"I turn them by their shoulders like corkscrews and watch through my mind’s eye as their torsos twist into tight hourglasses, their organs constricting and displacing into their chests. Involuntary moans push from their lungs, and their spines pop, one after the other."
I enjoyed him making this happen to them!
I'm wondering if it was deliberate that he begins to recover his autonomy over these voices when he's out here in nature.
I also like that he seems to be calm in the face of their death threats because, it seems, he believes he can defeat them. I wonder if the threat of death triggered his fight back impulses and instead of trying to avoid their monitoring, (flight) he's switched to fighting them directly.
I'm also fascinated by how quickly he conjures explanations for their returns and for their monitoring every time!
I'm glad to hear it's cathartic for the reader too. The book is relentless, so there has to be some kind of release.
The autonomy in nature is deliberate, but mostly because it's how things unfolded. It took some time out of my "haunted" apartment to regain my agency, which included a meaningful camping trip. The observers always had a one-up in the apartment, but out in nature the playing field felt more level—no walls or corners to hide behind, and it's a happy place for Alex and me… It's just a convenient coincidence that, as Vinny Reads pointed out in his review, part of Alex's solution is to "touch grass," making it feel like a grander message about grounding oneself in nature.
And yes, he makes pretty quick excuses for their supernatural abilities! This ties into my answer to your long-ago question in the chat about coherence and Alex's shared script with the observers. I'm posting that response in the next few days.
I enjoyed this, if that's the right word for something very sensitive and difficult. I like the ambiguousness of the calm that descends at the end. The surreality of the imagery is effective, as is the blurred line between inner and external. Glad I happened upon you!
Yes, enjoyment is often overlooked! The siren call of serious writing is Seriousness, but you have to keep your eye on providing some kind of pleasure, too. Looking forward to following along with you.
"I turn them by their shoulders like corkscrews and watch through my mind’s eye as their torsos twist into tight hourglasses, their organs constricting and displacing into their chests. Involuntary moans push from their lungs, and their spines pop, one after the other."
I enjoyed him making this happen to them!
I'm wondering if it was deliberate that he begins to recover his autonomy over these voices when he's out here in nature.
I also like that he seems to be calm in the face of their death threats because, it seems, he believes he can defeat them. I wonder if the threat of death triggered his fight back impulses and instead of trying to avoid their monitoring, (flight) he's switched to fighting them directly.
I'm also fascinated by how quickly he conjures explanations for their returns and for their monitoring every time!
I'm glad to hear it's cathartic for the reader too. The book is relentless, so there has to be some kind of release.
The autonomy in nature is deliberate, but mostly because it's how things unfolded. It took some time out of my "haunted" apartment to regain my agency, which included a meaningful camping trip. The observers always had a one-up in the apartment, but out in nature the playing field felt more level—no walls or corners to hide behind, and it's a happy place for Alex and me… It's just a convenient coincidence that, as Vinny Reads pointed out in his review, part of Alex's solution is to "touch grass," making it feel like a grander message about grounding oneself in nature.
And yes, he makes pretty quick excuses for their supernatural abilities! This ties into my answer to your long-ago question in the chat about coherence and Alex's shared script with the observers. I'm posting that response in the next few days.
Maybe you weren’t intending a grand message but science does support the idea that being with nature is all round good for us!
I enjoyed this, if that's the right word for something very sensitive and difficult. I like the ambiguousness of the calm that descends at the end. The surreality of the imagery is effective, as is the blurred line between inner and external. Glad I happened upon you!
Enjoyment is important to me, I feel like it’s the key that unlocks the door for everything else this book has to convey.
These are flattering compliments, thank you so much!
I’m glad I happened upon you too, I’m excited to start reading your book!
Yes, enjoyment is often overlooked! The siren call of serious writing is Seriousness, but you have to keep your eye on providing some kind of pleasure, too. Looking forward to following along with you.