New Yorker Fiction Review #206: "Ways and Means" by Sana Krasikov

Review of a short story from the August 27, 2018 issue of The New Yorker...

It took me a page or two to really get into this ultimately compelling look at the #metoo movement from a perspective I've personally not heard yet, that of a woman who actually sympathizes with one of the perpetrators of the sexual misconduct.

In this story, the main character, Hal (female) is the former and still currently the co-worker of Oliver, a celebrity of sorts at the public radio station where they work. Oliver has become the target of not only a number of accusations of sexual misconduct from female co-workers, but now an official investigation by an outside agency and the implied threat of actual charges. Oliver calls Hal to apologize for anything that he's done and also to ask her to give a deposition on his behalf. Most of the story is spent inside Hal's head as she struggles with whether to do so. She finally agrees but then has a change of heart when a certain additional piece of information is revealed about Oliver.

This story shines a really interesting light on a seriously complex topic and a societal movement that is causing a revolution. The full extent of the revolution is something we can't even comprehend right now because we're actually in it. Ultimately it is going to change society for the better. I'm completely confident of that. In the meantime, it makes a lot of people squeamish for a lot of reasons -- good and bad -- and as much as it's caused earthquakes in the media it has caused a myriad of much less public discussions on the state of sexual politics in our time. Pretty heavy stuff Sana Krasikov is tackling here.

What I think is interesting about the story is how the main character Hal, herself a woman and the former lover of the offender, rationalizes Oliver's behavior in various ways until she talks herself into taking his side. It goes to show how certain bad behaviors could have gotten glossed over or swept under the rug, even by the victims themselves, as just cultural norms, "men being men," etc. What's even more fascinating is the ending and the moment when Hal decides to change her mind and testify against Oliver. Suffice it to say, there is the suggestion that it was motivated out of personal vengeance.

As I said, this story started out slowly and did not grab me right out of the gate. Sana Krasikov just had too many characters and too much "history" to pack into the story's setup. And she almost completely lost me. But she didn't, and brought me through to a richly developed and much-earned payoff. Definitely one of the best stories I've read this year.