In the wake of a brutal crime, three people cross paths in this unflinching deconstruction of moral uncertainty, shifting perceptions, and sexual violence by Mary Gaitskill, the critically acclaimed author of Bad Behaviour.
Mark is the accused rapist. Miss P. is the victim, his former teacher. Moira M. is an apathetic juror. As the trial unfolds in this intense short story, three personal histories emerge, along with three alarmingly different points of view: Obsessed and angry. Menaced and disillusioned. Disaffected and searching through an unexamined life for moral conviction.
Mary Gaitskill's Bear Witness is part of Out of Line, an incisive collection of funny, enraging, and hopeful stories of women's empowerment and escape. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.***
She was my teacher in third grade.
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(Amazon Original Stories, 1 September 2020, 28 pages, ebook, borrowed from @AmazonKindle, #PrimeReading)
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This is my first time reading the author. This is a terrific story, so it won't be my last. I need to sink my teeth into something bigger from the author. So much happens in this story and I felt like I'd read something a lot longer and deeper. Even full-length novels don't always pack so much into their pages. The story revolves around a rape trial, the victim is a retired schoolteacher and the perpetrator is a former pupil. The story switches between the POV's of the teacher, pupil and a member of the jury at the trial. I enjoyed the flashbacks which show the relationship between the teacher and the pupil.
