‘Quenby And Ola, Swede And Carl’ by Robert Coover

Quenby And Ola, Swede And Carl by Robert Coover, 1969

The magic trick:

Another brilliant Coover story deconstruction

Following a similarly nonlinear model as Coover’s “The Babysitter” (read and written up for the SSMT site many years ago), “QOSC” is brilliant in its story deconstruction/reconstruction method. It transcends mere gimmick or even concept. The assembly of story snippets presented and re-presented with varying degrees of context gives the impression of a genius at work. The reader feels as if they must solve a mystery just to sort out what is happening. As such, it makes us an active participant in the episodes.

And maybe that is what justifies Coover’s return here to the “sex with teenage girls” fantasies that also feature prominently in “The Babysitter.” Maybe that’s the artist making a point? The story’s guilt falls onto the reader as the reader becomes an agent in the story’s dirty mind.

I can’t help but wonder if we should we be that generous? I’m all for artistic license, but, wow, I gotta say it feels a little icky to see such explicit scenes in multiple stories written by the same adult man. What’s up with that?

Anyway, that’s an investigation and debate for a different day. Be warned, you may not want to give this story your time because of the subject matter.

But as a pure piece of literature, there’s really no denying its genius. The story construction is astounding and begs the reader to read the story five times, rearranging the plot every time.

And that’s quite a trick on Coover’s part.

The selection:

Swede, Quenby, Ola, Carl … Having a drink after supper, in the livingroom around the fireplace, though there’s no fire in it. Ola’s not drinking, of course. She’s telling a story about her daddy and a cat. It is easy to laugh. She’s a cute girl. Carl stretches. “Well, off to the sack, folks. Thanks for the terrific supper. See you in the morning, Swede.” Quenby: “Swede or I’ll bring you fresh towels, Carl. I forgot to put any this morning.”

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