in the narrative) or "Schmidt, Walter" (as he refers to himself), refuses to admit that there is anything wrong with Barbara, it becomes crystal clear to us that she is not getting any better. It also becomes crystal clear to us as we read the narrative from Walter’s point of view that he is not a nice man.

Jun 29, 2023 | post-gazette.com | Alina Bronsky

When Walter Schmidt wakes up one morning and doesn't smell coffee, his first thought is that his wife, Barbara, has died in her sleep. Noticing that her side of the bed is empty, he then assumes she has fallen on the way to the kitchen. His negative thinking is symptomatic of his character — Walter is an old curmudgeon who, on every day and at every turn, displays rudeness, grumpiness and impatience — but on this occasion he is right to expect the worst.