The Decisions Case

Save as Many as You Ruin

All men have to face some challenges throughout life. The decisions we make might not always turn out the way we imagined, but nevertheless do we have to live on with them. In these moments everything can seem very pointless and you easily get to wonder what the meaning with our life and existence is.

This is some of the wonders we get introduced to in the short story Save as Many as You Ruin, written by Simon Van Booy in 2007. Gerard, who is the main character, has during his life made some decisions which have both been great and fatal, depending on which perspective you see it from. Eight years ago Gerard fell in love with Laurel but at the same time he desired to have an affair with Issy. "Issy wasn't upset when Gerard told her that he was falling in love with Laurel. She laughed and then cried and told him she was pregnant. [...] She was always telling lies. Then he felt something crack inside him because she wouldn't stop crying and he knew it was true" (l.126-130). This quote describes Gerard's relationship to the two women. With Issy he feels nothing else than the desire to have sex with another woman, while having a girlfriend. Unfortunately, as he tells Issy that he loves Laurel, he finds out that Issy is pregnant. This is a turning point in his life because he now gets faced with the consequence of his actions. The contrast used in this quote, expressed through Issy's reaction, demonstrates the changes, which are about to come, and how bizarre the situation is. At first Issy laughs and then she cries. These two emotional feelings are in complete contrast and likewise is the fact that she is telling the truth when "she was always telling lies" (l.128-129). Furthermore these contrasts are also a symbol that there are always two aspects on one case.

Gerard's daughter, Lucy, would never have been born if it was not for his affair with Issy. "Gerard feels stabbing love for his daughter" (l.18), the word "stabbing" is normally used talking about pain but here it is used opposite, as a metaphor to describe that he loves Lucy deeply. However this quote does not only tell us something about his love for his daughter, but also the "stabbing" memory concerning his relationships. Every time he looks at his daughter he remembers what mistake he made by cheating on Laurel. "Gerard loved one woman once, but not Lucy's mother" (l.36), this quote indicates that Gerard has always loved Laurel and when he moved in with Issy he still kept Laurels wristwatch, " Gerard still has Laurel's wristwatch at home in his bedside cabinet. [...] Miraculously, the battery still works"(l.133-134). For eight years he held on to Laurel's watch and while he was living with Issy, Laurel was still his only love. Despite all the years, the battery still works which indicates that his love for Laurel carries on.