Rich Girl by Joan Arling

Rich Girl by Joan Arling

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I’m sure that this was originally written in a language other than English (and rather hope it was; actually, not all of it is actually in English – random words, phrases, and occasionally whole sentences are in some other language). The wording was just slightly off throughout – stilted, weirdly stilted. Plus, what the heck century is this story supposed to be set in? I’m referring to several things, including the part where the rich girl actually has money but is being blocked from getting to it by her family. Eh? Mmphs. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

So – the main character, Dawn, is at a charity event dancing and looking around. She’s there because that’s her payment for helping set up the place. She dances with Ric – the Rich Girl of the title. One thing leads to another and . . . Ric decides to come out as a lesbian. Which gets her kicked out of her house and so now she lives with Dawn. Most of which is in the story description, I’m sure.

This is a difficult short story for me to read for the reasons mentioned in the first paragraph – I found it hard to get into the story because of how stiff everything was worded.

”Bren, you cannot just blow through here like a hurricane! We only just discovered that we both like making music as well as listening to it.”

I understand what is being conveyed, but is this story supposed to be set in the 1970s or something? ‘Blow through here like a hurricane’? – eh?

Right, so, as I noted, Rich girl kicked out, moves in with just meet fellow lesbian, Dawn, gets job as a cashier for ‘4 quid an hour’, or something like that, then spots a guitar, plays it – apparently beautifully, is heard playing it with Dawn singing along, gets a duo gig for an hour of music for 50 quid and and and . . my head exploded somewhere along the way. What the heck am I reading here? (I ask that both in the stiff parts and the parts only written in Latin).

I’d like to fill the rest of my review with quotes from the story, all as they appear in the story, as in weirdly formatted . . . but won’t. Though I’ll note that having one of the characters scream ‘Whassup’ was . . . odd.

Father: I call that irresponsibility
Irresponsibility? Wha? Bah. (the word exists, it's real, I know that, I'd have used 'irresponsible' though in this situation)
Daughter: So now I am to blame for the consequences of your bigotry?
Father: Language, Missy!
I, what, I . . . um. Language?

While looking around Ric’s room at her family home, Dawn gazes around and thinks about how none of Ric’s personality appeared to be reflected by the room or its contents. This concept is given to the reader through the words ‘I could not find a trace of her self in it’.

What does this even mean? - ‘I laved her nipples with my saliva’? And eww. Hehehehe – the words . . hehehe during the sex act . . hehehehehe oh shesh. The fragrance she emanated? Mentioning the muscles moving beneath the skin just then and there in the story suddenly had me picturing the insides of humans, you know, those real life humans in museums without skin? Well, suddenly I’m now picturing two skin-less women fucking. Thanks.

I . . . what . . I . . for fuck sake. The very first time they fuck, they, right as one pushes the other into orgasmic release, both say at the exact same time, in unison, ‘I love you’. What. The. Fuck.

(Of note: weirdly, the stiffness and weirdness to the wording and word choices seemed to leave starting in chapter 4; though the plot line was weird. Seriously, what the fuck is up with basically every rich girl poor girl storyline including a part where the poor girl is just too fucking stubborn to allow herself to be ‘dirtied’ by the rich girl’s money. Sure, there are women out there like that (I think?), but . . . every fucking story has this story line. Though here we have the poor girl calmly state ‘no, you are rich’, and without any other words the rich girl storms away and slams her door. What the fuck to both responses? And there are pieces missing I see – the slammed door was because the rich girl thinks poor girl wants nothing to do with her now that rich girl has access to her money – and poor girl has to make much amends for this thought . . . um, what? That foundation hasn’t been laid. All we had was one woman tell the other that the other had money. And the rich one reacted as if the poor one told her, in strong unforgivable language, that the poor one wanted the rich one to leave and never return and die a horrible death. Um, again, the foundation for that reaction is sorely lacking from this story. And then the make-up is super easy. Pfft. The story just isn’t clicking. Things are just so weird. Over the top reactions, and under . . um . . . too restrained ‘fixes’. )

Oh bloody hell, the endless story had an epilogue, then another one and . . . mmphs.

Rating: um, uh, um . . . 1.5

December 20 2017



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