by Liars' League Intern 2013, Linnea Hurst
When asked to write about my favourite Christmas story I racked my brain, but nothing came to mind. Fortunately, I avoided embarrassing myself in the future by reading over the Christmas themed Liars' League stories of the past (found here), and I can now proudly say that I have a favourite festive narrative.
In "Are We Nearly There Yet" by Emily Pedder, Pedder whisks the reader away into the midst of Oxford Street right before Christmas, yet this story is not concerned with the world of cheery lights or glamorous Harrods window displays. Instead, "Are We Nearly There Yet" delves into the less overt but just as pervasive class divides and pretensions that waft as thick as perfume in central London during Christmas time.
Considering the time frame of this story is only a few hours, I was pleasently surprised with just how much I knew about the protagonist Rae's life once I finished it. Pedder manages to communicate Rae's feelings of being an outsider amoungst all the fancy shoppers and shiny glass without ever explicitly saying this, but instead through lines such as "I pulled my jacket up around my elbow, wishing my arms didn't look so scrawny."
This story also really resonated with me because although Rae clearly feels very out of place in Selfridges, she's also very couragous, independent, and quick-thinking for a child. I will not spoil any details, but I will say that even after Rae and her mother have been thoroughly trodden down by all that is Oxford Street, Rae still manages to come out on top, leaving with a surprise in her pocket that will make readers smile.
I found myself nodding enthusiastically at Pedder's description of London buses, which I found eerily similar to what often goes through my own mind, "I thought about all the buses, weaving their way through the streets of London, red lozenges carrying people, zigzagging across the city." In fact, throughout the entire story I felt Pedder described London perfectly. Even though I've only been in London for three months I've elbowed my way down Oxford Street enough to know that her sickeningly sweet descriptions of red-lipsticked white-coated store assistants eagerly spraying perfume on anyone who walks by is deadly accurate.
When one comes away from a short story understanding much more than was explicitely written on the page, you know it's a good story. This is exactly what Pedder's story did for me, while simultanously evoking the annual tradition of consumerism and splendour we all know so well.
"Are We Nearly There Yet" is published in London Lies - the perfect stocking-filler for all the family.
Emily Pedder is an award-winning writer based in London. In 2001 she co-founded Matter, a literary anthology promoting new writers. She completed her first novel in 2004 and is now working on her second, for which she won an Arts Council Award. Her short stories have been published in several magazines, including Mslexia and Thirteen Stories. She is the recipient of a Commonwealth Short Story Prize and currently teaches creative writing at City University.
Stories written: "Here Comes the Night" (read by Maria Escudero), "Are we nearly there yet?" (read by Danielle Fenemore)
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