Stay

I've been reading quite a bit lately, although I seem to have the teflon brain. Nothing much is sticking except some odd sci-fi/fantasy short stories. Like the one where a rape victim has the ability to turn her lovers into butterflies, which she then stuns with ether and mounts with pins...that one really bugged me. GET IT? hahahah. I crack myself up.

So, Stay, by Nicola Griffith. It's a neo-noir crime story (wrongly categorized as SciFi in my library), with a straightforward plot that moves quickly and smoothly. But the plot seems almost incidental to the over-powering and evocative description of grief. The main character, Aud Torvingen, and her loss are the focus of the first paragraph, the last paragraph, and nearly everything in between. The writing is succinct, yet oddly lyrical and descriptive. It is deeply moving without being preachy or overbearing.

Aud is a violent person, which puts her in a nice juxtaposition with the violence towards women that is central to the plot. It keeps this book centered on character development, not a political agenda.

Stay is about being safe. Or the realization that there is always the potential for being unsafe. While Aud tries to regain her balance after her grief by retreating from the world, she finds that she is constantly teetering on the edge of loss. It's a dangerous world and our daily tasks can be seen as leaps of faith. We usually have no choice but to assume that our loved ones will return home at the end of the work day. How can you not believe that? But sometimes the bottom drops out from under you, and the characters in this book deal with their losses in their own ways.

Stay is a sequel to "A Blue Place," which I have not read. I'm always reading books out of order. It was a surprising book. I think I may read more of her.

posted by Zippy Buggleshorts @ Friday, July 22, 2005