Uncomfortably Numb

Linda M. Bayley is a freelance writer based in Sudbury, Ontario.

Germaine-German-Germ Steeves is not one of MacKenzie High’s preppie
all-stars. She smokes pot on a regular basis with the other losers and
gets full columns of C’s on her report cards. One of her best friends
is turning her bedroom into a monument to dead rock stars; the other is
known as the Blow Job Queen. All Germaine wants to do is survive her
parents’ tough love program, get a real boyfriend, and make it through
high school. After Grade 9, only four more years to go.

Wellington, Ontario, circa 1980, where every kid knows every lyric to
Pink Floyd’s The Wall, is the setting for this collection of linked
stories. English tells each story from Germaine’s point of view as she
struggles through high school. We see Germaine’s shifting attitudes,
beliefs, and expectations, and never for a moment do we doubt that she
is genuine. Each story is written differently, the style changing as
Germaine changes. In the later stories, the style is a little more
experimental, drawing us into the murkiness and confusion that Germaine
is experiencing. The last story, though, is very clear-headed, as she
has a revelation and is filled with hope about life after MacKenzie
High.

As with potato chips, you can’t consume just one of these stories at
a sitting. English’s writing is powerful and addictive—so much so
that at the end of the last story I wanted to turn back to the first
page and start over.