June 19 - "There, There"

“There, There”
by Deb Olin Unferth
Minor Robberies (2007)

* * * * (Great) Realistic

A couple argues the merits of being here versus there.

Unfeth definitely has a way of articulating arguments to the point that they are something wonderful to behold. Part of what makes the arguments – the prose – so enjoyable is the back-and-forth play between characters. These are the kind of arguments we wish we could have – something lyrical and witty and not at all the fumbling speech of upset people.

“He is he and she is she and she can’t be him to know his there. And besides, he’s talking to her in a tone she hasn’t heard before so there’s even more to here and there and her and him than just space between them.”

Such a great use of he and she and him and her and here and there. There’s magic in the vagueness.