‘Witness’ by Jamel Brinkley

Witness by Jamel Brinkley, 2020

The magic trick:

Highlighting the disconnect between our lives and our love

“Witness” does a remarkable job showcasing three family relationships – brother-sister; mother-daughter; mother-son. The three people don’t say much nice to each other at all. There are no cornball dramatic acts of kindness. Yet this story leaves the reader profoundly moved by the love between this family. It’s not saccharine. It’s not phony dialogue.

It’s in that disconnect between our lives and our love. These are characters too caught up in the pressures and disappointments and injustices and stress of life to take the time to take care of the people they love. It’s heartbreaking. And they know it. But they can’t change it.

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

The selection:

My sister threw open the door so that it banged against the little console table she kept by the entrance. “Silas,” she said breathlessly, before even removing her coat, “I have to tell you something.” Which was enough to make me feel trapped, as though the words out of her mouth were expanding and filling up the space in her tiny apartment. I told her to calm down and apologized, and then I began making excuses for myself. I had assumed she would be angry at me because of the previous night, so I was primed for what she might say when she got home from work.

“Don’t be so defensive,” Bernice said. “I’m not talking about that.” She tapped my legs so I would move them and then plopped down next to me on the love seat. The chill from outside clung to her body. I saved my reformatted CV, set my laptop on the floor, and listened.

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