Thirteen Steps in the Underworld by Su-Yee Lin
My rating: 3/5 cats
You thought it’d be easy, didn’t you?
this is a thirteen-step anecdotal progression that begins with a man entering the underworld in search of his wife, and ends with his uneasy realization. it is told in second person, though, so the realization is technically “yours.”
it is less of a story-with-structure than a collection of dream-logic imagery, as the further into the underworld he goes, the less he is able to trust his memory, the purpose of his journey, or the strange things he encounters.
You look at the list on your hand, expecting a map of some sort to appear. Instead, all you see is dirt. You can’t even remember what you wrote before. There is this hazy spot where memory was, a spot your mind shies away from. You’ve forgotten the color of her eyes.
it’s a lovely and atmospheric and haunting journey through hope and grief, but i agree with the person who left the third comment under the story on tor’s site. ending it there would probably made it more interestingly inconclusive with more possible emotional branches, particularly since the second person tense is being used. each “you” would make of it what “you” would, else why use second person at all?
but it was a gracefully-told tale, and i’m glad i am still enjoying myself on the free tor shorts path
read it for yourself here:
http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/11/th…
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