Just Friends

Just Friends
Antheros
I’m a fan of Bradley’s work His is one of the best prose around, with a subtle choice of words that makes each sentence seem chiseled. “Just friends” tells about Sophie and what being a porn star makes to her persona. The story is told nonlinearly, jumping from past to other past to present, with quick scene changes. I think it works very well and is part of the attractiveness of the story, but I’m sure Bradley must have received emails complaining about it. What pleases me most about this story is that it avoids falling into one of the two typical stereotypes that most stories here would: Sophie is not a nymphomaniac who is absolutely delighted in having sex all day long, but the story does not paint the picture of redemption either. The sex is described in a raw, mechanical sense, suitable for the tone of the story and the way Sophie sees it. Third-person narratives are often told in a sided view, sympathetic to how the main character sees the world, and this is used by Bradley to imprint into the reader the dryness that Sophie sees it. The story brings the image of a see-saw, Sophie changing and Justin changing as well, each one seeking for what the other has. The very end of the story struck me with a note of sadness. Sophie is probably thinking that she’s responsible for changing Justin’s behavior and for losing his friendship---what she cared the most in that friendship.

I’m a fan of Bradley’s work His is one of the best prose around, with a subtle choice of words that makes each sentence seem chiseled. “Just friends” tells about Sophie and what being a porn star makes to her persona.

The story is told nonlinearly, jumping from past to other past to present, with quick scene changes. I think it works very well and is part of the attractiveness of the story, but I’m sure Bradley must have received emails complaining about it.

What pleases me most about this story is that it avoids falling into one of the two typical stereotypes that most stories here would: Sophie is not a nymphomaniac who is absolutely delighted in having sex all day long, but the story does not paint the picture of redemption either. The sex is described in a raw, mechanical sense, suitable for the tone of the story and the way Sophie sees it. Third-person narratives are often told in a sided view, sympathetic to how the main character sees the world, and this is used by Bradley to imprint into the reader the dryness that Sophie sees it. The story brings the image of a see-saw, Sophie changing and Justin changing as well, each one seeking for what the other has.

The very end of the story struck me with a note of sadness. Sophie is probably thinking that she’s responsible for changing Justin’s behavior and for losing his friendship---what she cared the most in that friendship.