Fight Night - Fitzgerald vs Curtis - Narrative Heavyweights and "The Alpine Slide" by Rebecca Curtis

Anyone who has read The Great Gatsby knows the potential of narrative distance. He/she is also probably sick of hearing about it in ninth grade English classes. But here's a little recap because I'm a nerd. Although the book is written through Nick's eyes, the book is about Gatsby, and the reader becomes mystified and fascinated with Gatsby as his relationship with Nick develops. It's strange how we can learn so much from a person by being appropriately distanced from him/her. Any dedicated stalker knows exactly what I'm talking about. But the narrative technique of framing a protagonist through a specific first-person character also begs the question of how that character's sensitivities and prejudices affect how the reader encounters the actual protagonist. The narrator may seem honest and unbiased. But how much of this is deception? How dirty is the vacuum cleaner filter of Nick's experience? I bet the number of papers written on this subject is in the millions. But its still interesting, and its still a badass narrative technique, and it still makes people write too-long blog posts.

What does any of this have to do with an awesome young fiction writer from New Hampshire? Read Rebecca Curtis' short story "The Alpine Slide" and you'll see. She pulls off narrative distance like a champ. Like she just finished a three day bender with Fitzgerald himself. It is easy to say that the narrator of the story, Bowman, is the main character of the story. But we are soon introduced to Jacques, the charming and mysterious entrepreneur from Canada who is trying to revive the false hope that is the Alpine Slide. Like Bowman, we become slightly obsessed with figuring out Jacques, and our courage to ask questions grows until a point at the end when all truth is revealed. Not much happens, but Curtis makes it mysterious and beautiful. Being able to turn the mundane into the sublime is what makes a truly good writer. And Curtis is a master. Call your bookies, folks, this round goes to Curtis by technical knockout.