Lynx

Abstract

Lynx is a collection of four stories selected on basis of the different narrative choices but similar themes they set out to explore. In each case, the narrator—whether in the first, second, or third person—shapes her tale in a distinctive way. The "I" gives the voice inimitable strength as well as superior emotion and intimacy; the confrontational "you" stretches conventional story-telling by challenging and implicating the reader in the narration, while the third person allows for the greatest authorial distancing and irony. One story, "On the Rocks," combines the first (both an "I" and a "we") and second person (this time addressing the other character in the story) into a dynamic fusion. Thematically, the stories attempt to map out a complex but fragmented identity that stretches across time, continents, and moral creeds. This torturous and ambitious undertaking finds expression in the undisciplined length, scope, and content of these pieces.