Blueprints for Building Better Girls
by Elissa Schappell
Simon & Schuster
September, 2011
This interlocking collection of short stories swept me up and firmly invaded my heart. Each story features women attempting to deal with serious experiences, and sheds light on the inner struggles that we don’t always share and sometimes we don’t even admit to. There’s humor here, lurking in the shadows of their hearts. These shadows are forged either in pain or in shame, and are not easily reachable, but Schappell moves you through their lives with ease and beauty and honesty that is as electrifying as it is unforgettable.
I was most touched or moved or whatever you want to call it by the story featuring a young college age girl taking her Alzheimer-afflicted grandfather out to lunch. As you move through the scene, it becomes apparent that she’s left college after suffering a rape at the hands of a . . . friend? Well, a potential romantic partner and someone within her circle of friends. In any case, it’s shattered her and she feels unable to talk about it. She and her grandfather–now living in a home and only partially able to identify and connect with his granddaughter–have a disastrous lunch, an unsafe car ride, and–finally–a one sided conversation about what happened to her. It’s an incredible story, and it only would make the book worth reading.
Although I can’t remember if race was ever firmly addressed, but it did feel a bit like this was portraying white middle- and upper-class women–and as one I connected to all the characters in one way or another. I wonder what the book would look like if it had involved women of explicit race or who lived in less affluent situations. Would the reader still feel this strong connection between the characters? Would it still seem as cohesive?
These are good questions, wish I had a book group to discuss them with. All said, I loved the book. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to take a peek into the heads of some troubled women.
—Nici
