Tag: Mother Daughter

  • Short Story Review: “That Girl” by Addie Citchens

    (The short story “That Girl” by Addie Citchens appeared in the February 12th and 19th, 2024 issue of The New Yorker.)

    Illustration by Derek Abella

    Oh, it’s so much fun reading something that reminds you how powerful a short story can be. In a very deft, strong, subtle and powerful voice, Addie Citchens presents a complex and compelling narrative, as well as a fascinating character in Theo. “That Girl” is the type of story that, at the same time, inspires me to keep writing, and also reminds me how high that bar is to create something inspiring.

    I could say that this is a story about first love, but that description would be disservice to all the elements and themes in this story. Maybe not love, but it is about the discovery of passion and desire where it never existed before. Of kindness, and menace, and doing something that’s been deemed wrong but at the same time awakens the knowledge of the larger world around you, and how could that be wrong?

    Citchens’ takes us on Theo’s journey, which begins during her summer before she goes into ninth grade. One hot day she meets Shirlee, an older girl who should be going into eleventh grade but is still in ninth. This first section perfectly works at setting up the whole story, showing the desire, motivations, and direction of the characters. And the world these characters occupy is a place where violence is always just below the surface, and these girls are aware of it, and how powerless it can make them. It is easy to understand how and why Theo finds Shirlee’s kindness and understanding so intoxicating, especially for a girl who feels isolated in her loneliness.

    As I have been thinking about this story, and there are so many things to talk about, but I have been marveling at Citchens’ language, and her structuring of this story. Reading the piece, I never felt like a word was wasted. The language was pared down to the most essential and powerful. I was on Theo’s journey, and it would take time, but never did I feel like my time was wasted. (I can’t explain it, but I felt like Citchens respected the reader more than any writer I have read in a very long time.) And the structure of the story was in the mold of the “hero’s journey” but never for a second did it feel contrived or predictable. This was a brutal, at times, but honest journey that laid out it’s points so well, that when the story concluded, I knew the choice that Theo had to make, but I was still left heartbroken for her.

    And there are layers and layers to this story. I haven’t touched on half of them; mother’s and daughter, religion, sexual assault, growth and confidence, generational abuse… But also love, compassion, validation, and just listening… But I don’t to spoil this work, and ruin the magic spell that this story is. Addie Citchen’s “That Girl” is the best thing I have read in a long time. It is technically well crafted, beautifully written, and I love the character of Theo and wish I could learn more about her journey in this world.

  • Short Story Review: “After the Funeral” by Tessa Hadley

    (The short story “After the Funeral,” by Tessa Hadley, appeared in the March 28th, 2022 issue of The New Yorker.)

    I don’t think I’m telling you something that you don’t already know, but there sure aren’t many stories about mother and daughters. Hey, I know that there are some great mother and daughter stories out there, but if you compare it to the number of father and son stories, then you can see that mother/daughter’s haven’t been given enough due.

    “After the Funeral” by Tessa Hadley is a mother/daughter story. It begins just like you’d think, after the funeral of Philip, a BOAC pilot who has died in a hotel away from his wife, Marlene, and his two daughters, Charlotte age nine, and Lulu age seven. Marlene is so grief stricken that her two daughters have to step in, not only to console their mother, but also to push her to just function as their mother. Soon it is revealed that Philip wasn’t a very good father nor husband, as when he died, he was not alone in his hotel. Soon, Philip’s family, especially an over baring mother-in-law, steps in to take charge of Marlene, Charlotte and Lulu’s life; sorting out finances, having them move to a more affordable flat, paying for the girl’s school, and helping Marlene get a job at a doctor’s office. Time passes for this small family, and soon the married doctor Marlene works for starts spending more time with her and the girls, but soon Marlene is let go from the job due to implied reasons. Marlene finds another job at a grocery store that supports her family, and fulfills her. At the same time Charlotte is accepted to go to University, but refuses because she feels her mother cannot function without someone watching out for her. The doctor reappears, now having separated from his wife and wants to marry Marlene, but Marlene cannot commit to him, which bothers Charlotte immensely, as the marriage to the doctor would allow Charlotte to leave her mother, and go off to college.

    It is a very well-made plot, and a very well-made story. It’s beautifully written, and shows that Tessa Hadley is a very good writer. Yet, something was still off for me. It was the climax of the story, which I will not spoil. This story is very direct, which is shown by the fact that the title is literally the first line of the story, which to me signaled that this is the moment that these lives all changed their trajectory. What they thought their lives would be has completely changed, and the relationship between Marlene and Charlotte is central to that idea. Marlene has not been the maternal one, relegating that responsibility to Charlotte. And when the climax arrives, and Marlene starts to behave motherly toward Charlotte, Charlotte slips right in to accepting this affection. I found it odd because there was no resentment from Charlotte to her mother, no angst, anger, spite, nothing. Why it bothers me is not that I believe a daughter wouldn’t accept this consoling from her oft-absent mother, but because the story had laid out a very methodical cause and affect motivation for these two characters. It left me with a “meh” feeling because I wanted these characters to reconcile the way they did, but I didn’t feel it was authentic to the story that was laid out. Sticking the landing in a short story is tough, not matter what the story is about. I liked that these characters were messy, but not abnormal; just off a little. They cared about each other, but clearly wanted different things in their lives. It is complicated. As mother and daughter relationships can be, but also illuminating in showing how we become the people that we are, which is why these stories need to be told.