Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby
The blurb for this collection of 21 short stories opens with the promise of ‘Margaret Atwood meets Buffy’ and if this statement implies the former’s searing feminist commentary and the latter’s fantastical pop-cultural realism, then Shit Cassandra Saw (2022) fulfills this promise and more.
This acclaimed debut collection from American writer Gwen E. Kirby creates complex internal worlds for female characters who occupy vividly drawn, dangerous yet exciting landscapes ranging from contemporary America to the high seas of the 18th century replete with cross-dressing pirates.
In each of the stories, universal themes of identity, sexuality and the threats we pose one another are paired with intricate specificity as demonstrated by Kirby’s meticulous yet accessible writing. The works vary in their historical/geographical settings, their voice, their structure and their genres but threaded throughout are fascinating, messy women navigating an oftentimes hostile world.
‘Shit Cassandra Saw That She Didn’t Tell The Trojans’ sets the standard incredibly high as the first story of the collection. The Trojan princess Cassandra, though highly gifted with prophetic powers, was equally cursed by Apollo – as Hyginus wrote in his Fabulae: “when she prophesied true things, she was not believed.” Although she had warned her comrades that it would in fact be wise to look the Greek’s gift horse in the mouth, they did not listen. Now, Cassandra’s home of Troy is burning and she’s angry. Her fury manifests in the refusal to verbalise her visions of a future with still embattled but far more empowered women. After all, “She is tired of speaking to listening ears. The listening ears of the men who think her mad drive her to madness.”
However, the other stories focusing on historical figures (with the exception of the haunting, folkloric account of the ‘First Woman Hanged for Witchcraft in Wales, 1594’) tend to blur together as they all present historical women, though living through their past settings and challenges, adopting a more contemporary voice, reflecting on the injustices of their present whilst also expressing their hopes for a better future. Despite their different and fascinating focal characters, these stories therefore seem repetitive. However, Kirby’s efforts to remind contemporary readers about the real-life, historical escapades of Boudicca and Mary Read should be applauded.
The Kafkaesque ‘A Few Normal Things That Happen A Lot’ is another highlight where women come into their own new and horrifying power.
“A woman waits for the bus and a man stands too close to her. He puts his hand on her ass, with no idea that she is the first successful subject of a top-secret science experiment…”
“A woman walks down the street and absolutely no one bothers her. She smiles at the other women she passes. They smile back. Something is different.”
Although maintaining a female-centric approach, this nuanced collection also includes a male narrative voice in ‘Jerry’s Crab Shack – One Star.’ This story introduces us to Gary F, a man who is empathetic to a fault and keen to please his formidable wife with a night out after moving to a new city. His “methodical, fair-minded” Yelp review is delightful, unlike the service of the bar staff at Jerry’s Crab Shack. The open, vulnerable unravelling of Gary’s observations, anxieties and marriage were encased in a vulnerable and believable unravelling of thoughts, simultaneously public and private, published and intimate. Gary also provides one of the few male voices in the collection but is one still effectively implemented to pass comment on casual yet concerted chauvinism still on display.
“(I want to pause here a moment and say that I do not normally complain about restaurant service. As the child of a father who complained, loudly and ad nauseam, about slow waitresses, unfriendly waitresses, slutty waitresses, indeed, as a boy too often embarrassed by the impatience and insensitivity of an authority figure, I usually take a bit of bad service on the chin … I don’t know what my father expects. Waitresses are not wizards. All I expect from them is the transportation of food from one point to a different point, and they don’t even need to smile because what in the hell is there to smile about when you are working as a waitress at Jerry’s Crab Shack…”
A softball match between teenage girls allows for an interrogation into the performative aspects of sisterhood and the “attention-seeking” of empathising a little too publicly with others’ trauma in ‘Mt Adams at Mar Vista.’ It serves as a timely reminder that in the unfair arena of sport, there are absolute winners and there are absolute losers.
‘For A Good Time, Call’ is a stand-out tale for its sweetness amongst the darkness permeating most of Kirby’s stories as a woman innocently adopts a different identity to explore different romantic avenues, questioning her own (and the other woman’s) choices along the way.
The collection’s final story, ‘We Handle It,’ captures the cringe of a coming-of-age tale with a group of girls enjoying a summer camp. Kirby, like the softball players at Mar Vista, throws plenty of curveballs and the genuine twists and turns will leave readers gasping as predator becomes prey and vice versa… and vice versa…
Although some stories resonate more strongly than others, this collection showcases Kirby’s exceptional writing and makes Shit Cassandra Saw a bold, brazen and beautiful contribution to contemporary female voices on the page.
Dr Lisa Harper Campbell is a freelance academic, performer, writer, director and critic from Adelaide, South Australia. She obtained her doctorate in French Cinema from the University of Adelaide in 2017 and her first book, Reframing Remembrance: Contemporary French Cinema and the Second World War, was published by Manchester University Press in 2021. Lisa’s work explores socio-political issues with a comedic bent. Highlights include performing and touring her original solo show, directing the world premiere of Watchlist by Alex Vickery-Howe in 2021 and proving her trivia prowess by winning ABC’s Hard Quiz (S3E3) and making it to the grand final of Mastermind (S4 2022). Her research spans screen studies, French culture, history, semiology, memory studies, comedy, feminism and pedagogy.