Early in David Bergen’s Days of Feasting and Rejoicing, a murderer-to‑be rehearses her metamorphosis. The American expat Esther Maile is visiting Bali with Christine, a Canadian with whom she shares a duplex in Thailand. One evening, while her friend is out dancing, Esther, who dreams of inhabiting another self, “a different body,” steps into her underwear: “Very nice. She slipped into a sleeveless black dress of Christine’s and looked in the mirror and said, ‘Hi, I’m Christine.’ ”
It comes as no surprise then when, over dinner on their last night at the hotel, Christine informs Esther that she needs space — and not just for the evening. “When they returned to Thailand, Esther was to go away, disappear.” Her reasons go unstated, but the following morning, while the two women are swimming in the ocean, Christine gets caught in the surf and, after a struggle, succumbs under the waves.
Accidentally drowned? Murdered? Who’s to say? Bergen presents us...
Rod Moody-Corbett is the author of Hides, a novel, and of the story collection Malady Head.
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