Voice and character intertwine to stably showcase instability in the barmiest way. “Had it not been for my new bedroom curtains, a lovely design of cornflowers on cream cotton, none of this might have happened.” A blame-game protagonist at odds with the world and devoid of personal boundaries. This story is a brilliant cringe-fest of terrible behaviour, but McDade works hard to get the reader to fall into the empathy trap. She utilises backstory to show some of the character’s more troubling personality developments throughout her working life in offices, and thematically connects those with the present situation unfolding. It makes the story very well-rounded. The pacing is hectic, but there are also plenty of breathers to allow us to recover too. It’s voyeuristic, uncomfortable, and massively comical. The climax is hilarious and the ending, well, it’s very much an anti-resolution but that’s OK. We know enough about the character at this stage to imagine how she’s going to conduct herself in the future, and it’ll never be a sunny day her way. ‘Soul Mate’ is a masterclass in voice, characterisation and pitch-perfect pacing.
First published in The New Yorker, December 1963, and collected in the anthology Let’s Be Alone Together, ed. Declan Meade, Stinging Fly Press, Sep 2008
A Personal Anthology 