Her Body and Other Parties

The protagonist takes stock of her sexual encounters before and after the outbreak of a deadly virus that threatens to wipe out the human race. Through a series of homosexual and heterosexual encounters, she chronicles the development of the disease. Within this running inventory of lovers, the protagonist makes other lists of more mundane things, such as every house she ever lived in. The reader learns that the disease is spread through human contact. As one of the protagonist’s lovers bemoans before rolling over and falling asleep, “If people would just stay apart” (38). Through these encounters, the reader witnesses the people around the protagonist reach a fever pitch of desperation. As the story continues, the protagonist becomes increasingly isolated, first moving to remote parts of the country and finally finding herself completely alone on an island.