How "How" Made Me Feel

The short story, "How" has become one of my favorite pieces I've read for this class so far. In a way, the style reminds me of "Pee on Water"—I feel as if I'm watching a time lapse or movie, completely engrossed in every scene and the emotion it holds. In addition, the two stories share the clear passage of time, which I think adds to the film-like feel. "Pee on Water" unconventionally tells the story of human evolution, while "How" concerns the arc of a certain relationship, over "a week, a month, a year," and how it feels like "just a series of endless tests."
In addition, both stories employ short, deliberate sentences that are extremely effective in evoking emotion within the reader (me). Some of my favorites from Moore's story include "unleash your irritation in short, staccato blasts," "apartments can shrink like drying ponds," and "lie [in bed next to each other] like sewing needles." While those phrases include vivid imagery and metaphors, there are also powerful phrases as simple as when the boyfriend tells you (?) to "have a heart." Moore seems to master the timing/placement of these snippets of conversation. While James Baldwin paints beautiful scenes with long, descriptive phrases, the frankness of both Moore and Glaser's writing (for me, at least) hits closer to home and makes it easier to see myself as a character in their stories. And as we discussed briefly in class, Moore's use of the imperative mood makes her writing feel all the more personal.
On my cover of New American Stories, there's a little spiel from Ben Marcus about the pieces in the book, describing how a good short story can affect a reader. "If they are well made," he says, "and you submit to them, they go in clean...they trigger pleasure, fear, fascination, love, confusion, desire, repulsion. The potent story writers, to me, are the ones why deploy language as a kind of contraband, pumping it into us until we collapse on the floor...overwhelmed with feeling." While "How" is not part of New American Stories I feel as if it checked all of the boxes consistent with Marcus' description. "How" immersed me in the storyline of the main character, taking me on a rollercoaster of happiness, anger and sadness. While I didn't "collapse on the floor" after I finished reading, it was one of those stories that made me stare blankly into space for a few minutes, emotionally taxed, contemplating about how intensely Moore's writing made me feel.