Discussion for 3-3-21; Buffalo Hunter by Peter Straub

I quite liked this story! I wasn't sure at first. And the ending was sad but I guess I related to it.

I have to say, I disagree with the assessment in the article you found, Spidey about it being about Bunting's being uncomfortable about women. He was a loner. He made stuff up for his family's sake. But to make it all about women is not right, at least for me. He was awkward around everyone.

I have had some very lonely periods of my life where I completely used books as an escape. Healthy coping mechanism??? Maybe not...but I did it, have done it, and it resonated with me. When Bunting was "experiencing" things from his books plus beyond, experiencing things that never happened in the books...that was him forgetting about his hum-drum, everyday life. His disappointment. His "failure" in others' eyes...especially his father's.

The bottles were weird. Maybe THAT is where the woman phobia came into play in the article? It definitely was weird.

The ending. My interpretation was he disappeared into a story and just never came out. He had trouble pulling himself out, hours, even days had passed in the previous events. Died of starvation or dehydration. Was it real? I don't think so. I think it was his coping mechanism and he died of neglecting his basic human needs.

I liked the story, bleak as it was.