What's This Short Story, Part I?

January 14, 2014 7:58 AM

I once read a short story about a kid in New York. I was exposed to it in one of my college courses on the short story form, so it wasn't something I randomly stumbled upon. It was the sort of story that would probably be taught to neophytes studying the form. I can't recall if it was in our Norton anthology (don't think so; I've checked through anthologies from that era) or a copy packet. The bare facts: Brooklyn kid, I think; lived in a Brownstone; at the age when it was time to make a decision about college or work; listened to a Giants (baseball) game on the radio; lazed about in his room thinking; went for a walk (maybe at night?) because he had a big decision to make; feels to me now like the sort of thing that would have been written in the 40s or 50s. I've been wanting to reread this story for 15 years. Finally got around to writing this out and seeking the assistance of Ask Metafilter. Can anyone help?
posted by samizdat to Writing & Language (3 answers total)

I first thought of "The Swimmer" by John Cheever, but I don't think that's it. "Goodbye Columbus" by Phillip Roth? Not real confident about that, either - but both of those authors could be contenders.
posted by rainbaby at 9:18 AM on January 14, 2014

Kind of reminded me of The Contender by Robert Lipsyte, but that's a teen book (1967) and not a short story.
posted by jabes at 10:31 AM on January 14, 2014

Response by poster: Sadly, none of the suggested works thus far are a match. A number of years ago, I attempted to contact the professor who taught the course, but he had died not long after we parted ways.
posted by samizdat at 3:16 PM on January 14, 2014