Author Topic: PC Mini 95: The Stories She Tells Herself  (Read 3404 times)

Ocicat

  • Castle Watchcat
  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 3722
  • Anything for a Weird Life
on: February 04, 2017, 05:27:56 AM
PodCastle Miniature 95: The Stories She Tells Herself


by Kelly Sandoval

read by Jen R. Albert

First published in Daily Science Fiction.

Rated R.

He stole her skin. Yes, that’s the one. He stole her skin, so he had her heart. Or her soul. The part of her that would have fought him otherwise.

Click here to continue reading.

Kelly Sandoval's fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Uncanny, and Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. Because she hates free time, she edits the online short fiction magazine Liminal Stories with Shannon Peavey. She lives in Seattle, where the weather is always happy to make staying in and writing seem like a good idea. Her family includes a patient husband, a demanding cat, and an anarchist tortoise. You can find her online at kellysandovalfiction.com.

Listen to this week’s PodCastle!



VranaCat

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 16
Reply #1 on: February 08, 2017, 02:11:44 AM
I'm not gonna lie, this one lost me. I understand that its supposed to have a surreal dream like logic to it, but I honestly could not follow the thread from start to finish, and I'm not even sure if all the women mentioned in the story are the same one.



jenntabulous

  • Extern
  • *
  • Posts: 2
Reply #2 on: February 09, 2017, 05:47:16 PM
This one reminded me a lot of Jeannette Winterson, because it doesn't always seem to make sense and yet I love it. There's mixed metaphors all over. Is she a selkie? Is he a dragon? Or are those just the words she uses to make the story safe? If it's a fairy tale, then it's all right. But it has this beautiful poetic flow to it. Maybe it doesn't make sense in your head, but your heart feels the words. It feels less like a story and more like sculpture, one you want to look at from every angle, maybe try to run your fingers over it if there's no one around and if you aren't too afraid that the museum has alarms installed. It's captivating and enthralling, even if it doesn't quite make sense. So TL;DR: it doesn't make logical sense, and that's what makes it beautiful.



Ichneumon

  • Matross
  • ****
  • Posts: 219
Reply #3 on: February 16, 2017, 08:20:14 PM
He captured her, she was powerless. She knew he was dangerous, but he became familiar. It was her choice after all, he will make her better. She remembered what she had lost, and hurt him to take it back.
A woman lost her identity to an abusive relationship, left him, but has still not healed. That's my interpretation anyways.
This story was an interesting blurring of lines.