Nina McConigley’s ‘How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder’: Exploring race and eighties girlhood in the American West

In this episode of *The Write Question*, host Lauren Korn engages in a rich, introspective conversation with author Nina McConigley about her novel *How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder*. The novel follows 12-year-old Georgie and her sister Agatha Krishna, Indian American girls living in rural Wyoming in 1986, as they grapple with the legacy of colonialism, racial identity, and familial trauma. Through a haunting first-person narrative, Georgie recounts the decision to murder her uncle—a decision rooted in a complex web of historical and personal violence, including sexual abuse and systemic marginalization. McConigley explores how colonialism, both imperial and domestic, fractures identity, relationships, and history, using the recurring motif of 'splitting' to reflect the psychological and cultural ruptures experienced by the characters. The conversation delves into the craft of voice, the deliberate use of repetition and nostalgic pop culture references, and the inclusion of quizzes reminiscent of 1980s teen magazines as tools of instruction and resistance. McConigley emphasizes the importance of agency and the rejection of shame in her characters, framing their actions not as moral absolutes but as responses to intergenerational trauma. The episode concludes with a powerful reflection on the wildness of girlhood and the need to protect it from societal taming. Key takeaways include: 1) Colonial violence is not just historical but lived, shaping identity and behavior in intimate, everyday ways; 2) Trauma often requires psychological splitting—disassociation—as a survival mechanism; 3) Nostalgia and joy in childhood can coexist with deep trauma, serving as both relief and resistance; 4) Language, repetition, and ritual (like quizzes and chants) function as tools of comfort and empowerment; 5) Agency in storytelling—especially for marginalized voices—must be centered over shame; 6) The novel’s structure, with its prologue revealing the murder upfront, shifts focus from 'who did it' to 'why it happened' and 'how it was justified'; 7) The poem epigraph underscores the wild, un-tamed essence of girlhood that society seeks to suppress; 8) Writing can be a form of reclamation—of memory, language, and self.