Although I think “Afternoon,” by Michael Joyce, is a good story, I find it difficult to read. When I began to read the story the first time, I used random words to follow the story line. This began confusing to me, so I hit “enter” repeatedly to better understand the story. It was more clear, but I still had a difficult time keeping track of the dialogue and characters.
I especially did not care for Werther. I think he is rude and inappropriate. He and the narrator must be really close for him to put up with his behavior. Wert first asks if he can sleep with his ex-wife and then makes derogatory comments to the waitress.
As I got deeper into the story, I was hoping for a good, solid ending. This never happened. The story would either end strangely or it would never end at all. This was disappointing to me, as I prefer texts to come to a good stopping point.