"Evil Genius" | Reviewed by Pat Sainz

Celia, the protagonist in the novel “Evil Genius” narrates her dramatic, sad story over a period of days. Celia progresses from living a predictable life as a phone operator in San Francisco to that of a woman on the run after being a suspect in two murders that occurred in her own home.

      Celia is a naive and innocent 19-year-old when her mentally unstable and dying mother begs the attentive hospital scrub tech to take care of her daughter by marrying her. Celia complies, thinking that Drew seems nice enough, and she wants to please her mother. Drew is 11 years older than Celia and seems to know the ways of the world. Celia’s father has never been in the picture.

     Celia thinks of Drew as “my Drew”  and refers to him as such throughout the story. When Drew begins abusing Celia, she thinks she must have done something to deserve his behavior. Not arriving home exactly at the right time from work means punches and the silent treatment. Not appreciating his mother as Drew thinks she should means an auto accident in which only her side of the car is slammed into a tree. Staying late at a dinner with friends earns a bullet lodged in the wall next to where Celia is standing and time spent in a locked closet.   “My Drew” is always sorry that Celia caused him to behave in such a manner.  

      Celia’s job requires her to handle customers who call the phone company because they are unable to pay their bills. The employees have some power; they can deny requests outright or work with the customers to pay the bill.

      When one of Celia’s customers begins stalking her after Celia has denied her request for more time to pay the bill, Celia’s descent into a world in which she mulls over her own situation becomes untenable.

       Celia begins to imagine that her life could change after becoming aware of two news events. It’s 1974, and the Patty Hearst abduction by a radical left-wing group is front page news. Celia becomes fascinated with the bravery she thinks Patty Hearst displayed  when she pointed a gun at customers during a bank robbery. Celia wonders what it would be like to have that kind of confidence and “freedom” to threaten assault.    

      When a fellow co-worker escapes the wrath of a husband who killed his wife with whom the co-worker was having an affair, Celia becomes obsessed with nuances: maybe the wife deserved to be killed. How did her co-worker successfully hide when the husband came home, what kind of gun was used, how could the husband be brave enough for such action? For a brief time, the murder was lurid local news printed alongside the Hearst story.

     Celia is naive but not without resources. She feels she can’t change anything, but  because we are privy to her distinctive narration, we can see that her thoughts are unraveling a plan from which she can escape her situation.  Still, the ending is unexpected and satisfying in spite of the angst of the story.

      “Evil Genius” is part murder mystery and part psychodrama. I found the writing and progression of this short novel to be refreshing and original.

      Claire Oshetsky has won prizes and been nominated for her earlier novels which include “Poor Deer” and “Chouette.”

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