Pseudopod 240: Songs For Dead Hearts

[Bdoomed]

Pseudopod 240: Songs For Dead Hearts

By Mandana Faridani

Read by Rajan Khanna

” “What do you want him for?”

“Um…” Mr. Amoon recovered himself and cleared his throat. “My wife would like to have a word with him.”

“You cannot ask him about the other world.”

“I know.” Said the wife in a trembling voice. “I only need to talk to him.”

“And he has to go back, I might add.”

“I know. I know.” Said the weeping Mrs. Amoon. “Do it. I beg you.”

The young man looked at Salem’s body again.

“Of course I need not tell you that he will be in the physical condition in which he spent the last hours of his existence. And judging by the way he looks, I dare say, it is not going to be a pleasant one.”

The Amoons only nodded at him eagerly. The young man sighed.

“Very well then,” He said. “Bring me water.” And then, as if he’d just remembered an unpleasant matter, the corners of his lips twitched downward. “And close the door for heaven’s sake.””



Listen to this week's Pseudopod.

[Unblinking]

I generally liked this one, good for promoting discussion of grief, particularly:
1.  How it is considered taboo to speak ill of the dead, even if you never liked them.
2.  How I found it entirely too believable that family members would give their deceased family a torturous resurrection only to assuage their own guilt.
Good stuff, and a good story to illustrate that.

I wish it hadn't been so distant, though.  In particular, having a POV character referred to as only "the boy".  What's the point of being so vague?  Why not just give him a name?

[ElectricPaladin]

My grandfather died suddenly two weeks ago. After some reflection, I was forced to admit that my desire to have some warning so I could see how one last time and say goodbye was entirely selfish. My grandfather had been blessed with a truly gentle death - if such a thing exists at all. He felt ill while driving home from the volunteer job he loved (working on the Intrepid with his fellow WWII vets), pulled over, and succumbed. He was able to do what he loved until the very last hour of his life and never had to experience any serious pain or debilitating illness. What's that compared to my feeling sad that I didn't get to have a last conversation?

This story reminded me of this. I like to think that I'd have the fortitude to refrain from tormenting my grandfather for my own sake, but I see how it could be a serious temptation.

Songs for Dead Hearts also spoke to me of how badly we deal with death in America, in general. We don't acknowledge it as a part of life, but struggle against it eternally, even to our own detriment. While I sympathize with the desire to live forever, I think that a lot of pain can be avoided by accepting that we don't (yet ).

I also enjoyed the themes of the narrator's mysterious past. How did he come by this gift? What were the circumstances surrounding his exile? I'm glad that the story didn't answer these questions - they're the spice that makes it that much more interesting.

[yaksox]

I hope it doesn't sound derisive but I appreciated the unambitiousness of this story. There wasn't too much being stuffed into it, ponderous twist at the end or thundering crescendo. I'd been reading one or two of the more obscure grimm fairytales just before hearing this podcast -- very similar feel. Especially the ending; plink, done.
Almost asymmetrical too in that it only had two resurrection events rather than three.

[Sgarre1]

Not derisive at all - I appreciate the fact that you found that aspect rewarding (I too liked the "punch the timecard and get out" ending).  I am trying to choose a wide variety of styles and approaches to horror and sometimes that makes me worry that a particular choice is out on a limb relative to the taste of listeners.  But there are so many ways to write short fiction (and short horror fiction) that don't really synch with the standard writing class "stories must have" rules... ("characters must develop", "main character must drive action", "there must be some larger theme or point or subtext", etc.) -for example, in horror especially there's enormous friction with the "main character drives narrative" supposed "rule", as so much horror is about losing or ceding control, and impotence in the face of unknown forces, so that a lot of horror becomes a game being played between the author and reader as to how much the main character is actually driving the narrative and how much they are being driven by events.

I always remember my writing teacher, Pulitzer Prize winning poet Stephen Dunn, making the point that "there are elements that all successful short fiction should have... unless you happen to write a successful short story that doesn't have those elements" - this rather flexible approach to critical standards has guided a lot of my reading in life, and opened up the ability to appreciate varied styles (especially a lot of foreign and more literary approaches).  The folktale approach of this tale, contrasted with the an unflinching, realistic portrayal of base, human motivations and conflicts, really impressed me and I think Ms. Faridani did a fine job with it and I was proud to be able to publish it.

“I think it is vanity to want to put into a story anything but the story itself.”
Jose Cortazar, “On the Short Story and Its Environs”, AROUND THE DAY IN EIGHTY WORLDS

[hyacinthgirl]

I'm surprised this story hasn't gotten more comments - this was one I very very much enjoyed. Usually I'll listen to a story, have my opinion, but then only think about it again at most once, but Songs for Dead Hearts stuck with me for some reason. The selfishness we have when it comes to how we deal with others was deeply apparent - the family willing to cause their son enormous pain just to alleviate their own guilt (which sounds so very absurd when written out, but rang disturbingly true), and the husband's lies to his wife which he claimed were to save her pain, but in reality were all about him saving face.

I feel that, for me, horror is successful when it deals with an element of ourselves that we would, in an ideal world, be able to defeat and makes that element manifest as a monster or a spell or a demon or a natural disaster, etc etc., and for me Songs for Dead Hearts succeeded with that element. And I enjoyed the prose, too.

I've been listening to all three 'pods for a few years, and have found that when I really like the story at Pseudopod, I really like the story, and as someone who does not generally enjoy horror (in film at least), that has been an interesting realization.

[Mandana]

Thank you all for your kind Comments, actually you pointed out every thing that was somehow important to me (considering how i developed my  style)
I would love to have some negative comments as well (not that i'm complaining) but i just want to fix the issues.
Regards

[Alasdair5000]

Hi Mandana:)

Thanks for stepping onto the forum. It was an honor presenting your story:)

[Unblinking]

I would love to have some negative comments as well (not that i'm complaining) but i just want to fix the issues.

My fellow forumites and I tend not to be shy about negative comments either.  If I don't mention them, then there just wasn't anything that bothered me. 

[Mandana]

My fellow forumites and I tend not to be shy about negative comments either.  If I don't mention them, then there just wasn't anything that bothered me. 

Yes Dearest Unblinking, I can get the hint!!!
Well, about the young man's not having a name, I must confess, I really tried different Persian names, neither of which suited him in any way. In my mind, he was nameless. faceless as well. I am truly sorry this made you disconnect from the story and the POV.
the amazing thing about you forumites' comments is that you pointed out the one very thing I didn't expect you to!
a few magazines rejected my story for this very reason, they all said: "very beautiful but does not have a resolution."
well, I can underestand why some might not like a story without a resolution, but certainly expected some negative feedbacks about the ending in this forum

and finaly, my dear Alasdair, the honor is all mine

[Unblinking]

Well, about the young man's not having a name, I must confess, I really tried different Persian names, neither of which suited him in any way. In my mind, he was nameless. faceless as well. I am truly sorry this made you disconnect from the story and the POV.

No worries.  A nameless protagonist is a valid choice, I just personally prefer names.  Your audience is wider than just me, after all. 

And thanks for stopping by!  I like when author's stop by to comment. 

[kibitzer]

I loved this story. It had the feeling of a fable or perhaps a dream. And the device of bringing people back was very good -- no chemicals or high-tech or even overt magic. Wonderful. I really felt for the young man; the story made it clear how utterly alone he was, simply because of a strange talent. Wonderful.

[childoftyranny]

I loved this story. It had the feeling of a fable or perhaps a dream. And the device of bringing people back was very good -- no chemicals or high-tech or even overt magic. Wonderful. I really felt for the young man; the story made it clear how utterly alone he was, simply because of a strange talent. Wonderful.

Thinking specifically on the, lets say elegant, method of raising the dead I suspect that what our protagonist needs is a bit of theater. I'm afraid it would be totally out of his character to do so but what would make this situation a bit more controllable would be having the people in the right sort of setting and right sort of mood but that is something that both takes crafting and needs to be started off early otherwise people will ask the obvious question of "why now?".

Hmm, in a way that makes a seance and other sorts of activities like them feel a bit more creepy when you begin to think that making a real rather terrifying act seem more theatrical could actually make it more controllable and more real by giving people a frame to grab a hold of and work within. And if that's true how do we know where the theatrics leave off and the real horror begins?

Aside: I love my iMac keyboard, but the lack of an end key is rather frustrating, ah well!
 

[Listener]

I thought the story was reasonably well-written, although I felt a bit confused by the return of the dog at the end. When the dog first appears, I'm like, okay, this is a cool metaphor and insight into the character... but at the end I'm not quite sure what the point was. Also, when the MC says to the dead Amoon boy "who has been playing checkers with you for the past ten years?", I expected a bit more of a payoff.

Likewise, I was confused for a moment when Behrooz just showed up, out of the blue, and just so happened to be the MC's best friend, and just so happens to have been out of his life for ten years, and just so happens to have a dead person that needs revival.

So, basically, too many threads left dangling that I just wanted to pull at until something unraveled.

[eytanz]

I listened to this story after returning from the memorial service of a childhood friend who died of a brain tumor (diagnosed less than a year ago) last month. This isn't someone I kept in touch with, but my parents are friends with his parents, and since I'm visiting my parents now I thought I'd go and give my condolences. Being there, seeing the friends and family come together in pain and anguish, musing at someone just a few months older than me, who I mostly remember as a ten year old, and who has now died - not suddenly in violence or an accident but a slow, painful death - has served as an interesting contrast to the cynical treatment of bereavement in this story. This is not a criticism of the story - which I felt was excellent - but I think that among the people I witnessed this afternoon there were many who would have happily taken some of my old friend's pain onto themselves to save him his suffering, rather than make him endure a second more of it to alleviate theirs.

I thought the story was reasonably well-written, although I felt a bit confused by the return of the dog at the end. When the dog first appears, I'm like, okay, this is a cool metaphor and insight into the character... but at the end I'm not quite sure what the point was. Also, when the MC says to the dead Amoon boy "who has been playing checkers with you for the past ten years?", I expected a bit more of a payoff.

I thought it was a different dog, but I may be wrong. I think the dog(s) were there to demonstrate the young man's state of mind - in the beginning, he felt good and was generous. At the end, he was feeling rather bad about himself, and not inclined to be generous.

The line about the checkers introduced a small amount of the backstory, where it became clear that there was some rift between the young man and society ten years prior. He was not always a pariah, but something happened that made him that way. We never fully learn what, though obviously it has something to do both with his abilities and with Behrooz and his wife.

Likewise, I was confused for a moment when Behrooz just showed up, out of the blue, and just so happened to be the MC's best friend, and just so happens to have been out of his life for ten years, and just so happens to have a dead person that needs revival.

Well, the timing of the two deaths is a bit of a coincidence, but I think Behrooz must have heard about the Amoon death and the young man's presence there, so he went seeking him (otherwise, presumably he or a servent would have gone to the young man's home). I don't think it was a chance encounter, nor do I think it was presented as such.

[Kaa]

I think for me, the story was an overall success. I liked the dog, for instance. The first dog (was it the same one?) was hungry, and although he was, too, he had two loaves, so he gave the one he was about to eat to the starving animal. It showed a generosity and a selflessness that one expects from a Buddha or Christ figure (he resurrects the dead, after all). Then at the end, he's more selfish and keeps the bread even though the animal is starving. A much more human reaction.

Why? Because he's just had to resurrect a dead newborn baby to lie to its mother--his former love interest--at the behest of the man who used to be his best friend. I'd probably be feeling a little less than generous at the point, myself. I don't remember the exact details because I listened to this one a few days ago, but...did he tell his former friend about the problem with the hearts exploding, or did he let it come as a surprise? A vindictive person would have just let the 'friend' find out the hard way.

I didn't mind him not having a name. I figured perhaps someone in his "profession" doesn't need--or perhaps 'deserve' one, according to his society--and takes on the name of his profession, instead. Not, "Go and fetch Kevin," but "Go and fetch the Resurrectionist."

Or it could be that old thing about not speaking ill of the dead or inviting evil in. If he doesn't HAVE a name, no one can attract his attention by speaking it.

I enjoyed the story. The violin music being exactly the same but evoking each person for whom it was used was a very nice touch.

[Mandana]

Thank you all
and thanks for loving the dogs! they were different dogs by the way

[Fenrix]

I think for me, the story was an overall success. I liked the dog, for instance. The first dog (was it the same one?) was hungry, and although he was, too, he had two loaves, so he gave the one he was about to eat to the starving animal. It showed a generosity and a selflessness that one expects from a Buddha or Christ figure (he resurrects the dead, after all). Then at the end, he's more selfish and keeps the bread even though the animal is starving. A much more human reaction.

I believe the first dog was black and the second was white. A nice sharp contrast to the protagonist's mood, as well.

This was a good story, but what Mandana said earlier about prior reactions was similar to mine: "very beautiful but does not have a resolution." Were there thoughts about adding a resolution? What made you stick with the ending as written?

[kibitzer]

I think for me, the story was an overall success. I liked the dog, for instance. The first dog (was it the same one?) was hungry, and although he was, too, he had two loaves, so he gave the one he was about to eat to the starving animal. It showed a generosity and a selflessness that one expects from a Buddha or Christ figure (he resurrects the dead, after all). Then at the end, he's more selfish and keeps the bread even though the animal is starving. A much more human reaction.

I believe the first dog was black and the second was white. A nice sharp contrast to the protagonist's mood, as well.

This was a good story, but what Mandana said earlier about prior reactions was similar to mine: "very beautiful but does not have a resolution." Were there thoughts about adding a resolution? What made you stick with the ending as written?

Obviously I'm not Mandala (I mean, look at my pic compared with hers) but I feel like turning that around -- what "resolution" would have capped it off for you? I ask because I think the ending was on a note well consistent with the rest of the story.

[Fenrix]

The ending is very hollow. I can see this experience pushing the protagonist further into bitter hermitage.

Maybe some bit of revenge for being betrayed by his friend yet again? It doesn't have to be full and complete revenge, just something subtle. Then again, he accepts the work and lies to his love of his own free will. And can we assume that the initial betrayal was only the friend's? Maybe his friend and his love married without trickery in order to save her from a life of exile and destitution by being connected to the resurrectionist.

Really good question. I will tumble it around on the next listen.

[Mandana]

The ending is very hollow. I can see this experience pushing the protagonist further into bitter hermitage.

Maybe some bit of revenge for being betrayed by his friend yet again? It doesn't have to be full and complete revenge, just something subtle. Then again, he accepts the work and lies to his love of his own free will. And can we assume that the initial betrayal was only the friend's? Maybe his friend and his love married without trickery in order to save her from a life of exile and destitution by being connected to the resurrectionist.

Really good question. I will tumble it around on the next listen.

well, I don't know if i would ever write such story. I like them vague and unexplained. It is, of course, my personal opinion. I think If i were to explain all the above mentioned things, it would have turned into a Mexican soap opera! needless to say, I  myself do not know the answer to many of your questions. and as far as I know, his characteristics do not include vendetta.

I guess he's not a typical hero after all.

[justenjoying]

Another way to rise th dead if only for a few moments. I really loved the way the music was always the same, yet somehow personal to the individual. As well as the truly selfishness seems so selfless when seen through greiving eyes. As within this story the line between life and death is fuzzy, so is the line between "good" and "evil" hearts.