“The Bleeps and Blips of Life” describes the narrator
dealing with the illness of her father, as well as her fraught relationship
with her sister and mother. It also addresses the narrator’s struggle to decide
what to do with her father.
I liked how the various elements of the story fit
together—the narrator’s resentment towards her sister makes her automatically
resist her suggestion to halt life support. Similarly, her close relationship
with her father, sparked by difficulties with her sister and mother, makes his
death all the more difficult. I like the use of flashbacks. They were
integrated well and they added a lot of emotional impact and context to the
narrator’s suffering. The story is engaging. Even when you have a large amount
of information summarized, the story does not slow down. I liked that the
narrator’s attitude toward her sister was a combination of resignation and
anger. It was telling when she mentioned Karen’s “complete adoration of Mom.”
The title does not feel appropriate for the story. Also,
giving more detail about the narrator outside of this situation might be
helpful. Has her career or family interfered with her relationship with her
father? Has her resentment of her father’s illness or her bad family
relationships interfered with other aspects of her life? Her relationship with
her father is believable, but we do not see too much of her life beyond that. However,
the mother’s attitude towards the narrator seems a little too harsh. Why does
she like Karen so much more? Why doesn’t Karen recognize her mother’s favoritism?
Did the narrator’s father resent her mother for her attitudes? What led to the
divorce, specifically? Is the narrator’s father as saintly as she thinks he is?
Maybe Karen has some knowledge or insight that the narrator lacks. Sometimes,
the amount of summary feels distracting. It doesn’t feel artificial, just a
little overwhelming. It might be conducive to replace all of the summary with
flashbacks that convey the same information.
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