“The Survivor’s Story” is a very short story by Dino Buzzati that can be found in the collection Restless Nights: Selected Stories. It’s about a group of people returning home after having had dangerous and amazing experiences in distant lands. Upon arriving home, their feelings suddenly change. I recommend reading the full text of the story, as it’s not very long. But if you can’t get a copy of it, here’s a summary of “The Survivor’s Story”.
“The Survivor’s Story” Summary
People are on a speeding train headed for their native land. They’re returning from wars and cataclysms in distant places. They look forward to the comforts and familiarity of home. They especially can’t wait to tell the many stories of the dangerous, bizarre and beautiful things they’ve seen. They seem happy.
Strangely, on arriving home, their desire to tell their stories evaporates. All their dangerous and mysterious adventures are still with them and significant. But when they try to relate them, the stories are vague and boring, even to their mothers.
Listeners are impatient and more concerned with what the returning people will do now or with irrelevancies. To the returnees, their memories are a vital part of them and sustain them; to others they’re empty words.
Although these are the people who love the returnees most, they don’t care about their stories and don’t know what to make of them. The returnees realize how alone they are in the world.
I hope this summary of “The Survivor’s Story” by Dino Buzzati was helpful.
