Secretary by Gaitskill - 11/14/08

I must say that when I first began to read Secretary by Mary Gaitskill, I did not know what to expect. It seemed like a typical story in which a family that is made of four characters, father (who is sort of a bum), mother (nagging wife and parent) and two children, (one (Donna) somewhat successful and the other (Debby) very lazy and who always has to live life being compared to her sister). However, I was pleasantly surprised because I did not see the twist coming in the text.

Mary Gaitskill manages to mix High culture and Pop culture. She accomplishes this by taking a revered place such as a law office and mixes it promiscuity at the workplace. Debby’s relationship with her boss is one that cannot be easily characterized because it is difficult to tell what both parties are feeling.

All in all, one would say that Gaitskill’s style of text is Transgressive Literary. This is due to the fact that she writes about topics such as Sado Masochism in the work place, which she does in the raw form and with such ease. I look forward to developing her sense of writing by reading other books by her such as Veronica.