Lydia Davis – Interesting Literature

A Summary and Analysis of Lydia Davis’ ‘The Visitor’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘The Visitor’ is a very short story by the American writer Lydia Davis (born 1947). The story is narrated by a parent expecting the arrival of their unborn child: the ‘visitor’ of the story’s title. Davis uses this premise to compare people at the beginning and end of life through having her narrator tell two brief anecdotes about old men they knew of.

A Summary and Analysis of Lydia Davis’ ‘The Caterpillar’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘The Caterpillar’ is a very short story by the American writer Lydia Davis (born 1947). The story is about memory, consideration, and the small and ordinarily overlooked, focusing on someone who finds a caterpillar in her bed one morning and then drops it while trying to carry it downstairs and outside.