The Brass Teapot by Tim Macy

The Brass Teapot by Tim Macy

16 pages, eBook

Where I Got It: EastoftheWeb.com

Story Rating: 4 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Bizarre - Grim - Freaky

Summary:

A couple with financial problems are given an antique brass teapot that pays them money, in portion to the pain inflicted in its presence.

My Thoughts:

Very dark tale of greed and obsession. It is interesting to think about how far people would go in order to get wealth, but I’m not sure I would want to find out in real life. The cliffhanger ending just heightens the horror of the situation—not really knowing what they’ll do next. Riveting story.

Quotes:

“Everything about her seemed to have once suffered an altering cold.” -Tim Macy, The Brass Teapot

“John was annoyed when she insisted on setting it on the stove. For days he felt disrupted by its presence in their otherwise modern kitchen.” -Tim Macy, The Brass Teapot

“‘We’ll never get ahead—The moment we get any money something breaks or one of the children . . .” -Tim Macy, The Brass Teapot

“It had been a secret. Words festering beneath John’s skin for twenty years. He could smell the words at night while he was lying in bed, next to Alice. Mildewed, damp, green words under his skin but not in his blood.” -Tim Macy, The Brass Teapot

Movie Adaptations:

The Brass Teapot (2012)

Juno Temple, Michael Angarano, Alexis Bledel

Movie Rating: R

My Rating: 4 Stars

Adaption: Verbatim-Tweaked-Veiled

Eye Candy: Plain-Pretty-Sultry

This adaption follows the main ideas of the original short story, swapping the older couple with grown kids for a young couple with no kids, and adds a few more plot elements (crazy jewish brothers, an asian guy searching for the teapot, etc.), though the progression of greed was essentially the same, and the film provided a bit more optimistic/less sinister ending. The dark comedy was great (some parts were absolutely hilarious) and I thought the characters were well cast.