"Meeting Mother" by Ivory Fishbone
Thu, 2001-11-29 20:38
#1
"Meeting Mother" by Ivory Fishbone
I've just read and greatly enjoyed this one and decided to share my thoughts. Firstly, it's quite a long piece but doesn't seem that way when you read it. I was really carried along by the writing. The other thing that intrigued me was the sub-text (if that's the right term) of deep pessimism and even self-loathing. The woman narrator seemed hurt, cynical and manipulative, holding back her real self, expecting everything to go wrong, seeing her latest relationship as just one in a series that wasn't going to work out like all the others, viewing other people as puppets or robots that she could control, up to a point, with predictable responses that she could play on. I didn't think the central character was at all likeable, which would normally spoil a story for me, but this writer managed to create such a character without ailienating the reader. Quite an achievement, I thought.
will
yes
Liana
i think the central character is hugely likeable!
dogstar
i think the author is likeably huge
in a world of literature sense of course
but i HAVE heard she's quite tall...
martin_t
she's not that tall....
but she does overshadow with her writing
dogstar
but in a bright & brightening kind of way...
fish
oooooooooh talk about me like i'm not here!
thanks sirat for the kind comments ... and for the record i am just as tall as marty (who alleges to be 5' 10 *ironic snigger*)
i. fishbone
(pres. CAMRAW)
martin_t
* can't reach his computer to reply*
robert
i'd run a mile from the the character in Meeting Mother, but it's a terrific story
ivoryfishbone
*points out there are three characters in meeting mother*
sirat
I felt intimidated by the central character too (I am six foot one inch by the way). I identified strongly both with the mother and the son. I felt that the girlfriend had been hurt and had become cynical and hence was basically bad for people. I can only say again that I am extremely impressed at the amount of sub-text you managed to pack into so few words. And you haven't drawn out conclusions for us, different people are going to come away from that story with totally different experiences.
Gabrielle
Like Liana, (and I do like Liana)
I found the central character hugely likeable .
She was cynical but she had some good points....using leaf tea and not sleeping with men who don't read sound like excellent character traits to me ... great story.
Andrea
*wonders if it's autobiographical*
*and waits for clout over head with Fishtail*
justyn_thyme
There is something profoundly creepy about this story. I felt like I needed a nice hot shower and some strong disinfectant after reading it. This is another example of what I call the "domestic horror story." The effect can be very powerful, like Joyce's Dubliners, which I read in the mid-60s and am still afraid to read again. I had nightmares for months after reading it the first time.
*reaches for antibacterial soap for third time*
chant
i thought the central character was super-cool; clear-headed, confident, able to take control of situations, perceptive, hungry for life, world-wise.
in an age where most people seem to spend all their time tranquillised in front of the television, and the female prototype is pusillanimus, super-weak, i've got nine million inferiority complexes B. Jones, the character in Meeting Mother came through to me as a breath of fresh air. why are people so afraid of strong women?
but, as pointed out, there was horror in the story too. this came for me in the encounter between this supple, free character and the domestic chains and petty jealousies and appalling household stuff of the mother.
a real nomos vs physis encounter. well done, Fish!
justyn_thyme
*sighs*
"why are people so afraid of strong women?"
I can only speak for myself. I am not afraid of strong women. I like strong women. I detest the whinging little minniemouse bloodsucker so-called stereotype. I just don't think this character is a strong woman. She is like a nine-year old in a halloween mask saying "boo." The sad thing is, this is the kind of kabuki performance that passes for strength in the anglo-saxon world. This character is merely a newer stereotype.
The horror of this domestic piece is that we see three weak characters, none of whom is even remotely capable of finding and keeping what they want out of life, provided they even know what that is in the first place. At least the mother knows what she wants, like it or not. The other two are completely lost.
Having said all of that, I still think the piece is quite well written. I just have a different view of the content than some, it would appear.