The freedom to be cruel is one of journalism’s uncontested privileges, and the renderings of subjects as if they were characters in bad novels is one of its widely accepted conventions.
Jocelyn has chopped black hair that looks permanently wet, and twelve ear piercings that I gave her with a pointed earring, not using ice. She has a beautiful half-Chinese face. It makes a difference.
Rhea from Jennifer Egan’s novel A Visit From The Goon Squad
