Zoe Whittall’s ‘Wild Failure’ – Author’s short stories bring queer sparks of unvarnished truth

“Wild Failure” is the debut book of short stories by best-selling Canadian author Zoe Whittall, who has written five novels to date. The short story collection features 10 thought-provoking stories that delve into the complexities of urban living. It includes themes of attachment, disconnection, the rise of stealth crime, addiction, anxiety, shame, and explores a world that often sows chaos and devalues people.
Zoe Whittall’s prose is intimate, accessible and vivid. She does not shy away from heavy contemporary themes, but handles them with grace and refreshing candor, managing to blend raw emotion with humor and real insight.

In a way, Whittall’s writing refuses to be neatly packaged. Some say it lacks a theme running through the stories, but “Wild Failure” definitely positions the outsider as a vital, authentic voice in Canadian literature. For this reason, the book is literary fiction and can also be considered “outlaw literature,” a genre that champions the outsider and those who carve their own paths.

In that vein, the author also evokes a gritty, individualistic feel by including a number of apt musical references to artists like Iggy Pop, Def Leppard and others throughout the book.

Author Zoe Whittall was born on a sheep farm in 1976 in Quebec, lived in Montreal and Toronto, and has now returned to the countryside. Inspired by the feminist punk movement of the 1990s, she is also a poet and award-winning television scriptwriter who wrote for “Baroness Von Sketch Show” and “Schitt’s Creek.”

Truth from Canada’s margins
One of Whittall’s strengths is her ability to craft characters who are so real we feel we know them, as in the story “Oh, El.” El is Eleanor, a cunning workplace bully who relentlessly manipulates and provokes her co-worker.

Exploiting the subtle hierarchies and tensions of the workplace, she pushes the power dynamics to the limit. The result is that Whittall has crafted a perceptive psychological exploration of control, vulnerability, hidden resentments, and the toll workplace antagonism takes on work life.

Next is the quietly brilliant short story “Half-Pipe.” A half-pipe is a U-shaped skateboarding ramp, a symbol of freedom as well as danger, and the backdrop of much of the story of a 15-year-old girl grappling with the aftermath of a sexual assault she has evidence of, but can’t quite remember.

The ending of this story has been criticized as “anti-climactic,” but I find it ingenious, a truly transcendent picture of her uncle’s genuine caring. Uncle Marty got his soul crushed in the Gulf War, but because he’s always welcomed to sleep on the couch when need be, he’s there for his niece, which is more loyalty than many families demonstrate.

The equally captivating title story “Wild Failure” centers around the unlikely romance between an agoraphobic woman and an avid hiker. Opposites may attract, but when they attempt to enjoy a road trip together, their conflicting needs simmer beneath the surface until neither can stand it. The premise is a creative way of discussing the psychological fears and anxieties that usually remain hidden beneath the surface.

The book’s title may also be extrapolated to refer to a number of negative trends happening in the wider society that have made their way into this collection. In this way the book can be read as a critique of a society that often fails the individuals living within it.

“Wild Failure” is comparable to books like “Her Body and Other Parties” by Carmen Maria Machado, and “Rat Bohemia” by Sarah Schulman, two LGBT works that also deliver a smart mix of emotional depth and social critique.

Whittall’s previous books include “The Best Kind of People,” “The Fake,” and “Holding Still for as Long as Possible,” which won a Lambda Literary Award and was an American Library Association’s Stonewall Honor Book. No doubt Zoe Whittall’s unapologetic voice will resonate for years to come.

‘Wild Failure’ by Zoe Whittall, Penguin/Random House, 176 pages, $18.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709706/wild-failure-by-zoe-whittall/

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