Save as Many as You Ruin

Save as Many as you Ruin

"Save as Many as you Ruin", is a short story written by the author Simon Van Booy. It is written in the presence tense, and takes place in modern time, in the winter on snow-covered Manhattan. The story is chronologically written, and stretches itself over about a day's action, but there are references to things that have happened in the past. Actually there are 8 flashbacks, which also matches the number of years that has passed, since Gerard saw the love of his life. The text is written in the third person, and we follow one person through the whole story.

Our protagonist is Gerard, a man in his late thirties, maybe in the forties. We are not told exactly what Gerard does for a living, but he works in an office, and going to dinner parties , so he is probably from the higher layers of society. He is very attracting , and has slept with many women, which has resulted in him getting a daughter. Her name is Lucy, and he loves more than anything in the world. She brings happiness into his life, with her curiousness and because she is his daughter after all. But she also re-minds him of Lucy's deceased mother, a burden which is very heavy for Gerard to carry, not because he loved Issy, Lycy's mother, but because he can't stand the thought of breaking Lucy's heart by tell-ing her the truth. This makes him a very caring and sensitive man, but Gerard also has another side of him. Gerard has only loved one woman in his life and that is Laurel, but he cheated on her with Issy, which resulted in her getting pregnant. Although Gerard hasn't seen Laurel for eight years, she is still the woman he loves.

The mood in this short story is very cold, which is reflected in the constant references to the snow/blizzard, and the beginning of the text gives a sense of pointlessness. Gerard asks himself if he is a significant individual to the world, or if he is worth just as much as the air that he exhales, and vapor-izes into the air, without leaving any traces . There are also many references to the footprints in the snow which disappears, for example "The Invisible man" who was only found because of the footprints which he left behind. The contrast to this feeling is the vibe that is created, when Gerard sees Laurel through a window. The window is beaconing with light and warmth, which illustrates Gerard's feelings for Laurel. Also Lucy generates this contrast of warmth, towards the otherwise biting cold of Manhat-tan. Every time the daughter is mentioned in the short story, she is located in their warm apartment , and thereby she symbols a sanctuary for Gerard, a place where always feels that he is important and loved.

The title of the short story fits for the content of the story. It seems that our main character Gerard, has taken a lot of bad decisions in his life. He has ruined the relationship with his big love by cheating