Elsa Gribinski in Asymptote

My translation of Elsa Gribinski’s story “A Finger of Blue” is in the January 2025 issue of Asymptote.

Here’s an excerpt:

Saturday, October 15

           This morning, I went to the dry-salter’s. I found a single measly banknote in my inner jacket pocket. From deep in my trousers, I dredged up a few more coins. I walked by the butcher’s at Les Halles; the stock had just come in, the refrigerated truck still parked outside. I gazed at the carcasses in the window. I thought of Rembrandt. Then I thought of Bacon. At the dry-salter’s, I asked for white, a big tube of the cheapest acrylic. On my way back, I passed by the butcher’s spread again. I felt a craving for red meat. From my pocket, I pulled out whatever I’d saved by giving up on color. I dithered. In the end, I went home.