Stories Without Saints

At first glance, Egan's form of story telling may seem strange and somewhat random, but she uses this abstract structure to create incredibly real characters and displays them in many different ways. Her narrative structure allows the reader to see many different perspectives of the same character.

One character character that embodies Egan's writing style is Sasha. Sasha is introduced as a kleptomaniac who works as an assistent for a record executive. In the story found objects, she is discussing an experience she had while on a date that dealt with her sticky fingers with her therapist. The story lets the reader feel empathy for her as she struggles with her problem while on the date. Through her unique narrative structure, Egan then shifts the perspective of which the reader views Sasha from one of empathy to pity. When Sasha is in naples, she has no money and is forced to adopt stealing as a way of life. Her life in Naples is depressing because the story is told from the perspective of her uncle who is somewhat of a father figure to her. It is depressing from his point of view because he talks about all the times when he was with her when she was a little girl playing at the beach and now he is forced to take in her gruesome transformation to an adult and see the ruin that her life in Naples has become. The reader loses the empathy they felt for her and are left with pity for Sasha because the reader knows that she is responsible for the life she is leading and is fully capable of changing it.

Egan's structure creates multi-dimensional characters that casts them as both heroes and villains from contrasting stories like "Found Objects" and "Goodbye, My Love". In doing this, Egan not only creates amazing characters, but she also captures a sense of humanity within these characters because no one is a saint.