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A review by loop
Uncanny Magazine Issue 10: May/June 2016 by Julia Rios, Michael Damian Thomas, Lynne M. Thomas, Michi Trota
5.0
*Review solely for You’ll Surely Drown Here If You Stay by Alyssa Wong.
What a beautifully written short story. I don't often read short fiction, or 2nd person narratives for that matter, but this had me completely enthralled from the first sentence: "When the desert finally lets you go, naked and stumbling, your body humming with raw power and the song of dead things coiled under your tongue, you find Marisol waiting for you at the edge of the bluffs."
The is something magical about a second person narrative, and it is used to incredible effect in this story, making you feel just as the main character feels, which is often something not well defined, and hard to completely pin-down even at the end of the story. It's like you, the reader, is trying to figure out what the hell is up with this odd power the main character has and how everything ties together.
In the end, we get a surreal adventure that serves as an allegory for loss and grief that is hard to put down. I would highly recommend this even if just for the novelty of the 2nd person narration, but you'll end up staying for Alyssa Wong's beautiful and enchanting writing style.
What a beautifully written short story. I don't often read short fiction, or 2nd person narratives for that matter, but this had me completely enthralled from the first sentence: "When the desert finally lets you go, naked and stumbling, your body humming with raw power and the song of dead things coiled under your tongue, you find Marisol waiting for you at the edge of the bluffs."
The is something magical about a second person narrative, and it is used to incredible effect in this story, making you feel just as the main character feels, which is often something not well defined, and hard to completely pin-down even at the end of the story. It's like you, the reader, is trying to figure out what the hell is up with this odd power the main character has and how everything ties together.
In the end, we get a surreal adventure that serves as an allegory for loss and grief that is hard to put down. I would highly recommend this even if just for the novelty of the 2nd person narration, but you'll end up staying for Alyssa Wong's beautiful and enchanting writing style.