Spell It!, also known as Book Smart, is a mystery short story by Isaac Asimov.
Part of the Union Club series, it was first published in the September 1982 issue of Gallery magazine. Later collected in The Union Club Mysteries.
Summary[]
At the Union Club, Jennings recounts overhearing a cryptic fragment of conversation between a young couple about a "shadow" and danger, which piques his curiosity about the untold stories of the city. This prompts Griswold to share a story of his own, involving a famous author he calls Reuben Kelinsky.
Kelinsky was enraged by an incident in a Washington, D.C. bookstore. He urgently needed to purchase Volume 2 of Will Durant's "The Story of Civilization," The Life of Greece. In the store, he received only silent gestures from one employee when asking for directions. After frantically searching and finding every volume except the one he needed, he approached a clerk to order it. When he gave his name, "Reuben Kelinsky," the clerk stonily demanded, "Spell it!" Kelinsky, a well-known author who reasonably expected his name to be recognized in a bookstore, was infuriated by this disrespectful treatment. He showed the clerk his name in "Books in Print," but the clerk refused the order, accusing him of being abusive.
Griswold, hearing the story, initially considered a more sinister possibility. He theorized that the clerk's bizarre request to "Spell it!" could have been a password for a criminal operation using the bookstore as a front. The idea was that a fellow criminal, upon giving a famous author's name, would be met with this challenge. A calm, correct spelling of the name would then confirm their identity as a conspirator. Griswold reported his suspicions, leading to a government investigation of the bookstore.
The investigation, however, revealed no criminal activity. The truth was more mundane: the clerk had recognized the famous author Kelinsky and had deliberately provoked him with the "Spell it!" request as a malicious practical joke. While Griswold's criminal conspiracy theory was incorrect, the investigation provided Kelinsky with a form of vindication and satisfaction.
Characters[]
- Griswold
- Club Member (the narrator)
- Jennings
- Baranov
- Reuben Kelinsky (pseudonym)
- The Female Bookstore Employee
- The Male Bookstore Clerk
- Griswold's Friend
Famous Authors Mentioned[]
- Will Durant
- Mark Twain
- Saul Bellow
- Herman Melville
See Also[]
List of short stories by Isaac Asimov