The sense of something unsettling and foreboding and not quite as it seems bubbles throughout this. I love it, Kate.
Also: "Anyway, this is normal here." about drinks being spiked... 😮😮
The casual aside in which this is delivered makes it quite the terrifying fact.
Some wonderful lines and evocative thoughts throughout. Especially liked this:
"I felt like I was in a painting by Seurat: none of the people in front of me seemed real. Everything before me slightly broke apart as if pixilated. Was it a utopia or an uncanny parallel universe?" 👌
"Anytime somebody cooked or allowed the light to heat up their flat, the heat eventually made its way up to me. And the heavy roof kept it from releasing into the sky. I was being cooked, as if I were in Dante’s Inferno." I love the way the mounting temperature matches the mounting tension, while the nod towards Dante adds a moral dimension. Wonderful.
I must admit I’m still looking for the right time to read Dante in entirety. At one point I was waiting until my Italian was good enough; now I think I will have to just go for the English!
That heatwave... Hundstage (also a feature film) brilliantly captured, Kate. We didn't have AC, either. Fun times at 45 degrees, when your ID card melts on the window sill. 😅
"I opted for an ice cream instead, only because it was a shorter line." I love these little things, conveying Marie's pragmatism, woven seamlessly into the story.
Although, if I were her, I'd be furious about the spiked drink! 45 degrees furious. And those two pbag holders... up to no good I suspect!
BTW: My flat was in the first district on Getreidemarkt right next to MUQO.
This combination of casual on the edge of creepiness, the gay couple who are so trustworthy, harmless, protective, as Marie and the reader are reassured, while popping up on the scene in unexpected, unsettling moments... as stalkers? Uncanny characters... along with the normality of drinks being spiked and graves being dug... all normal in Vienna, set in the pixelated painting, languid and quietly alarming at the same time.
Hey, this is all so unsettling. The weeds (I have a real problem with swimming in still water, rather than the sea…precisely because I always feel I might drown; and look what happened…), the normalisation of the spiked drink. But, above all, her feelings of isolation and hostility (the awful woman in the grocery store…Fred and Roger) and the quality of her outsider-ness in the midst of all the Viennese gemütlichkeit (and just how Viennese is all that country idyll actually still in Vienna. I absolutely know this and its grim self satisfaction and lack of horizon from being there on a visit).
I really liked the language:
‘From a birds-eye view, one would have seen groups of people approach me, surround me, and then pinch in on the other side in the shape of an eye or a vagina in a constant flow of people moving to activities or snacks.’
might take the honours for building the atmosphere…
I'm quite in agreement with Alexander: Fred and Roger (why do I want to keep calling Roger "Ginger"? ;) are up to no good, I won't be surprised to find out they are *gasp* not even gay! I feel like I need to check my clothes and bag for a bug, or my phone for malware, after reading about that...
Beautiful episode, Kathleen. I love how the city is a character in your story, you captured the spirit of Vienna and the Viennese so well. Summer's used to be cooler here, only a couple of weeks with hot weather. Today it's the 4th of September and the fan has been running the whole day. It's so hot!
The sense of something unsettling and foreboding and not quite as it seems bubbles throughout this. I love it, Kate.
Also: "Anyway, this is normal here." about drinks being spiked... 😮😮
The casual aside in which this is delivered makes it quite the terrifying fact.
Some wonderful lines and evocative thoughts throughout. Especially liked this:
"I felt like I was in a painting by Seurat: none of the people in front of me seemed real. Everything before me slightly broke apart as if pixilated. Was it a utopia or an uncanny parallel universe?" 👌
Thanks for this wonderful comment, Nathan. 💙
Happy you picked out that line! I'm always trying to play with visual art in my writing to various degrees of success. :)
Seconded. I had the same reaction about the drinks.
No biggie, right? ;-)
It seems drink spiking (K.O. drops) has increased in recent years. Vienna ran an awareness campaign in 2021/22. (https://www.wien.gv.at/menschen/frauen/stichwort/gewalt/kampagnen/ko-tropfen/index.html) and the Guardian says Drink-spiking is at 'epidemic' levels in UK.
It really did happen a lot while I lived there. (2016-2020)
Quite scary when outside of a fiction.
Yes, shocking. Der Kurier wrote in 2022 that in the last two years (2020-22), the cases tripled in Vienna and that's just the known cases.
Scary inside fiction as well for Marie!
Same. Could not believe the offhanded comment.
"Anytime somebody cooked or allowed the light to heat up their flat, the heat eventually made its way up to me. And the heavy roof kept it from releasing into the sky. I was being cooked, as if I were in Dante’s Inferno." I love the way the mounting temperature matches the mounting tension, while the nod towards Dante adds a moral dimension. Wonderful.
Thank you Jeffrey!
I must admit I’m still looking for the right time to read Dante in entirety. At one point I was waiting until my Italian was good enough; now I think I will have to just go for the English!
I have a bilingual edition which allows me to dip into the Italian at times.
Now that’s a great idea.
I’m hooked! 💛
Thanks Leila! 💙
That heatwave... Hundstage (also a feature film) brilliantly captured, Kate. We didn't have AC, either. Fun times at 45 degrees, when your ID card melts on the window sill. 😅
"I opted for an ice cream instead, only because it was a shorter line." I love these little things, conveying Marie's pragmatism, woven seamlessly into the story.
Although, if I were her, I'd be furious about the spiked drink! 45 degrees furious. And those two pbag holders... up to no good I suspect!
BTW: My flat was in the first district on Getreidemarkt right next to MUQO.
I do not know this film! Looks interesting.
Thank you! Incredible the way the heat can mess with you. They say there is a lot more violence on hot days. Me, I just melt and can't do much.
Thanks for picking out those details. Happy they are adding some depth!
That's a great spot for a flat, Alexander!
Yeah, was a great location. And Hundstage is an Austrian cult classic.
The incident in the grocery store stood out to me. Consistent with the theme of foreboding, feeling unsettled.
"A woman came over to me and aggressively closed the door in my face, saying something I didn’t understand with a vicious whip."
Thank you, David!
I'm happy you liked that moment/line. I was playing around with using the 'everyday' to capture the feelings of being an outsider.
You're flying with this one. Great piece that catches you from the start.
Thank you, Jon! That's great feedback.
This combination of casual on the edge of creepiness, the gay couple who are so trustworthy, harmless, protective, as Marie and the reader are reassured, while popping up on the scene in unexpected, unsettling moments... as stalkers? Uncanny characters... along with the normality of drinks being spiked and graves being dug... all normal in Vienna, set in the pixelated painting, languid and quietly alarming at the same time.
Can't wait to read what happens next!
So happy you find this uncanny! It shall be the topic of one of the summer podcasts.
Many thanks for the kind comment and for reading, Veronika!
Hey, this is all so unsettling. The weeds (I have a real problem with swimming in still water, rather than the sea…precisely because I always feel I might drown; and look what happened…), the normalisation of the spiked drink. But, above all, her feelings of isolation and hostility (the awful woman in the grocery store…Fred and Roger) and the quality of her outsider-ness in the midst of all the Viennese gemütlichkeit (and just how Viennese is all that country idyll actually still in Vienna. I absolutely know this and its grim self satisfaction and lack of horizon from being there on a visit).
I really liked the language:
‘From a birds-eye view, one would have seen groups of people approach me, surround me, and then pinch in on the other side in the shape of an eye or a vagina in a constant flow of people moving to activities or snacks.’
might take the honours for building the atmosphere…
Thanks so much, Nicolas!
Yes, the weeds in the Danube are really gross and your imagination can go wild with them.
Thanks for picking out that line and your feedback about the atmosphere. Really appreciate it!
I'm quite in agreement with Alexander: Fred and Roger (why do I want to keep calling Roger "Ginger"? ;) are up to no good, I won't be surprised to find out they are *gasp* not even gay! I feel like I need to check my clothes and bag for a bug, or my phone for malware, after reading about that...
Haha! One could do a lot with the names Fred and Roger…
I must stay mum. Thanks for reading, Troy!
This is captivating!
Thanks so much, Corie!
Beautiful episode, Kathleen. I love how the city is a character in your story, you captured the spirit of Vienna and the Viennese so well. Summer's used to be cooler here, only a couple of weeks with hot weather. Today it's the 4th of September and the fan has been running the whole day. It's so hot!
Love how the atmosphere of this story is laced throughout with danger, even while everything appears so manicured and beautiful and respectable.