I think many of us would find a kindred spirit in Dol McQueen. The back cover describes her as a prostitute with an addiction to opium. She sounds almost exotic and I expected to see a story outside the realm of ordinary. Instead, Dol’s story is of an ordinary human being who loves, hopes, disappoints and get disappointed. From the beginning on the story, we get the sense that Dol is desperate for recognition that she is someone, despite her seemingly jaded outlook on others. The thought that occupies Dol’s mind is always the wellbeing of her difficult mother who shares the same trade. Despite appearing to hold on to her current existence, Dol has a dream that she wishes to come true with her mother at her side. Dol struggles, alongside her addiction to opium to live her life, to keep those important to her by her side. She had to deal with the pull of the heart and mind, affection and reason, hopes and disappointment and regrets. Her story is one told with wit and brilliant play of language that conjures up vivid images and emotions. Hers is such a human experience that colours the myriad of rhymes and reasons for human choices and deeds. She might be an antihero, nevertheless she is a heroine that would hold your hand in the contemplation of the flaws and struggles that partly define our humanity. A quote from the final pages of Missy;
You always suppose you’re the heroine in the story of your life; the day you discover you’re the monster, it’s apt to come as a surprise.
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