I really enjoyed this story and thought it was humorous and sad at the same time. At the party, the young woman, who is surrounded mostly by married couples, makes a goal to kiss three types of men based on their hair color. This includes a kiss from a former red-headed classmate, a blonde ex, and a failed attempt for a black-haired man who is more interested in a veterinarian. Through each of these encounters, you learn a little more about the woman and you can see more of her as a character which I really liked.
You get the sense that the main character is a little different and this can be seen from some of her memories that she recalls, such as her paintings. She talks about how her paintings had little things that would make them stand out, such as a cornfield with a "glinting knife hanging from each husk" and a beach scene with " a loaded machine gun lying on a beach towel." These little details in her drawings make the reader aware that the main character isn't this typical, boring female character. Some memories and thoughts also show that she does show love and can be a caring person. For instance, when she is describing her Great Dane, named Off. On page 114 she describes her experience, "I didn't put him to sleep, I kept him company and stroked his big forehead until I saw his eyes shut on their own." She then talks about how she cremated him and spread some of his ashes and lastly fed some to the cat next door, which brings us back to the narrator's character. You can also tell she does have some genuine feeling for her former boyfriend, Adam. I really liked how he was the only person that was named in the story. It gives him some significance whereas the others characters are un-named which puts them into the same, generic grouping, which is how the main character views all the guests at the party.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and was very entertaining to read!
A good response that should remind you how you don't have to have a double murder or cheating spouse to make a story interesting. Character can do that. As you go back and revise "Deception," you can think about the complexities of Bender's narrator and see if you can make Marcy just as interesting. Does Marcy make art? Does she have a family history? What were her elementary school days like? What does she do at parties? Maybe even consider a rewrite of "Deception" in first person.
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