The New Yorker: "Chapter Two" by Antonya Nelson

March 26, 2012: "ChapterTwo" by Antonya Nelson
I've certainly read stories by Antonya Nelson that I likedmore than this one, although there is some cleverness on display. The story isabout Hil, who lives with her son Jeremy and the obese Janine, a woman who goesto AA meetings in order to meet men (that hasn't worked out to well) and tellstories. The stories she tells are about her neighbor, Bergeron Love, who is .. . odd. It develops, though, that Bergeron has died, putting an end to Hil'sstories, until it is suggested that it is simply time for "Chapter Two."
I do think there's something here about storytelling and thecontroversial fact/fiction debate—Hil, after all, is at the AA meetings underfalse pretenses. So what about her stories are true? Or has she made them up?Left out details (such as Bergeron's death)?
The Q&Awith Antonya Nelson is interesting on the gap in the story about Hil's ownlife—we know more about Bergeron. Nelson says in some ways Hil's own story isn'tavailable to her in the same way as Bergeron's story is. That, it seems to me,is a great observation for writers like me who are tempted to pour in morebackstory than a narrative can really bear, and often it isn't necessary.Nelson gives us one reason why it might not be necessary.