5/28/2007 c1 2Lucie Saint-Lazare
I took some time today and read your whole portfolio. I don't usually do that, but the first story that I read ("Wounded Pride") arrested me; I found that I could relate to it even though I typically only roll my eyes at breakup-related stories. When a writer can do that to an audience, you know that she's got talent. I can't really speak about the poetry because I tend not to "get it" but I can enjoy it anyway.
All of your short stories are good at taking a situation which is predictable and yet make us care about what happens next anyway. In this case, I knew from the start that there was more to Galvin/Nile than first met the eye and that the photographer would fall in love with him as s/he allowed to be himself but I was still drawn into the character interaction. I don't know if this is intentional, but the structure of the story seems to reflect the subject matter: like a photograph, the character of Nile isn't explained or described, he remains a surface, and it's up to us to deduce his story from what we're given. I find myself wanting to know more about him, but I know that it would ruin the story's perfection if we were told anything more concrete about his life. The last line is fantastic, perfectly suited to the character, and there's also a touch of humour (damn those people who think you have to grin like an idiot in order to make a good picture!) So, on the whole, I am really impressed! I'm going to add this one to my favourites.
Lucie
I took some time today and read your whole portfolio. I don't usually do that, but the first story that I read ("Wounded Pride") arrested me; I found that I could relate to it even though I typically only roll my eyes at breakup-related stories. When a writer can do that to an audience, you know that she's got talent. I can't really speak about the poetry because I tend not to "get it" but I can enjoy it anyway.
All of your short stories are good at taking a situation which is predictable and yet make us care about what happens next anyway. In this case, I knew from the start that there was more to Galvin/Nile than first met the eye and that the photographer would fall in love with him as s/he allowed to be himself but I was still drawn into the character interaction. I don't know if this is intentional, but the structure of the story seems to reflect the subject matter: like a photograph, the character of Nile isn't explained or described, he remains a surface, and it's up to us to deduce his story from what we're given. I find myself wanting to know more about him, but I know that it would ruin the story's perfection if we were told anything more concrete about his life. The last line is fantastic, perfectly suited to the character, and there's also a touch of humour (damn those people who think you have to grin like an idiot in order to make a good picture!) So, on the whole, I am really impressed! I'm going to add this one to my favourites.
Lucie