Afterward | Bristol Vaudrin
1 post
In an unnamed city, a young woman deals with an unspeakable tragedy, and her boyfriends subsequent hospitalization. Torn from her normal routinescoffee, sex, barhopping, and disc golfshe finds herself in an unfamiliar world of hospital visits and doctors appointments, all while navigating an unexpected move to a new apartment and enduring the disapproval of her boyfriends mother, as well as the gossip of her friends and coworkers. (Plus the suspicious looks of strangers, and the unbearable strain on her credit cardand did we mention the gossip of her friends and coworkers?) Along the way, she meets every obstacle withwell, not grace, exactly. In fact, pretty much the opposite of grace. Maybe more like bitchiness, truth be told. And all the while, the aftereffects of the tragedy cast a pall over everything she doesand threaten to destroy everything she has. Bristol Vaudrins fascinating debut novel is an engrossing and darkly comedic read with an unforgettable narrator/protagonist. Watching her strugglesreal, imagined, and in-betweenwe too must choose between kindness and judgment, between condescension towards someone who simply doesnt have a clue, and empathy with a person struggling to deal with something we all must face: the desire to hold on to the things we enjoy when the world around us changes in ways we didnt expect.
Afterward | 
