I found it delightful. It reminded me of the movie "Idiocracy" -- there's a disconnect that becomes the focus of some of the very wry wit here: if nobody is smart enough to get the answer, then who was smart enough to ask the question?
I liked the structure of it, too: the four houses, with something going on in each one, all explaining the unexplainable.
Very little of it made sense, but didn't need to; it was just very funny. Maybe like Zen koan humor, I'm not sure. Off-center, for certain. Not the kind of thing to laugh out loud at; more like quietly grin.
I'd be more than happy to see other work from this author.
Upside-down by Emma Horn
- Lester Curtis
- Long Fiction Editor
- Posts: 2736
- Joined: January 11, 2010, 12:03:56 AM
- Location: by the time you read this, I'll be somewhere else
- Lester Curtis
- Long Fiction Editor
- Posts: 2736
- Joined: January 11, 2010, 12:03:56 AM
- Location: by the time you read this, I'll be somewhere else
As to the age of the author, by the way, I have no problem believing her to be as presented.
Everyone commenting on this so far has looked at what is in the story: good vocabulary, sentence structure, a lot of trivia knowledge, etc. . . . a certain level of mechanical skill. I had most of that when I was fifteen; especially the vocabulary.
What I see (besides the obvious above) is what is not in the story: a deep, complex level of emotional content which would indicate a writer with experience in the world. There is no real conflict-resolution here.
My guess is that this girl has not had her heart broken yet; she hasn't faced the kind of coming-of-age experiences that cause one to ask the hard questions about life. I don't think that one who writes this well would exclude such matter from her work.
I only hope that, when such things do happen to her, that they sharpen her as a writer, instead of breaking her. But, I'm thinking they will.
Everyone commenting on this so far has looked at what is in the story: good vocabulary, sentence structure, a lot of trivia knowledge, etc. . . . a certain level of mechanical skill. I had most of that when I was fifteen; especially the vocabulary.
What I see (besides the obvious above) is what is not in the story: a deep, complex level of emotional content which would indicate a writer with experience in the world. There is no real conflict-resolution here.
My guess is that this girl has not had her heart broken yet; she hasn't faced the kind of coming-of-age experiences that cause one to ask the hard questions about life. I don't think that one who writes this well would exclude such matter from her work.
I only hope that, when such things do happen to her, that they sharpen her as a writer, instead of breaking her. But, I'm thinking they will.
I was raised by humans. What's your excuse?
- Lester Curtis
- Long Fiction Editor
- Posts: 2736
- Joined: January 11, 2010, 12:03:56 AM
- Location: by the time you read this, I'll be somewhere else