Bordertown

Abstract

Abstract of the Thesis Bordertown by Ruqqiya Lydia Greenidge Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Literature Stony Brook University 2012 This is a novel in parts with characters connected through their relationships within their strange city: Border, Connecticut. Border, located in the northwest corner of Connecticut (nestled safely in Salisbury), is unusual in several ways: the topography of the town is a hodgepodge of the topography of the entire United States, complete with a Nile-esque river, dense forests, and a perilous mountain rage. The only safe way out is a large, steel bridge. Basically, the town is thoroughly secluded and while the residents recognize that their geography is pretty much impossible, they accept, and even enjoy, the fact that their unusualness is hidden from the rest of the country. It is unclear, to the citizens at least, if the abnormal nature of the city bred the abnormal nature of the residents or if abnormal people were drawn to the city because they felt a kinship toward it. It's a story about people, relationships, and what it means to be human. It's not strictly fantasy; fantastic things just happen to ordinary people.