For the past few days I've been reading Andy Mozina's collection of short stories, The Women Were Leaving the Men. Bonnie Jo recommended it on her blog and the title was intriguing, so I decided to give it a go. All the stories up to the title story were really incredible in the range of voices and imagination that Mozina brought to the table. Beach, just a few pages long, was especially good, but I've really enjoyed them all and so I looked forward to reading The Women Were Leaving the Men. Others give it high marks, but I'm not sure why. It's flat, unimagined, dull. I thought Mozina might say something profound about society, but really I got the feeling he was talking about groups of people who had never loved each other at all. Maybe that is the profound statement, that we live in a society that is full of structured relationships but devoid of passion and love. It's hard for me to imagine the world in this way. Maybe, too, I should have known that you can't talk about relationships in this group scenario sort of way, that nothing good is going to come of it, that we're all quirky individuals, and I like it that way. What was I thinking? Obviously I wasn't thinking.
4 comments:
Charmi,
I think your reaction is interesting. I've never read the book, but I think this idea that there is no such thing as the kind of "love that lasts" for lack of a better way to put it, doesn't exist, sort of seems to be something to promote as a way of searing one's conscious. I see the sad idea floated around by celebrities, who have too much money on the line, or are faced with so much temptation that they leave the idea of commitment behind.
I'll end my sermon here.
I'm not sure that's what the story was saying. Actually, all the other stories were very intimate and personal one-on-one scenarios, all very good. Maybe I missed something. Perhaps I should read it again. I always have a bad reaction when things are grouped into categories like "women" and "men" although I am guilty of grouping things myself. The world is more complicated and rich than that. I'll bring the book tomorrow and you can tell me what you think. I've probably missed the point entirely.
I tagged you Charmi.
Again?!!!
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