Stories from LA Review, Irish Times Books, gorse, Lighthouse, etc.
Several of the short, sketchy pieces seem to end early. There are girls dealing with puberty, trying to understand how families work, what women do, how to deal with boys and peer pressure, what's right and wrong - social welfare seems to one of the girls a sin because you're not allowed to talk about it. I didn't get "Hills Like Hemingway's - A Play in One Act". It wasn't until "Before Him", fifty pages in, that I liked something. 80% of p.68 is repetitions of "At it" which I'm not convinced by, but I like how the girl's dependence is depicted, and the sex is well described. And I like "The Perfect Flick" (a cynical view of institutions - a university - using 2 voices) though I don't understand the title.
In "Polluted Sex", set in Ireland, Órla has an English boyfriend. She's expecting her period and keeps checking. She contrasts Irish and English men's attitudes to her periods. Thinking of blood makes her think about bombings. His earlist memory is being at a London bombing - the blood. She doesn't dislike sex with him. He likes political discussion, which is awkward when they're in company. She much prefers sex with Rachel. Rachel wonders why she stays wth him. She begins to wonder too.
I don't get "Formalism ...". The pieces are more experimental towards the end. "Interlude Belles-Lettres" might have been ok were it much shorter. "Winona the Wicked Wanton Woman" is dire. "ABCB AABCCB//Untitled Child's Song" wasn't worth the typographic effort. "Churching" (before and after a stillbirth) has rhyming prose ("She committed no sin. In holy union her body with her husband met. An infant child they tried to beget. There is leakage now. Seepage. How?") before lyrical fragmentation.
At the end are over 2 pages of "Image Descriptions" (graphics are on some pages. I could have done without them), a page of "Texts referenced", and nearly 3 pages of thanking people.
I think some of the experiments are beyond me.
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