I first read The Events of October when I was a freshman in Karyn Boatwright’s Introduction to Psychology course. She told me I reminded her a lot like Maggie, she even called me Maggie once by mistake. The comparison Karyn made really threw me off. It just felt so odd to be compared to a girl who had been murdered, but even more strange to actually identify with her -- of course, that’s credit to Gail’s writing and her strong presentation of character. I had completely forgotten about all of these mixed feelings until I read the book again. But beside it’s emotional triggers, I found that I read and appreciated the book in a whole new light.
Writing my own profile, and also reading the texts in this class, has helped me understand what a tremendous accomplishment Gail’s novel is. The countless interviews, endless research, and the soul searching Gail herself had to do, is unbelievable. I’m really interested in the timeframe behind her work -- how long the interview process took, how long the writing/editing process took, etc. I was lucky enough to take Victorian Lit with Gail last spring, her last quarter on campus. From the 10 weeks in class, I know what a warm and open person she is, so it’s not a surprise to me that she was able to make grieving parents, friends, and teachers comfortable enough to talk with her.
Besides the incredible amount of research, and the brilliance of her writing style, I’m most moved and impressed by how Gail recreates the post-murder scene. I loved that she included what other people in the same dorm were doing the moments leading up to and after the murder-suicide. The varying descriptions of what the gun sounded like -- “like pots or pans or dishes hitting the wall” (106), “a sound like a dresser falling over” (105) -- helped to paint the panic and confusion that occurred that night. The recreation scene was impeccably written, again credited to Gail’s tireless interviewing.
I think more than anything, what I appreciated was that Gail really tried to understand Neenef. Not as a killer, but as a person struggling with his ethnic identity and a daunting family life. By talking to his close friends, and delving into his personal, social and academic life, it created a complex character that at times, I found myself empathizing with. I wonder how Gail wanted Neenef to be understood by readers. It seems to me that she wanted to challenge this conception of cold-blooded patriarchal murderer, but at the same time, I wonder if it was difficult --emotionally -- for her to do so.
The post-murder scene was definitely one that gave me chills, not just because of content, but because of the amazing writing. The way in which she gives many different accounts of the sound the gun made all in a row displays the kind of confusion there must have been that night. I think that it's interesting that everyone heard it differently, but no one thought it sounded like a gun going off. It is very telling of the background many of us come from, and also the sense of safety that we have on campus.
ReplyDeleteI also really appreciated that Gail did not completely demonize Neenef. What he did was a terrible act, but I don't think we can assume he was a terrible person through and through. People have so many layers that they can not be defined by one act, no matter how heinous, and I think Gail really captured that.