A review by gabalodon
Blood in the Thread by Cheri Kamei

4.0

Really sad, beautiful story that reflects the original folktales themes about true love and sacrifice. I read two layers of the folktale in this short story: the more direct reading reflected in the text where the original tale (interspersed throughout the contemporary narrative) parallels the actress's abusive relationship with her costar (in which there is no actual love and what love is professed is disingenuous) and a more indirect reading in which the crane's sacrifice out of love for the sake of her husband's happiness is reflected in how the make-up artist gives of herself to the actress to allow the actress to achieve her goals and dreams, with all of the associated pain and loss and frustration. The underlying themes aren't quite to my taste (very sad and poisonous takes on love and dreams at the expense of the self, and some of the underlying implication seems to be that the abuse victim is opting for the situation for her own self-interest, which made me uncomfortable) and the ending seems open to interpretation, but the prose is gorgeous and incredible and tactile.