Scan barcode
A review by leahrenz
This Is Pleasure by Mary Gaitskill
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fantastic short story investigating #MeToo themes through the lens of a ~20 year friendship. Very believable characters and very well-written.
Quin - though outrageous, and I'm not sure I've met someone like him - feels like a very real person, and the inability to understand how him 'being himself' might hurt (not only offend, but hurt) other people also feels very accurate to his type. They cannot disconnect their inner motive, which is not evil, which the way in which their actions are felt by others.
Margot too feels like a real person who can hold in tension their disapproval, and again real pain at her friend's actions, with her defense of him. The fact that Quin is largely unaware of Margot's feelings on this front also seems accurate, and her inability in the moment to mention it because it's all said so fast - I've been in situations like this myself.
I don't think that Gaitskill is trying to defend men like Quin or people who have pinched bottoms or made provactive sexual statements in the office. For me, this was not what many reviewers have described as "the other side of #MeToo". I feel it's assumed that the reader will agree, for the most part, that Quin behaved horribly and ought to be ostracised.
I do see however how someone might come at this as "political correctness gone too far" defense - but I would argue that this person would not have read the book in all it's complexity, particularly Margot's feelings towards Quin. The way in which Quin sometimes describes or defends his encounters also indicates a clear 'other side' to the story - how 'willing' was she? Is Quin *really* a defender of freedom and honesty? Etc etc.
I think this novel also makes the important point that bad people can do/support good things and vice versa, or perhaps that someone can simultaneously be causing pain and bringing pleasure, through very similar methods. At least, that's my reading of it. I think there's much else you can take away from it, which is part of what makes it such a great short story.
Quin - though outrageous, and I'm not sure I've met someone like him - feels like a very real person, and the inability to understand how him 'being himself' might hurt (not only offend, but hurt) other people also feels very accurate to his type. They cannot disconnect their inner motive, which is not evil, which the way in which their actions are felt by others.
Margot too feels like a real person who can hold in tension their disapproval, and again real pain at her friend's actions, with her defense of him. The fact that Quin is largely unaware of Margot's feelings on this front also seems accurate, and her inability in the moment to mention it because it's all said so fast - I've been in situations like this myself.
I don't think that Gaitskill is trying to defend men like Quin or people who have pinched bottoms or made provactive sexual statements in the office. For me, this was not what many reviewers have described as "the other side of #MeToo". I feel it's assumed that the reader will agree, for the most part, that Quin behaved horribly and ought to be ostracised.
I do see however how someone might come at this as "political correctness gone too far" defense - but I would argue that this person would not have read the book in all it's complexity, particularly Margot's feelings towards Quin. The way in which Quin sometimes describes or defends his encounters also indicates a clear 'other side' to the story - how 'willing' was she? Is Quin *really* a defender of freedom and honesty? Etc etc.
I think this novel also makes the important point that bad people can do/support good things and vice versa, or perhaps that someone can simultaneously be causing pain and bringing pleasure, through very similar methods. At least, that's my reading of it. I think there's much else you can take away from it, which is part of what makes it such a great short story.