In October 2023 Graham Swift’s short story “Bruises” was published in the
New Yorker. Although Swift is less recognised for short fiction, Swift’s most recent publications, all in
The New Yorker, are short stories. Like the previous three stories which appeared in the same periodical, entitled “Blushes” (2021), “Fireworks” (2022), and “Hinges” (2022), this latest work has a similar type of title. “Bruises” is a noun in the plural which refers to a painful incident, albeit one which produces an unexpectedly positive result. In “Bruises” a traumatized British-army veteran, who barely survives on a diet of inarticulacy and violent outbursts, achieves, through an encounter with an even more violent man, a reconciliation with his own psychological bruises.
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Citation: Logotheti, Anastasia. ""Bruises"". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 December 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41472, accessed 10 November 2024.]