Structure

Because this book is a collection of shorter works, there is relatively little, if any, apparent overall structure: there is no sense of narrative build, no sense of encounter A leading to encounter B, and no immediately apparent sense of climax. Each piece in the collection is almost entirely self-contained: important people (such as the author’s boyfriend Hugh, his mother, or his sister Gretchen) appear in a number of the stories, and in some play more significant parts than in others. There are also echoes from one piece to another of themes, narrative elements (i.e. satire), and humor; there are interruptions of the flow of non-fiction writing by pieces that are more fictionally oriented – “If I Ruled the World”, “Just a Quick Email”, and “I Break for Traditional Marriage” are three examples of more fictionalized (but still satirical) writing that the author refers to as...