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Dressed for the occasion. Action!” (133). These repeated scenes of characters
seeing themselves outside themselves has the effect of questioning the
relationship between the observer and the observed, constantly reminding the
reader that the observer is never too distant from a projected image. Identity,
then, becomes a question, a zone of inquiry, where images come and go, as a
change of wardrobe in front of a mirror.
Another interesting characteristic of the narrative voice in Brand New
Memory is the use of the present tense to describe certain scenes. The narrative
in the present tense often has a camera-panning effect, as if the reader were a
viewer of a set, watching a performance along with the narrator. The scene of
Gina’s mother in her bedroom reflects this movie-scene narrative: “Picture
Madame in her boudoir, a leather-bound edition of Les Fleurs du Mal by her side.
A bouquet of evil flowers sits on the windowsill, brought back to life from 1857.
Elisa is reading Baudelaire’s poems, those that she feels reflect her tormented
spleen and lyrical angst, her truest nature” (28). The narrator, acting as a guide,
invites the reader to imagine the scene. In another scene, we see Elisa again,
this time by the pool: “Maman likes to tan by the pool. There she is, thinking that
her weekends are filled with tête-à-têtes from now until summer, mostly
activities organized by the Pinos Verdes Wives Auxiliary. She’s proud to be a
member of this exclusive club. Let’s face it: Elisa loves to rub shoulders with the
crème-de-la-crème. Right this minute she is telling herself she can’t wait till the
next Auxiliary board meeting” (13). Who is this narrator who is so involved in the
lives of these characters, inviting the readers to come along so he can show a
character first-hand, saying “There she is, . . .” as if sharing a present moment
with the reader Who is this “we” who says “Let’s face it . . . “ The effect on the
reader is one of complicity with the narrator, as both experience a shared
viewing, and the view is a set of characters. These are the characters in the
book, but they are portrayed with an ambivalent identity. They are also watching
themselves move within their set, exemplifying Karen Christian’s concept of
identity as a performance. The total effect is an atmosphere of a shifting, multifaceted
reality experienced by Gina.
The language used by Gina and the narrator is laced with technological
jargon. Gina “Camerawoman” is at one point hearing a voice in the hallway of
her home and she doesn’t recognize whose voice it is: “It was her mother’s
voice, but the voice didn’t scan; something wasn’t quite normal” (70). The use of
the word “scan” to indicate Gina’s mental registering of her mother’s voice, is
typical of the way Gina’s character is totally immersed in this jargon, therefore
imbuing the entire text with a technological tone, as if there were a fusion
between mental and technological processes.
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