Does Anyone care about Fiction?

I have been wondering for a while what to do with this blog.

I started writing on here in college. I wanted an outlet to write about all the amazing stories I read in class. It seemed there was a new incredible story every week and I had to share the experience. I also entertained the notion of becoming a fiction writer and blogging about short stories was one way to improve my skill. I wanted to learn from the best.

My favorite writers at the time were George Saunders, Raymond Carver and Anthony Doerr. I consumed every word written by these writers to gain their powers and I wrote summaries and commentaries on their works. I had no idea there would be an audience for my writings. At this time of writing, my post on George Saunders' story Puppy has 21,000 views over three years. This averages out to almost 20 views per day.


Lately I have been posting more on this blog, but I am struggling with thoughts of doubt. Reading works of fiction is hard enough without having to summarize them. Short story blogs are not cash cows. If I wanted to make money, I would blog about technology or dieting.

I would not be who I am today without short stories. This may sound corny but short stories have taught me things that I otherwise would not have learned. From Saunders I learned about the double-edged sword of judgement. From Carver I learned about the importance of honest communication. I hope that I can overcome my own weaknesses and continue reading short stories and learning from them. Truthfully this is one of my favorite things.

To anyone who reads this, what were you searching for and did you find it? How can I improve my writing?

"Mr. Voice" by Jess Walter

"Sometimes your life changes in big, dramatic ways, as though you've been cast in a play you don't remember auditioning for. Moments have the power of important scenes: being paraded in a tiny purple dress at a wedding, someone putting headphones on you and playing a rock song. But other scenes seem to occur offstage; it's as if you just awake one morning and understand that a certain thing is now something else."

Summary

I recently checked out 2015 edition of The Best American Short Stories. The final story in this collection is Jess Walter's "Mr. Voice". The teller of this story is a young woman named Tanya who lives with her single mother. Tanya's mother is a "stunner" who goes through men like toilet paper. Out of nowhere, Tanya's mother settles down with a man referred to as Mr. Voice, a fifty-year-old radio host known for his distinctive speech patterns. Tanya and her mother move in with Mr. Voice and his son Brian, a teenager who wiles smoking weed and playing guitar.

One day, Tanya's mother leaves with Brian's guitar teacher Allen. This forces Tanya to spend more time with Mr. Voice who she starts referring to as Claude. Tanya realizes that Mr. Voice AKA Claude is the closest thing to a responsible parent that she will ever have. He even teaches Tanya about female reproduction. Tanya reaches puberty and starts to notice the attention of men, but Tanya only has eyes for her step-brother Brian. To get closer to Brian, Tanya flirts with his best friend Clay. Unfortunately, this leads to Clay practically raping Tanya when she is home alone. But this story interrupts the rape by having Mr. Voice kick Clay out of the house. Mr. Voice teachers Tanya that she never has to do something that she doesn't want to do. Tanya also learns that Brian is gay so there goes her chances with him. After her mother dies, Tanya learns that Allen, the guitar teacher, is her biological father, though at this point, Tanya could care less because the only real parent she has ever had is Mr. Voice.

Analysis

This story is both uplifting and tragic. Although Tanya's mother abandoned her with Mr. Voice, it's probable that she married Mr. Voice because she knew he would take care of Tanya. So even though mother made poor choices, at least she could give Tanya the parent that she would never be. Mr. Voice is clearly a hero in this story. When Tanya finds out that Allen is her biological father, she ends the story by referring to Mr. Voice as father. A parent is not someone who creates you, a parent is someone who takes care of you after you are created.

The turning point in Tanya's character is when she realizes that she is her own person. She doesn't have to listen to her mother's crazy advice and no matter how similar they look, she can blaze her own trail. Without Mr. Voice, Tanya would have lived her life is accordance with her mother's advice: "Your looks are like a bank account...at some point you'll have to spend the money." Understandably, something about this advice makes Tanya feel ill.

This is a very pleasant and succinct story. The events are straightforward and easy to understand and the characters' actions are clear-cut by the story's end. Tanya's mother leaves because that is what the story needs to have happen. The story also gives the audience exactly what it wants. Mr. Voice saves Tanya from Clay because that is what needs to happen. If Tanya were actually raped, the story would progress in a very different fashion. The story gives you the possibility of horror but would never fully allow this horror to take place. God forbid the people reading this story might feel sad or cold at the end and then Jess Walter would look like a creep. There's no chance of that happening. Jess Walter needs his readers to feel somewhat happy so they will go out and read his next book.

I shouldn't say that about this story. It's my first encounter with Walter's work and I found it to be quite clever and engaging. However I hope that the other stories in this collection are not as family-friendly wholesome entertainment. I hate it when literary fiction tries too hard to make you feel happy. Literature exists to challenge us and make us consider things with new perspectives. It has no obligation to feed us warm emotions. This is not what I expect or find admirable in work of literature.

As always, please feel free to leave your thoughts in a comment. Thanks for reading.

Buy Here:
https://amzn.to/2MMtajd

Related Posts:

• "Anything Helps" by Jess Walter
• "Thief" by Jess Walter