October 9th, 2023 - Heart

Dear TNY,

“Heart” is this Monday’s bit of words.

At first I wasn’t a fan of the dialog incorporated into the paragraphs, without quotes, with no breaks between individuals speaking.  But I got over that swiftly because it was managed in such a way I didn’t get lost.  And because I was really into the narrative.  Like, I found myself rushing through this because I wanted to see what happened with the sleeping driver and the sleeping doctor and the father whose heart refused to die and his tap tap tappy fingers and his boxing addiction.  I felt like the narrative had a push to it.  A thrust.  Actually, if I’m honest, I was immediately upset by the fact that the MC was a short story writer but the narrative was so interesting that I was swept up and forgot about the “writer” aspect. 

Why doesn’t this story feel like it means anything, though?  I plowed through it.  And I wanted something to happen.  I was even in a mental state to help make it happen on my end.  But I was left pretty disappointed by the lack of transcendence.  My guess was that I missed the parable aspect of the story.  If this is a parable, that makes me like it less.  I don’t want a lesson.  Forced instruction isn’t cool, bro. 

The other reason that compounds “getting it” could be that this is a translation from a culture I’m not steeped in.  I definitely lack the experiential folklore & context of said culture, which makes (IMHO) the most important aspect of this story (its transcendence, if it’s there) that much harder to access.  Also, I could have read it wrong.  Or, I could have read it right and it just doesn’t slap. Or it could be because it’s part of a larger work and fuck that all the way to the bank.

So, it could be a few things. Regardless, if we really think about it, one of the worst sins a story can commit is that it reads like a freight train, grabs me and everyone else, and then does not deliver at the climax nor the ending.  Maybe that’s it.  It’s the disappointment in the ending that feels so much like betrayal because the storytelling preceding it.

That’s really all I have to say about it. 

I’m in San Diego.  I am, by all measures, happy.  My kids are healthy and happy.  I have a big project coming up that’s so squarely in my wheelhouse that it’s spooky.  I have someone to do said project with.  And as she would say, something is afoot.  And she’s right guys…something is motherfucking afoot.

What more could a fella ask for?

See you next week.

Nick