Nathalia Melecio

ENL 21001

Professor Meaks 

March 16, 2025

‘Inventory’  

What’s the purpose of telling this collection of stories ?

Through the chapter, the author introduces this collection of intimate stories by narrating earlier sexual experiences, providing an introduction of  the characters sexual life, encountering lovers, and strangers…As the story develops, the conversation of a ‘disease’ starts to surface, at the end of the chapter, this illness takes away one of their partners, which is also the last one to be introduce. Now, there are two things in particular I find very interesting about this collection, which is the use of language and the mysteriousness between the significance of this pandemic. 

Looking at the particular use of language when addressing casual relationships and sex, it’s pretty brief and explicit, almost objective like careless, which is emphasized by its title. However the collective thought of sex, invokes excitement and curiosity, which seems to be reciprocated by the flow of the first stories. But when articulation about sex in the characters adulthood, the diverse outcomes of these experiences, are not quite expected by the reader, which could lead to disappointment, when people often write about sex stories, there is a lot of detail, fiction and fantasy around it, the protagonist’s story challenges that, by bringing up the reality of casual sexual encounters, or women’s sex life. 

The illness in the story acts as a metaphor for human contact, connection, and intimacy, with a focus on isolation whenever it is emotional or physical. As the story progresses, both the number of encounters and the presence of the disease increase. The final partner seems to have a special relationship with the protagonist, and it appears that as she grows closer to someone, the significance of the pandemic becomes more pronounced. The deeper the connection, the more the threat of the disease presents itself, highlighting the tension between the desire for intimacy and the fear of the inevitable risk and vulnerability that comes with it.