Over the past few years it’s been inspiring seeing how the momentum of the Me Too movement has raised people’s awareness about sexual harassment and sexual assault as well as instigate a lot of discussion about what’s acceptable behaviour (especially in circumstances where power and influence are at play.) So it’s really interesting how Mary Gaitskill has written a novella about the blurry lines between friendship, flirtation and inappropriate conduct. “This is Pleasure” has a dual narrative that gives equal balance to the voices of long term friends Quin and Margot. Allegations of sexually harassment are made against Quin from former friends and colleagues at the publisher he works for and soon more and more women come forward to testify against him. Margot feels compelled to defend her friend, but finds herself questioning whether his habits and behaviour do indeed cross a line. It’s striking how Quin isn’t a stereotypical predator. He’s charming and sensitive, inspiring many women to befriend and confide in him. And sometimes there are cringe-worthy sexual overtones to his conversation which leads to fondling. He’s an entirely believable and recognizable character – as well as Margot who is quick to justify these types of actions with the explanation “It’s just the way he is.”
It’s excellent how Gaitskill pries open the complexity of these relationships by alternating between their points of view. Reading this novella felt somewhat like watching a documentary as Quin and Margot are so firmly entrenched in their own perspectives they sometimes find it difficult to see the larger picture or consider the feelings of others. Even when describing the fact of Quin’s gross behaviour they find it easy to explain it away because they’re both so convinced about his essential innocence. Their adjacent points of view show the complexity of friendship and how supporting the people we love can sometimes lead us to become complicit in their inappropriate or harmful actions. As a publisher Quin also muses on the nature of storytelling and in this Gaitskill fascinatingly shows the levels on which personal stories can come to influence the conscience of society and, in turn, these social narratives can be integrated into our own personal narratives. This novella opens up such big issues in an impressively pared down style that its effect is all the more haunting than if it’d been a much longer novel. This is the first book I’ve read by Gaitskill but it’s made me eager to read more of her writing.
