My Short Story About Cat Person
I read Cat Person and didn't really like it. xyzzzz__ is a silly boy. The End
― Cardi Acs (imago), Tuesday, 12 December 2017 22:03 (six years ago) link
the funny thing is the new yorkers short stories are often bad, much worse than cat person, often bad fake deep stories abt young ppl sex with a literate gloss on top and everyone just ignores them
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 12 December 2017 22:03 (six years ago) link
ALL short stories are perfect, including ones by Jean Rhys.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 12 December 2017 22:06 (six years ago) link
Maybe instead of an ILX poetry competition we should have a short story competition. All entries sent to a pollrunner and posted anonymously kinda thing
― Cardi Acs (imago), Tuesday, 12 December 2017 22:08 (six years ago) link
uhh that sounds p fun
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 12 December 2017 22:12 (six years ago) link
i was gonna say this earlier, god some of them are fucking shit. just terrible whimsical post-modern rubbish with a few refs to phones and instagram hammered in now and again.
when i listen to the fiction podcast it kinda boggles the mind some of the absolutely barnstorming incredible stories they've published and how weak and ephemeral some of what they publish now feels in comparison. i like naturalism so i liked this story more than most of the usual stuff but still was only really okay for me.
― Bein' Sean Bean (LocalGarda), Tuesday, 12 December 2017 22:14 (six years ago) link
I really liked Cat Person btw, I had just read an Ottessa Moshfegh NYer story (on an ILB recommendation), and this was more engaging and focused despite being much longer.
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 12 December 2017 22:15 (six years ago) link
something slightly depresso about the typical lifespan of a phone-based relationship pretty exactly matching the scale and scope demanded by the short story format
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 12 December 2017 22:26 (six years ago) link
love too enjoy the discoursehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/item/d0ef8a0d-82c6-4df7-acb4-8688b514cd32
― ||||||||, Tuesday, 12 December 2017 23:07 (six years ago) link
^a BBC response to cat person from robert's perspective
the mind boggles. what were the BBC thinking publishing that? a horrible piece of writing, in all senses
― ||||||||, Tuesday, 12 December 2017 23:11 (six years ago) link
oh those sweet, sweet clicks. as sweet as orgasm chemicals
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 12 December 2017 23:15 (six years ago) link
i would place money on that article being down by this time tomorrow
― illegal economic migration (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 12 December 2017 23:16 (six years ago) link
ha thats one of those pieces that from the first sentence provokes a wtf is this responce
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 12 December 2017 23:16 (six years ago) link
jesus christ almighty
― -_- (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 12 December 2017 23:17 (six years ago) link
no doubt, so here's a pastebinhttps://pastebin.com/SC8x1yJg
― ||||||||, Tuesday, 12 December 2017 23:17 (six years ago) link
someone should have to put their name at the bottom of that crime
― Bein' Sean Bean (LocalGarda), Tuesday, 12 December 2017 23:20 (six years ago) link
Epic trolling
― remember the lmao (darraghmac), Tuesday, 12 December 2017 23:21 (six years ago) link
what of the dog person
― infinity (∞), Tuesday, 12 December 2017 23:26 (six years ago) link
― lag∞n, Tuesday, December 12, 2017 6:16 PM (thirty-eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
ive thought abt it and come to the conclusion its fanfic
― lag∞n, Tuesday, 12 December 2017 23:55 (six years ago) link
“Cat Person” shook me. It made me uncomfortable. It angered me and it made me sad. I saw Robert as a pathetic oaf from the get-go. Why was he by himself at the movies in the first place? He reeked of self-loathing and insecurity. I’ve been told, though I don’t agree, that there always seems to be someone with the “power” in any relationship. I think society has made me believe that the younger, more beautiful counterpart, who can easily go and find someone else, would be the individual with the power, and therefore, the control in a relationship. Especially when the counterpart is so clearly insecure and jealous. “Cat Person” made me realize this is not the case. That there is another power dynamic that exists, which is much less tangible, but drastically more powerful. There was this moment of absolute sickness when I felt how Margot had essentially withdrawn her consent to move forward in her mind, but went ahead anyways, because of this pressure she felt from Robert and the concern for what he would think if she stopped short. It was illuminating and absolutely sickening to me. I hate Robert and deeply hope that I’m not him, but I think we — men — all are. — Zachary, 30, product manager
https://www.thecut.com/2017/12/8-men-on-seeing-themselves-in-cat-person.html
― sleepingbag, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 01:05 (six years ago) link
people attending a movie at an art house theater alone? so weird
― mh, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 01:11 (six years ago) link
That BBC thing is spectacularly bad
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 05:28 (six years ago) link
Put on the spot with a queue of pick ’n’ mix-crazed kids behind him,
i feel like i daren't look at the thing now
― the ghost of tom, choad (thomp), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 08:33 (six years ago) link
i mean, the bbc version; i feel embarrassed by it. i still haven't read the original, though i will say the most unrealistic thing about the final line is that he puts a full stop at the end
― the ghost of tom, choad (thomp), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 08:34 (six years ago) link
that post by "product manager" is a bit strange. indeed it is hardly weird to go to a movie alone. people should be fine with being alone and others being alone. now and again the reactions to this story towards the male character occasionally throw up attitudes which seem part of the problem. like calling someone "a pathetic oaf". or upthread we had the whole "sex = power and success" motif.
similarly upthread we also had "him arriving at her workplace to ask her out would only be creepy if she said no" - so the end justifies the means? and it's only wrong to ask her out at her workplace if she says no, therefore the act of doing so has no inherent right or wrongness to it and it's entirely right/wrong based on the reaction of the person asked? that seems a strange form of morality to me. "you asked her out at her workplace?", "it's fine, she said yes".
seems to me it's either bad in all circumstances to go to someone's workplace and ask them out, which i'd lean towards, not heinous, but it's a location where they have to be for a set period of time, where you are a customer and they may not be able to tell you to fuck off, where they can't simply leave and may have maintain some veneer of politeness or professionalism.
when you poke around at it, it doesn't seem like even well-meaning men have a fucking clue about how to behave, towards each other or towards women, and i'm willing to include myself in that.
― Bein' Sean Bean (LocalGarda), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 09:01 (six years ago) link
tho the story has enough elements everyone can unite behind - i'm not sure i've read any deeper analysis, particularly from men, that's actually had anything like the ring of truth or thought to it.
― Bein' Sean Bean (LocalGarda), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 09:02 (six years ago) link
Do you include yourself in that?
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 10:41 (six years ago) link
perhaps justify your own comments before posting a childish one-liner.
― Bein' Sean Bean (LocalGarda), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 10:45 (six years ago) link
Maybe you should try and see that other ppl have a different moral compass than you first.
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 10:54 (six years ago) link
Fwiw though it felt like a back and forth which was could be judged as half-shitty, it had bits of wit to it, there was a rapport..
People want to connect, they'll do all sorts of things and they aren't checking and questioning themselves all the time. There are basic standards but enough grey areas so -- as to how this works in the story -- I would say my answer was perfect and good and I will not log off online.
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 11:05 (six years ago) link
LG - the power i was referring to upthread was not "sex = power and success" -- not like "first you get the money, then you get the women, then you get the power" tony montana style etc. it was about the inevitable power struggle at the beginning of a romantic relationship between people who don't know anything else about each other aside from a mutual attraction (of varying degrees). the balance tips back and forth, over and over. example: one person holding out longer to respond to a text and the other trying not to show that they were anxious about it. robert had adulthood and mystery on his side. margot had youth/beauty and the power to say Y/N to sex. she abdicated that power when she had sex with him even though she wasn't into it, which is sad to watch. robert got pissy and had an immature shit fit when his power was revoked.
i agree that people are very confused about how to interact with one another -- and i am not about to try to solve that problem. in a literary sense, i liked how everyone at the end of the story had lost something. no one escapes without bruises. not even the reader!
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 13:58 (six years ago) link
There was this moment of absolute sickness when I felt how Margot had essentially withdrawn her consent to move forward in her mind, but went ahead anyways, because of this pressure she felt from Robert and the concern for what he would think if she stopped short. It was illuminating and absolutely sickening to me. I hate Robert and deeply hope that I’m not him, but I think we — men — all are. — Zachary, 30, product manager
I think this section is a simple, reasonable, not too convoluted response to reading the story--a little ott maybe but a good sign for this person if this is what he really felt. It would be hugely beneficial for lots of reasons if more people, esp men who are normally cast as trying to wrest sex from women to varying degrees, understood that consent is always in flux and can be withdrawn. The idea of obliviously going forward after consent is withdrawn should be sickening! Zachary has time to figure out a more complex take on masculinity etc, at least this is a start.
― Conic section rebellion 44 (in orbit), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 15:20 (six years ago) link
My wife mentioned she'd read this story and I asked her opinion, was this man a predator and an atypical creep, or was he a normal regular guy. She said, "Definitely a regular guy."
― omar little, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 15:23 (six years ago) link
agree, otm
It would be hugely beneficial for lots of reasons if more people, esp men who are normally cast as trying to wrest sex from women to varying degrees, understood that consent is always in flux and can be withdrawn.understatement of the yearit would be nice if more people believed that
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 15:29 (six years ago) link
if Robert had understood/believed this - would it have made any difference to how things panned out?
― soref, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 15:37 (six years ago) link
i would imagine so? he might have waited until they weren't intoxicated to initiate their first sexual encounter.
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 15:47 (six years ago) link
To understand/believe that would make him act differently in a lot of situations besides the actual sex I think, it'd be a completley different story imo.
― Daniel_Rf, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 16:16 (six years ago) link
not related to uncool conservative opinions but wrt to paypal I just saw someone who tweeted a short 6-post thread on why the nyer "cat person" is a short story work of fiction and not a "piece" or an "article" after it got a little traction she said "if you are using this thread in your creative writing seminar here is my paypal link"
― marcos, Monday, 11 December 2017 14:09 (six days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
from the reveal your secret conservatism thread -- im actually more aghast at the idea of people somewhere who don't understand the idea of a work of fiction -- is this actually a thing?
― the ghost of tom, choad (thomp), Sunday, 17 December 2017 02:17 (six years ago) link
She got hired and wrote it up - https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/12/15/our-reaction-to-cat-person-shows-that-we-are-failing-as-readers/
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 17 December 2017 08:55 (six years ago) link
idk, assumed most people saying that don't normally read any fiction in the first place.
Also took it as a sign of how little the fiction published in The New Yorker matters to anyone.
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 17 December 2017 09:12 (six years ago) link
finally got around to reading this, thought it was great, ll and io otm itt
― dipso inferno (bizarro gazzara), Sunday, 17 December 2017 10:42 (six years ago) link
im actually more aghast at the idea of people somewhere who don't understand the idea of a work of fiction -- is this actually a thing?
I worked at bookstores for a couple years, it's definitely a thing! It really eye-opening how many people kept looking for non-fiction in the fiction section and vice versa. Sometimes they were on-the-border books like Celestine Prophecy and Zen&TAOMM, which I guess is understandable, because who the fuck knows what they are. But I had a *lot* of angry customers who couldn't find, e.g. The Tipping Point and I had to be like, "Er, you're looking in the fiction section."
― Chuck_Tatum, Sunday, 17 December 2017 21:48 (six years ago) link
Perhaps it was that they knew the difference between fiction and non-fiction, but just thought the entire store was in alphabetical order.
― Chuck_Tatum, Sunday, 17 December 2017 21:49 (six years ago) link
tangential to the topic, but I sometimes wonder how many people have aphantasia, something that I only read about a few years ago but had been described by friends: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2083706-my-minds-eye-is-blind-so-whats-going-on-in-my-brain/it’s most obvious when someone is a voracious reader but finds it difficult to get into reading fiction, but you also end up with casual readers having trouble not taking a story literally or wanting to give characters advice as if they’re real people — completely missing the point that fictional characters are written that way as a reflection of reality but the framing gives you perspective you may not otherwise have
― mh, Sunday, 17 December 2017 21:59 (six years ago) link
two things have stuck with me about the very beginning of this story --
Flirting with her customers was a habit she’d picked up back when she worked as a barista, and it helped with tips. She didn’t earn tips at the movie theatre, but the job was boring otherwise, and she did think that Robert was cute. Not so cute that she would have, say, gone up to him at a party, but cute enough that she could have drummed up an imaginary crush on him if he’d sat across from her during a dull class
1) flirting was a way to pass the time; it didn't yield her tips anymore. she was just bored. not that i need confirmation of my theory that she was curious and bored and that's why she pursued this guy, she basically said so at the beginning of the story. this also resonates -- you could plant her in a record store, a restaurant, a movie theater, (a video store if they still existed) and it could have been anywhere. I think this adds to the universality of the story.
2) her flirting took the form of merely striking up a conversation with him; is this flirting? is any interacting beyond the most transactional/cursory supposed to be interpreted as flirting? i think this points to one of the most problematic realities of communication between people who may (or may not) be attracted to each other. it becomes even more difficult to distinguish friendliness from flirting, which doesn't work out well for either the sender or the receiver of the message.
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Monday, 18 December 2017 14:17 (six years ago) link
that resonates with a conversation I overheard between workers at the local convenience store last night. one of the women was exclaiming that if she caught her man so much as talking to another woman at a party she'd be dragging his ass out of there!
I'm standing there waiting to pay for my drink thinking, damn, you can't even talk to people at a party without raising suspicion?
― mh, Monday, 18 December 2017 14:54 (six years ago) link
i am reading a printout of this story on my couch and finding i need to take breaks against the vicarious embarrassment and guilt it induces in me
― the ghost of tom, choad (thomp), Tuesday, 19 December 2017 00:37 (six years ago) link
people reading the male character as a pua are i. clearly out of touch ii. onto something - it's a good story about how those guys make external and explicit a set of conditions most ppl dating have internalised - margot as much as Robert
it's interesting how for pages at a time they're just 'she ' and 'he'
I typed 'the me' character for 'the male character' above, which is so plainly Freudian as to be embarrassing
― the ghost of tom, choad (thomp), Tuesday, 19 December 2017 00:47 (six years ago) link
The Village Voice piece is better than I expected, albeit ends at about where it ought to start. (Also, uh, I imagine most of the people calling it a 'piece' were aware it was fiction. If I refer to a dresser as 'a nice piece' that doesn't mean I believe it an example of a journalistic genre)
mh how do your fiction non readers feel about television ?
― the ghost of tom, choad (thomp), Tuesday, 19 December 2017 00:52 (six years ago) link