All's not fair in love and war

According to writer Jean McGarry, no one wants anything to do with her characters. But despite her less-than-likable fictional people, over 40 students and community members showed up to the intimate setting of the Kelly Writers House yesterday evening to hear her read from her latest work. Writer Max Apple warned members of the audience that they were "in for a literary ride" as he introduced McGarry. McGarry opened by briefly describing one of her stories, explaining that it "is about an engaged couple, a mismatched couple trying to fit their lives together." Then, she promptly began to read from the story -- "The Wedding Gowns" -- as a captivated audience followed the couples' travails. For 45 minutes, McGarry relayed her story of an engaged couple fighting over the type of wedding they would have and the problems they encountered, specifically in choosing a wedding gown. Though the story ended ambiguously, McGarry left no question unanswered in the following question-and-answer session. In addition, there was a mini-reception where McGarry and the students were able to talk more informally. For McGarry, the depiction of a troubled couple is not a surprising choice. After all, on the subject of marriage, she asserted that "marriage is inequality." She quickly qualified this statement by saying that the inequality is not the result of hostile or evil intentions. "One person creates the life," McGarry elaborated, "while the other one lives it." She further added that the creators of this married life are the "generous ones," while their partners who merely reap the benefits are "parasites." In fact, all of her books mention marriage in some form. When asked what inspired her to write this particular story, McGarry responded that she found marriage to be "an occasion made unreal" and that wedding gowns are "a rite of passage" -- hence the name of her story. She admitted that she herself had never had a wedding gown. When asked if she is married, she responded, "No... but I was." Though McGarry herself was upbeat, College senior Zeev Krieger found the reading to be "a little depressing." "She is a good writer [but] presented kind of a bleak picture of marriage," Krieger said. He admitted to feeling uncomfortable at the end of her reading due to the nature of the content. Still, Krieger said that a certain audience member -- a man from the community who asserted that McGarry's characters were "devoid of life" -- kept the question-and-answer session lively enough. And College senior Sean McTighe had nothing but praise for McGarry's "incredible" reading. He said that she is "a very good author" whose reading was "very intelligent and intense."