Ann Beattie's best fiction chronicles the crises of boomers. She expands with a new story collection, 'Onlookers,' about COVID-19 and the United the Right rally.
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This is more than character detail or observation; it is a central tension of the book. “Onlookers” is both a title and a state of being, as again and again, Beattie introduces people living at a distance, whether because of COVID-19 or their own independence, which takes many forms.
“Nearby,” on the other hand, reflects on the events from a different vantage point, a penthouse apartment overlooking the site. “She could look down on everything,” Beattie notes of Rochelle, the story’s protagonist, “like Dr. T.J. Eckleburg in ‘The Great Gatsby.’” The reference is one it is assumed we’ll understand. Rochelle, after all, is a teacher, filling in at the university for a “famous visiting writer” who has bailed on his responsibilities — privilege in another form.
Beattie does not mean to judge, or not exactly. What she is seeking, rather, is a more expansive empathy. For Stacey, that means looking after the young people who work with her, including George, the damaged son of a friend from church. Rochelle finds herself similarly enmeshed with a student for whom she buys a pair of tires.
Such generational interplay recalls Ginny and Robbie, as well as another character, Monica — who anchors two stories — and her nephew, Jonah. All these people are doing their best to deal with circumstances that are beyond them; all are taking responsibility as they can. That it is not enough, that it can never be enough, is the challenge.
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