critical response #9

I liked “Phone Tag” that Max wrote. I really liked the style in which part of the story was written. It was clever to tell a good chunk of the story through a character checking his voicemail messages after work and waiting for the elevator. I thought the character development of Chuck could have been better and the plot explained better. From the first part of the story I thought that Chuck was a quiet and passive guy who then later ends up playing an elaborate prank on the narrator. It seemed out of character but maybe if later on Chuck’s different personalities are discussed it could make the prank and his actions before that seem more realistic. The plot seemed to jump from one scenario about a peaceful man at work to that of a man who carries a gun and empties his briefcase so as not to be identified if his body is found at the scene before jumping into a taxi to go kill the man that he believes has kidnapped his family. This explaining would make the story a lot stronger. But I like the voice the narrator has throughout the story. It was fun to read and it kept me on my toes.