"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt

Monday, February 13, 2012

Response to "Off" by Aimee Bender

Aimee Bender’s short story “Off” was a fun read. From the very beginning you enter the mind of a character with a goal: to kiss three flavors of men, blonde, redhead, and black hair. Never for a second is this strange goal even questioned, rather it is accepted and thus the story begins.

I thought it was interesting how we learned about the main character. I still can’t decide if I dislike her a see her as a godless woman or rather pity her and see her as no more than a woman desperate for connection and attention. But I know she is one of the two from her goal and the way she justifies actions such as drunkenly stealing all the coats in an attempt to seem cute and drunk to entice her third man, the black haired fellow.

The story itself was not exactly enticing or dramatic, rather it was the drunken inner thoughts of a girl at a party. Almost too typical to be interesting, but this girl is so messed up I couldn’t stop reading. She is so desperate to meet her goal that she schemes ways to make herself attractive for the different guys she seduces. Its captivating. I couldn’t help but read on to try and see what crazy antic she would try and pull next.

My only and biggest critique for this story is the fact that it doesn't really captivate me. I read on because I was assigned the story and because I was mildly interest in what the character was going to do next, but the plot never peaked for me and I felt like I was just being dragged along on some drunken desperate party girls journey the entire story. That's not how I want my setories to read. There was not enough tension or action for me.

What I want to be able to pull from this story into my own writing is Bender’s ability to make a character instantly seem real and instantly have a connection with the reader. I may not respect or value the character but I do not doubt her motives.

Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. CarrieFebruary 17, 2012 at 8:30 AM

    You said, "Almost too typical to be interesting, but this girl is so messed up I couldn’t stop reading."

    Yes, that's the key to fiction. You take something we'd all recognize as life but you add the art to make it interesting. She reveals the character through her voice--so consider trying a piece that relies on voice rather than events.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)