A Real Doll by A.M. Homes, 1986
The magic trick:
Using a shocking premise to tell a remarkably realistic story
We’re doing another story from the 2023 “Most popular Recommended Reading stories of the year” article from Electric Literature dot com. And if you thought yesterday’s feature. “One-Hundred Percent Humidity,” was harrowing, get ready for this tale of a young boy in lust with his little sister’s Barbie.
The shock value quotient here, of course, is high. The absurdist humor is running rampant. But be careful writing those things off as a little bit cheap or obvious. There is a lot more happening under the surface here than mere shtick. While you’re distracted by the crazy, Homes is slyly sharing what is perhaps the most accurate coming of age story ever told. I’m serious. It’s frightening how accurate this is. Hopefully not in a literal sense – but in terms of how a boy learns how to join the patriarchy through a healthy mix of desire, guilt, and entitlement.
And that’s quite a trick on Homes’s part.
The selection:
“So listen,” I said. “Would you like to go out for a while? Grab some fresh air, maybe take a spin around the backyard?”
“Sure,” she said.
I picked her up by her feet. It sounds unusual but I was too petrified to take her by the waist. I grabbed her by the ankles and carried her off like a Popsicle stick.
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