PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me defined my college years—the
songs soaked themselves into my existence, soundtracking hours and days
of my collegiate life. Apparently I wasn’t the only one: Kate Schatz’s
newest entry into the 33 1/3 series of books about seminal albums is
based on Harvey’s 1993 record. But unlike the series’ other volumes,
Schatz’s book is a work of fiction, not a history of the album’s making
or an essay of how it affected her life. As she says, “It’s not about
Rid of Me, it’s because of it.”
With each of the 14 chapters echoing the album’s 14 songs, the story
unfolds based on the mood, the characters, and the lyrics of Rid of
Me. And the result is like being stuck inside some fangirl’s head
as she obsessively listens to her favorite songs over and
over—and I mean this in the best possible way.
The story unfolds as two mentally disturbed women, Kathleen and
Mary, coincidentally run away from their homes on the same day. Meeting
for the first time outside a ramshackle bar in the woods, they flee
into the forest and away from the myriad problems they faced at home.
The story is dark, twisted, and damn fun to read, mixing S&M,
tender words, and spooky set pieces as Kathleen and Mary find a new
home with each other at a dilapidated hunting lodge.
What makes this one of the most successfully written pieces in 33
1/3’s stable is that it is obviously very personal to Schatz. While my
imaginings about Harvey’s album differ wildly from Schatz’s, this is
absolutely what makes the work fascinating. I found myself listening to
each song before and after each respective chapter—absorbing
Harvey’s phrases and moods to see how Schatz incorporated them into her
story. And as “50ft Queenie” blared in my headphones, I read about Mary
yelling out into the night from the roof of the isolated cabin, “You
think you can scare us? Lay it all on me, it’s mine!” Not
exactly what I imagine when listening to that song, but a perfect
complement.
As for the most obvious question: Are non-PJ Harvey fans going to be
interested in this piece of fiction? Probably not—but that just
begs the question, “Why the fuck aren’t you a PJ Harvey fan?”