Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Genre:
Contemporary Fiction/ Short Story
Approximate
word count: 5-6,000 words
Availability
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Author:
“Ida Tornovski was born into a politically divided Europe.
Writing only in English now, she spends her time between the 'Old Country' and
the United States.”
Description:
“In her short fantasy Inter-Galactica,
An Otherworldly Brief Romance, Ida Tornovski shares one woman's encounter
with an interstellar man, who may or may not be the man of her dreams.”
Appraisal:
This is a strange little story set in present-day Boston. It is told
through first person point-of-view by the main character who is self described
as “a spinster lady.” During lunch one day in the park a man sits on the bench
beside her and introduces himself as Heaven. He is a chameleon of sorts, somehow
able to change his appearance at will, and they become friends. The story is
told with a dry wit. I had a problem suspending my disbelief with the ease our
main character did about him being from another planet. It is unclear whether
she is daydreaming about their time together and shaping him into who and what
she desires. To play Devil’s advocate, perhaps he is a predator filling her
full of lies to get what he desires and then leaves her to pick up the pieces
of her shattered life. Or perhaps Heaven is an alien and our world is doomed
and he will return to her for their happily ever after. She seemed resolved and
content with this end.
Some may call this a romance, while others may call this a personal
descent into madness. It is a thought-provoking story that takes on its own
chameleon-like qualities and may be seen through different perspectives to have
a different meaning altogether. Personally, I chose to interpret this as a
character study because love can drive people crazy. I wouldn't be surprised to
see this short story with a wide range of ratings. We all bring our own
experiences into any story and I may have revealed more about myself in this
review than I did about the story itself. ~sigh~
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues
Rating:
**** Four stars
2 comments:
Out of (wishful) habit, I perused what "The Pals" were up to. Imagine my surprise when I ran into "Heaven." Not one to trifle with, I am glad he challenged you.
Thanks for an interesting review - always fun to see what readers find in these stories.
By the way, Al had reviewed my "Intermezzo" and was equally left to scratch his head (albeit giving it 5 stars); he meant to review my Box Set of all 3 stories, but never got around to it...pity. I would have loved to hear more what he thought.
Your own reviews are always fascinating. I love reading them.
Thank you for dropping in and commenting, Ms. Tornovski. You have a unique thought-provoking style of storytelling. I found myself thinking about this tale for a long time before writing my review.
I was unaware that BigAl had reviewed one of your books until I had turned this one in. I was a little relieved that he was left scratching his head in the end, it wasn't just me then. :D
Thank you also for the compliment, I do appreciate it.
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