10 November 2024
A Simple Sample: How Can I Help You? by Laura Sims
This book inflated my confidence as a budding novelist as there is nothing it accomplishes that I am not currently also accomplishing—and it was published by Putnam, an imprint of Penguin Random House, which is one of the Big Five. Like mine, the text is written in the first-person PoV, shifting between two main protagonists: Margo and Patricia. The chapters do not always shift back and forth; consecutive chapters may be dedicated to Margo or Patricia, as the plot requires (so that is a notable difference from mine and worthy of consideration). As such, there is a tenor/tone/persona difference between the chapters written as Margo and those as Patricia—but it's not exactly stark. It’s subtle enough.
The plot is one of steady revelation, as are most of those I’ve read this semester: we learn the details of Margo’s sordid history at about halfway through the novel. From there, the mystery becomes what will she do? As opposed to what has she done? This differs from Taddeo’s Animal, where the backstory is predominantly hidden until the very end. As for Patricia, there is a little bit of tension about what will she do? But the tension in that question is lower intensity.
The writing, storyline, and characters are simple. Sims does not seem to play with vocabulary, imagery, themes, etc., as much as I prefer to do. Further, her characters, although we understand their motives, do not have fully fleshed backstories. We spend almost no time whatsoever in either protagonist’s childhood/upbringing. We do spend time in their young adult histories, though (Margo as a nurse and Patricia with the boyfriend who would quash her creative drive). So Sims uses these to devise motive.
What I enjoyed is that, like my own story, this one’s plot has a limited timeline (just a few months), limited settings (mostly the library), and only a handful of supporting characters to propel the plot (sufficiently developed that I could envision them in my mind). It’s remarkably simple and, like mine, short and quick, at just about 70,000 words.
There is a lot to take from this sample; mostly, however, that I feel I am on the right track. For example, often when I am writing Cat, I wonder, “Would someone actually act like this? Would someone choose to do such a thing?” But the truth is, humans are unpredictable. As a novelist, we only need to give them some flimsy motive founded in backstory, and we can justify their behavior because life is weird and people behave rashly, emotionally, bizarrely. In How Can I Help You? there were numerous moments when I thought, “Why would she do that?” But the truth is, Margo was insane. There doesn’t have to be any rational explanation for her behavior. The same theory can be applied to Cat, and this is a tremendous relief because Cat’s about to go off the rails.
Anyway, this was an insight-inspiring (if simple) read. My spirits are buoyed that it was published by Putnam.
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