COMMENTARY: Get in Trouble (2016)
The following are thoughts and reactions I had while reading Get in Trouble (2016) by Kelly Link. They do not reflect my overall post-reading opinion of the work.
⚠️ SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD ⚠️
- I’m going to try something. I’m going to track all the elements that Link puts into her stories and see if I can write one that imitates her. See list below
- Two stories in. This is good Kelly Link stuff. I’m enjoying it. Buuuuut… it’s not as “magical” as Magic for Beginners (2005) so far. But also, I read that ten years ago and had no idea what I was getting myself into so the lack of expectations created a lot of WTF surprises?
- the first half of each of these stories are still very much classic Link. I’m confused… I’m trying to suss out what the story is about, and there’s an opaqueness to it. But then after the reveal.. the stories feel like a regular linear narrative, which is decidedly not what I’m looking for in Link. I expect the weirdness and confusion to keep going until the very end where you’re getting emotional and don’t quite know why but you know you just read something deep and meaningful and filled with sub textual substance. I dunno. I’m three stories in and I have not had a huge hit yet. Nothing is impacting me like Magic for Beginners did.
- OK. Valley of the Girls is definitely opaque and weird and what I was looking for. And the fact that superheroes are real in Secret Identity while the subject is a MMORG, that’s got me thinking too. I think we’re back on track and rolling here in Link’s weirdness.
- The Lesson 😭😭😭
- Observation re: The Lesson. I think stream of consciousness is a particularly powerful tool to get inside the head of a character and experience all of their emotional interior. I mean, what was the plot here anyway? Thanh is stuck on an island at a wedding not knowing whether his premmie will survive or not. There are a bunch of weird incidents because of Fleur’s quirkiness… but not much happens… but EVERYTHING is happening inside Thanh’s head. And that’s what makes it work. It’s not the plot prog… it’s the arc prog.
- yeah ok, Light was exactly what I was looking for in a Link short. I had no idea what the fuck was going on… twin shadows that grow into twins, sleepers that randomly show up and need to be maintained, and pocket universes that pop up. So much going on and messing with my head. Now I’m going to think about it and let it stew to tease out the meaning. That’s all I ever wanted Kelly.
Kelly Link Elements
- Magical items that fulfill wishes
- Portals to the Faewild inside handbags, tents, etc.
- Kitsch and tacky collections
- Deals/Bargains/Promises that are put on characters without them knowing the full T&C
- Old VHS footage and landlines and iPods. 80/90s tech that trap you or moments. Or as a medium of time-lapsed communication
- confusing time jumps
- Confusing POV jumps - switch between a pronoun and a role the character plays but never say it explicitly
- POV that breaks the fourth wall and talks to you as if you’re in on it… but you’re not.
- POV is talking to someone that may or may not exist and you’re never sure… or even talking to themselves as if they’re astral projecting.
- Putting on masks, social media, or using replacement identities, or even clones or actors… and realizing they’re better at being you than you are
- parasocial relationships - where we think/believe delusionally that we have a real relationship with influencers, podcasters, streamers, internet gurus, because we hear about their daily life weekly if not almost daily.
- making exact copies or doubles or clones and not knowing which one is which anymore. Which one is real? Which one is fake? Does it matter?
- Link treats her fantastic elements so matter-of-factly. Like it’s just another inconvenience of the quotidian. And then she makes other, more real-life elements more urgent and problematic. And not just typical things like growing up, falling in love, death, birth, and breaking up. It’s often a problem that’s familiar but unsaid.