I really enjoyed this. And this part especially: "A voice inside her whispered: maybe things happen for a reason. People said that a lot. But she knew from experience it wasn’t quite like that. She didn’t believe in religious bullshit. Things happened; you had to make them part of your story."
I’ve been working on a different manuscript since “finishing” this one (maybe to be edited after these posts!) so I’m also like: is she harming herself with non-belief? Is she a proper philosopher or misguided? I can’t remember exactly how she sorts herself out. :)
An aching showing of motherhood in its many forms--the thoughts that creep in, the pain felt, the loneliness experienced. Both vulnerable and visceral.
Excellent continuation, giving us more insight into Ivy's journey. I liked the transition from home to the doc and back, esp the intertextual link to Macbeth: "This was the one doorman at Royal Terrace who did engage somewhat with the dwellers of his castle. He had teeth the colour of the oolong tea he drank from a large thermos all day long. His standard issue uniform hung and crumpled off of his skeletal figure. He muttered unintelligible things as she went by which she imagined he meant to be helpful."
I really love the porter in Macbeth. I guess I love all those Shakespearean minor characters - Yorrick, pirates, Romeo’s pharmacist. You know. Appreciate your appreciation of the layers.
Tom Snout is my fave, mainly because I played him on stage 😅
The Apothecary! Of course, fantastic. I mentioned Rosencrantz and Guildenstern during my lecture as an example how to tell a story from a different POV, excellent exercise for anyone to take their story and tell it from a different character's perspective. changes everything! looking forward to the next chapters, I saw we also go to Bali at some point!
I really feel for Ivy here. Georg's seeming lack of verbal communication hurts. This was a great line: "It began to fill her emptiness but made the emptiness of their communication even more tangible."
Eespecially loved the interaction and dialogue with the taxi driver. The sparse attribution works perfectly because its so clear which character is talking based on what they're talking about.
(Also, I learnt something about Macbeth and the porter. Didn't know that/hadn't paid attention in English Lit in school 😂)
Thanks Nathan! ☺️ I like to play around with using the same word again in a sentence or the one after as an intentional shifting of signification. I’m happy it had a positive effect. Does this make sense?
And yay the taxi driver. I always have a hard time with dialogue so really appreciate that!
Haha I probably would forget a lot of these Shakespearean details if I weren’t an English teacher as well. 🤓 💫
I'm struck by the gaping disconnect between Ivy and Georg, how his facile nonchalance about her miscarriage has revealed a deep dis-ease, as though a wound opened up to reveal a cancer that had gone undiagnosed. Team Ivy is angry and bereft. 🩷🧡❤️
I really enjoyed this. And this part especially: "A voice inside her whispered: maybe things happen for a reason. People said that a lot. But she knew from experience it wasn’t quite like that. She didn’t believe in religious bullshit. Things happened; you had to make them part of your story."
Thanks so much Jeffrey! Appreciate this.
I’ve been working on a different manuscript since “finishing” this one (maybe to be edited after these posts!) so I’m also like: is she harming herself with non-belief? Is she a proper philosopher or misguided? I can’t remember exactly how she sorts herself out. :)
A properly misguided philosopher?
An aching showing of motherhood in its many forms--the thoughts that creep in, the pain felt, the loneliness experienced. Both vulnerable and visceral.
Oh Nadia, this is such a beautiful comment. 💗💗 Thank you so much!
You told the experience so authentically and realistically and with so much care. I also appreciate how this can be read as a standalone.
🩵🩵
Also I did not think of it that way structurally. You give me something to think about.
I read this first (I tend to do that with games too XD), and of course will continue from the beginning, but it works as a standalone!
Nice 💥 I’ll keep that in mind when I dig into all these game recs
Excellent continuation, giving us more insight into Ivy's journey. I liked the transition from home to the doc and back, esp the intertextual link to Macbeth: "This was the one doorman at Royal Terrace who did engage somewhat with the dwellers of his castle. He had teeth the colour of the oolong tea he drank from a large thermos all day long. His standard issue uniform hung and crumpled off of his skeletal figure. He muttered unintelligible things as she went by which she imagined he meant to be helpful."
Thank you, Alexander!
I really love the porter in Macbeth. I guess I love all those Shakespearean minor characters - Yorrick, pirates, Romeo’s pharmacist. You know. Appreciate your appreciation of the layers.
Tom Snout is my fave, mainly because I played him on stage 😅
The Apothecary! Of course, fantastic. I mentioned Rosencrantz and Guildenstern during my lecture as an example how to tell a story from a different POV, excellent exercise for anyone to take their story and tell it from a different character's perspective. changes everything! looking forward to the next chapters, I saw we also go to Bali at some point!
So many layers to this, Kate! Only just caught up with reading. Such a visceral piece of writing. Thank you for sharing :)
Many thanks Kate 🤗☺️
I really feel for Ivy here. Georg's seeming lack of verbal communication hurts. This was a great line: "It began to fill her emptiness but made the emptiness of their communication even more tangible."
Eespecially loved the interaction and dialogue with the taxi driver. The sparse attribution works perfectly because its so clear which character is talking based on what they're talking about.
(Also, I learnt something about Macbeth and the porter. Didn't know that/hadn't paid attention in English Lit in school 😂)
Thanks Nathan! ☺️ I like to play around with using the same word again in a sentence or the one after as an intentional shifting of signification. I’m happy it had a positive effect. Does this make sense?
And yay the taxi driver. I always have a hard time with dialogue so really appreciate that!
Haha I probably would forget a lot of these Shakespearean details if I weren’t an English teacher as well. 🤓 💫
Totally. So good. Keep it up.
Looking forward to whatever you have in store for us this week 😃
I'm struck by the gaping disconnect between Ivy and Georg, how his facile nonchalance about her miscarriage has revealed a deep dis-ease, as though a wound opened up to reveal a cancer that had gone undiagnosed. Team Ivy is angry and bereft. 🩷🧡❤️
Like a cancer...yes I like that. Team Ivy 🙌🏽
Thanks so much, Troy 😊🩵