July 2 - "Birthmark"

“Birthmark”
by Miranda July
No One Belongs Here More Than You (2007)

* * * (Good) Realistic

After removing a birthmark from her face, a woman is given the opportunity to see how her husband would react to the mark that was once the exception to her beauty, a mark he had never seen.

I really enjoyed the introductory conversation in this story about the level of pain the woman would feel during the birthmark’s removal. The comparisons, from childbirth to having your jaw reset to having your foot run over by a car, were great and cringe-worthy touchstones. And for the most part this entire story was understandable and enjoyable, not something I could say about most of the other stories in this collection. What a difference a touch of narrative can have on a story.