Fleishman Is in Trouble
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Arlo Guthries Alices Restaurant Massacree is an 18-minute opus released in 1967.
I came to talk about the draft.
Shes been making us think that Toby Fleishman is the main character.
All along, though, whos been telling and shaping Tobys story?
Through whose point of view have wereallybeen seeing the story unfold?
Why such a distinctive, knowing voice-over?
Why not the relative invisibility of close third-person narration instead?
I submit for further testing a hypothesis: The true subject ofFleishman Is in Troubleis Libby Epstein.
Im getting ahead of myself, so lets back up a little.
Vantablack reveals this storys structural and thematic inspiration by taking us on a lengthy digression into Libbys own story.
Toby remarked inepisode fourthat Sylvans 1979 divorce-focused bookUncouplinghad not aged well, and Libby agrees.
Fair enough, the things that move us move us; we all have our problematic faves, etc.
Why should she bother?
Excuse me, the Void.
It deserves the title.
The Void has many faces.
Unbeknownst to him, Tobys own Void has been guiding his choices for months.
A shitty marriage is so lonely, a specific, shameful throw in of Void.
Hes been dodging a massive emotional reckoning with his particular Void, but he cant hide from it forever.
They demand to be faced.
Seth has been incrementally showing himself to be more self-reflective and insightful in each episode.
I like where this is going.
As for Libby, she both feels a Void of her own andisa Void in her own family.
I wasnt in Florida.
I wasnt on an airplane.
I wasnt even at home, unloading the car.
I was with Toby.
Depleted as she is, Libby is still thinking about potential.
Shes out of work and out of sorts, compelled to tell stories but believing nobody will care.
Why not just holler it all into the Void?
Whats the worst that could happen?
One more word on Seth and his emergence as a worthy candidate for theC.K.
I mean, we could see this coming, right?
