A woman meets a rich man who buys her fancy dresses, takes her to fancy dinners, and then cuts the dresses off of her and makes her stare at herself in the mirror.
(from Kissing in Manhattan)
Rally touched her cheek, tested its softness. She was worried by Patrick’s grin.
“What?” she asked.
“It’s working,” said Patrick.
This story reminded me of American Psycho, which was published ten years before this collection came out. It’s probably just that the guy is named Patrick. And we don’t know what he’s up to. And at one point he pulls out a knife. A friend sent me this collection along with Lunar Park for Valentine’s Day. Maybe that’s why I’m thinking so much about Ellis…
Anyhow, I liked this story. It kept me guessing and the author writes a pretty believable female narrator. I thought it ended a bit early and unexpectedly, though, and the narrator did seem naive for a thirty-one-year-old NYC travel writer. Also, what beautiful woman wears pigtails and overalls to a New York City nightclub? That’s just odd.
I’ve only read one story in this collection so far, so I don’t want to judge just yet, but this blogger calls these stories “anti-feminist fables.”
i wonder how a female blogger would categorize your stories if you were a man writing about women rather than the other way around. (I personally think it’s impossible for a male author to write honestly about a heterosexual relationship without being accused of misogyny. relationships fail, people! why can women get away with writing about it when they do and not men? use your brain, people.)