Peggy Shinner is, in no particular order, a Chicagoan, a Jew, a black belt in karate, a sloucher, a lesbian, a baby boomer, a careful consumer of knives and bras, a one-time shoplifter (of a jar of nutmeg from her neighborhood Jewel), a possessor of two flat feet and one surgically-enhanced snub nose, longtime lover of Ann, daughter of Harriet (née Alter) and Nathan (né Shinitzky).
Her father, who thought she could do no wrong, was responsible (inadvertently) for her flat feet; her mother, her sharpest critic, was responsible (deliberately) for the nose job Shinner got for her 16th birthday. She tries to recreate her relationships with them with her accountant and with a bossy bra saleswoman, and to understand their inner lives by taking care of an ancient great aunt and by combing the archives of the murderers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. (Uncharacteristically—at least as far as Shinner understood her character—Harriet had written Leopold a letter while he was in prison; he wrote back once he got out.)
By Peggy ShinnerReading Sun 3/30, 4:30 PM Women and Children First 5233 N. Clark 773-769-9299womenandchildrenfirst.com Free
