Oxford Girl by Megan Abbott, 2016
The magic trick:
Alternating perspectives on the end of a relationship
Some stories you enjoy reading. Some stories you enjoy having read.
Megan Abbott is very much in the former category for me. She tends to write page-turners. And those tend to be enjoyable to read. She seeks to entertain the reader first and foremost.
Now that said, “Oxford Girl” certainly isn’t pleasant subject matter. It’s the story of a brief frat-boy-sorority-girl relationship at the University of Mississippi. And things devolve from a little bit weird to downright grisly. But, honestly, grisly usually is pretty entertaining.
The especially artful thing here is the way the relationship is conveyed to the reader. The story is a series of alternating memories – one from the girl, then one from the boy, one from the girl, one from the boy, and so on. It’s not necessarily a Rashomon effect either. Yes, their stories have points of contradiction. But that’s not really the point. It’s more about the strange way these two individuals fulfilled their preconceived fates through each other.
And that’s quite a trick on Abbott’s part.
The selection:
That was all there really was to Briane’s sad story except for a dry heave or two. So I cleaned her face with a paper towel and tried to winch her upright, but there was no doing. I would have to call for backup.
I waited on your staircase steps, Briane huddled at my feet. That was when I saw you again and you were so drunk you tried to hand me another cup of that selfsame party punch that had been splashed on my ankles as Briane had relayed her tale of woe.
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