Leaving Las Vegas

by John O'Brien

this man is genetically built for such a climate,

We later learn Al is from Oman, but has spent his most recent time in Canada where the weather is cold.

simply naked for the first time.

So what does this mean? That he is naked in the sense he has no money? That he has no jewelry and accouterments? That he has no girls in his employ? All of this?

almost ask for it by ignoring her gut feeling,

She is relying on guts now that she doesn't have a pimp. A pimp would protect her from getting into these situations. But Al was her pimp in LA and he abused her instead. So she would rather trust her gut instincts than risk a pimp and her gut instinct seems to be always correct, in this case she ignored it for the lure of the money.

three bills from last night’s trick du jour—and then some—she

So the 3 boys despite their abuse of her didn't take the money back, or steal any of the money she already had to that point. This suggests they felt that sodomizing her, hitting her, and urinating on her were all part of the act and justified given they paid.

(Intentionally

wouldn’t know the mocking chants that stung her ears every other morning.)

First flashback that is prior to her life of prostitution, unless you consider the one where she peed on the guys hand as prostitution and not just part of her decent. What do we learn here? That she wants to be with older kids so she must look and feel older than she is. That is certainly true now given she can't be more than mid 20's but has lived a lifetime of hell. Second, the kids her age mocked her, chanted at her, but every OTHER morning. So why OTHER? And why is she getting mocked in the first place? Why is she a mis-fit?

two green and ten red chips—these in exchange for her one hundred dollars—and

Green chips are $25 - so that is $50 Red chips are $5 - so that is $50

her leisure time completed,

Sera's recreation is playing blackjack and she knows how to play by rule, but not by cost. So ultimately she slowly loses money and that is the price of her recreation.

Sarah. You?”

So this is an interesting choice by the author. Sera and Sarah sound the same. Yet in narration, the author has chosen to have Stephen's version read as "Sarah", as if this is how he THINKS she would spell it even though either would SOUND the same. This continues through the scene with resolution.

He probably would have preferred losing ten times that amount to looking foolish in the eyes of a woman.

(“Maybe

the story.)

Very telling flashback. We learn this occurred in Hollywood, thus LA, and thus back when she was working for Al between age 16 and 19. Sera has this memory given how she just treated Stephen at the blackjack table, humiliating him, and feeling bad for it, and then remembering this humiliation she enacted on a trick. Either could have turned bad but neither did. Note in the very short scene the POV flips back and forth between Sera and the trick. There is no issue with this as a ready so the author is very good at this 3'rd person omnicient POV. Lastly, she is lonely and has no one to tell her story too. But anyone wouldn't be enough; instead she needs someone who would LISTEN. This forshadows her finding Ben, who does both for her.

never green or black,

Recalling that green is a $25 chip, and red a $5 chip, and so silver is a $1 chip, black is a $100 chip. So these are NOT high rollers and can't hang in long term.

Their luck being inversely proportionate to their need, they always lose. Sera is disturbed when they appear, and turns away, not from the hopelessness of their situation, which they take far too seriously, but from the intensity of their suffering, which will forever make them victims in their own minds.

So this sentence is highlight more than 20 times by other kindle readers. Why? I don't find it particularily important to the story. Perhaps I am wrong. It is about the class of gambler that bets more than they can afford to lose and always lose it and how Sera is disturbed by this, as she is a recreational player who never bets what she can't affort to lose and knows she ultimately WILL lose it, and is ok with that as it is in fact her payment for her recreation no different than the admission price of a movie - an exchange of money for fun. In a way, this is like tricking that she likes in its a pure exchange, a transaction, sex for money.

tricking is still, for her at least, a more profitable gamble.

The gamble of tricking being getting the shit beat out of you or robbed.

chips are the perfect symbol, symbolizing other symbols.

Sera hopes that when she loses money tonight it will be the money from the three boys, but now she’ll never know for sure.

We have learn Sera is very organized, almost OCD, with respect to the money, but has mixed the chip money with the trick money as she organizes by age of bill, not source of bill. We are also told she will return to play again this evening - return to her leisure . Why does she hope the money she loses will be the trick money from the 3 boys? she would rather that money be spent for recreation than for necessity?

(“Maybe

soon.)

The narrator provides additional information about how she came to go from tricking on her own to tricking for Al. This flashback is that exact moment of transition. Her statement that she didn't know and will work a different location is a nod to the fact at that moment she has no pimp and no territory and doesn't want one and will move on. But instead they assimilate her and she resigns herself to it.

She is stunned.

They’re glad that they don’t get thrown out of places.

They look down on Sera because she is a whore. And feel superior that they are not. Whores get thrown out of places and they don't. This even though they are both the same - they both work for money providing a service that is in demand and should be able to spend it without judgement.

(A

him.)

More very telling information about Sera's early life in a very brief space. She had a mother and a father. The mother was jealous of her relationship with her father, so much so she only shows affection toward her father when not in her presence. Her father is also forgiving of her accident, her mess. Perhaps this becomes a part of her and allows her to be so forgiving of Ben later when he makes a mess everywhere he goes due to his drunkeness.

she wishes she were dressed for work.

A conscious choice by the author to place Sera in non "work" clothing, as the cab driver is a bible banger who would judge her for her profession as we soon see. So while she "wishes" she were dressed for work, she is soon glad she isn't.

heads for the Strip anyway: better drinks, a more well-behaved class of security guard.

Ah Vegas in the late 80's. Downtown was seedy and run down. The high class people went to the strip. From what I hear this isn't true anymore in 2020. In a way this is a metaphor for city life in general. In the late 80s, downtowns were dying and everyone wanted to live in the suburbs. That is changing today in 2020 with GenZ

small AM portable hanging on a chain from the rearview mirror.

In the 80s there were no iPods. If you didn't have cassette or 8track radio was it. No ear pods either. And AM radio!

you . . .”

So this passage is a good example of how an author must be able to deliver on a promise. The promise here is a holier than thou radio dj preacher. The author can't just say "there is a fire and brimestone preacher on the radio." Instead the author must show that preacher via his dialog. And thus must write that dialog and write it well enough that its believable to us the reader. Just as if the character was a comedian doing his/her show - the dialog then would have to be funny. And if they were bombing their show the dialog would have to be a bomb.

“My husband beats me,” she lies, “but it’s not really his fault. He just doesn’t know any better. We love each other, so I stick around. Anyway, it’s the only game in town.”

she lies as she knows that, unlike the cabbie earlier that "goes with the territory", this cabbie has shown via his choice of radio show he will judge her. So she plays the stricken wife subsurvient to her husband and it works.

She once knew a man capable of such behavior. Almost

The first time the narrator mentions Al's name. At this point the reader hasn't been able to connect the flash backs, and the yellow mercedes, and the parts from Al's POV, with AL. The preceeding describption of the J&B gambler gives us insight into Al's character - his desire to show off his wealth and destroy himself to purove his masculnity. Later, Ben will destroy himself but for an opposite reason - that he simply has no sense of self worth.

(He

notion.)

Sera's flashback to a memory of Al as she is reminded of him by the J&B gambler. We learn he had sex with her, and that he is middle eastern.

In lieu of working she has decided to drink a lot tonight.

She cannot accept that she needs to be, at least at some deeply hidden level, or even in some insignificant way, accepted, validated like a parking ticket, punched.

Another sentence highlighted by over 20 kindle readers. I see 2 things going on here. First, her craving for companionship - forshadowing her relationship to come with Ben and why she falls in love with him. Second her need to be accepted as a worker like everyone else instead of judged inferior because of her chosen line of work.

she has value.

End of another passage highlighted by several kindle readers. These last 3 words are what I see as important; everything else lead in. Sera knows that despite all the scorn placed on her by the world because of her profession that she has worth in the world. She has this because men crave not only the sex but the affection they attach to it given Sera is so good at bringing this out in them. This stands opposed to Ben whom we are about to meet, who despite his education and profession (whatever it is) feels he has no worth at all to anyone.

She is still alive, an accomplishment that puts her in the ninety-ninth percentile, way, way ahead of most of her class.

This notion that Sera has value continues to be drilled into us by the narrator as her thoughts and feelings. The implication is that most hookers are dead by the time they are her age, and she is actually living well, just as well as anyone else who has a normal job with all its accouterments like doctors and a place to live and the ability to buy groceries. She believes this fact means the downsides of her profession - the times when she is physically abused and the times when she is scorned, are small in comparison.

(Sabrina

giant, neon-clad clown.

Ah - Circus Circus

was.)

The flashback fits as a natural memory as Sera was thinking of how she has value and has outlived 99% of those who do what she does. Sabrina had value too, but for whatever reason, a reason beyond Sera's comprehension, was restless and took the common road of hookers, getting addicted to heroin and tricking in more dangerous ways to pay for the habit until she was likely killed.

Las Vegas’s newest hundredaire

hundredaire - fabulous. The implication is that for all the whoopla this person simple won a few hundred dollars and is going to end up gambling it away too as the house always wins. The casino makes the patron feel like a big winner, but in fact it is the winner.

The casino has made damn sure that there is no line of sight to the outside, so she won’t know when it gets light.

A key element of the vegas experience, along with the free drinks while gambling and the lack of clocks on the wall. Time does not exist here. This is what draws Ben here - not to gamble but instead to drink himself to death with no possibility of anyone noticing and no possibility of not being able to get alcohol because of what time it is.

(The

premises.)

A REALLY long flashback, almost 3 pages. The detail is nice though to make the point. Its fine for the Singers to lust after her when she isn't a hooker, but when they find out she is they must have her leave. Even though she doesn't do business where she leaves, the landlord assumes she does. She has to live a secret, and this results in her not being able to have any companionship at all. This sets the stage for Ben, who fully accepts her without judgement.

an experienced but not habitually excessive drinker.

ennui.

she didn’t expect to be at such a loss simply because she can’t work for a while.

The relatively undiminished activity of pre-dawn Las Vegas raises her spirits, reminds her of why she thinks she originally came here.

(“Where?

anyone.)

Sera is remembering what brought her to LV, and this flashback makes sense as a memory of a time right before realizing she could in fact go. That she of all people could break free from Al, from a thousand Als.

(“Will

“that travel may not be a Darwinian imperative—”

So what does she mean by this? First, this line goes to show us that a no older than 16 Sera is very intelligent and has learned a lot in school. That she understands Darwinian thinking shows very high functioning. An imperiative as an adjective means of vital importance, and Darwinian in this context must mean of vital importance to natural selection or the more mis-applied survival of the fittest. So travel MAY not be something of vital importance to the human species given natural selection. Regardless, she wants to do it. Her father however says Oh IT IS. So he thinks she is destined to leave, to travel, to experience, even though it pains him. Her father, like on the ferris wheel, is still on her side and ready to allow her to do as she pleases, again, even if it pains her.