The Office of Historical Corrections

Rena is the protagonist of “Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain.” She is a photographer who travels around the world, often to dangerous places. She met JT on one such trip to Ghana. After her sister, Elizabeth, is shot by her husband, Rena copes with her grief by seducing married men and having dangerous sexual encounters. This lets her feel a degree of power over her own life and over men, as she acknowledges that danger exists everywhere, even in a trusted husband.

Rena changes over the course of the story. By the time the story begins, Rena acknowledges that she feels herself softening and does not find as much pleasure or catharsis in her sexual conquests anymore. At the same time, she doesn’t believe men are capable of nurturing her “kitten heart” and only view her as a sexual object. Instead, she comes to find companionship in Dori, even though they don’t like each other and Dori mistrusts her at the start. After the two bond by sharing more about their pasts and inventing a band, Rena tells Dori the truth about JT running away and apologizes for taking her on a wild goose chase to Ohio. As a result, she is finally able to confront her memories of Elizabeth and the fact that she misses the joy they felt together in their childhood. By confronting these feelings, Rena takes the first steps toward dealing with her grief and repairing her life.

Claire is the 18-year-old protagonist of “Boys Go to Jupiter.” A college student, Claire goes viral when a photo of her posing in a Confederate flag swimsuit is posted online. Claire doesn’t believe she is a political person and resents being targeted for the photo, so she doubles down, posting more images of the Confederate flag, harassing her floormates, and making allies with people who are outwardly racist (or at least pro-Confederacy). The stakes escalate ever higher as Claire digs in her heels, becoming more outspoken in her defense of the flag rather than listening to her peers’ or school’s attempts to discuss her behavior. Danielle Evans reveals Claire’s deep grief over her mother’s death as a factor in her erratic behavior while acknowledging how her status as a white woman shields her from consequences for her actions.

Claire is an example of how racist social structures permeate society and work to protect white people, even if that person is unconscious of them. There is a gulf between Claire’s experience and Aaron’s; while she is constantly protected, Aaron is killed because some white men believe that he is a danger to Claire. While Claire is the only person who can clear the record, she eventually stops trying because the powers that be—the police, the media, and her community—don’t care to listen to her. Similar to the college libertarians using Claire’s story to spread hatred, Aaron’s death and its aftermath illustrate how white supremacists instrumentalize white femininity to discriminate against people of color, particularly Black men, without actually listening to them or taking them seriously.

Vera is the protagonist of the story “Anything Could Disappear.” After graduating high school and living in poverty in Chicago, she worked in a record store where drugs were sold. When given the opportunity to transport drugs to New York City in exchange for $10,000, she leaps at the chance to start her life over. Similar to other characters in the collection, Vera’s actions are morally ambiguous. When William is left with her on the bus, she does not go to the police, because she is carrying drugs and needs to protect herself. Although she initially tries to find William’s family, she quickly stops and instead decides to build a life with him. She does a good job caring for him, but this life is unsustainable, and she is ultimately presented with a choice: run away with Derek, change her identity, and create the same sort of life for William that she tried escaping, or confront the reality of her situation. Her choice to find William’s father and reunite their family represents her breaking patterns of generational trauma as she does the right thing for William and gives him a fresh start, even if she can’t have one herself.