But, when they begin to pile on top of each other, they soon expose Andi’s mental fragility. The individual incidents that lead up to the climax of her fury may seem trite to some. As with all of Andi’s relationships, even this one deteriorates as the story unravels and Andi succumbs to the anger that she has fought to control all of her life. Living on an isolated road, the two have a friendly rapport, though Andi secretly resents the old widower’s nosy habits. It isn’t long before we are hooked by her beautiful language and captivating storytelling.Īside from Luna and Doctor Fawning, the most social interaction Andi seems to have is with next door neighbour Mr Landon. But, naturally, all is not as it seems as small details of Andi’s past are eked out, like a fisherman letting out just enough line to entice the fish. It creates a great deal of compassion for the broken young woman, something Tantlinger uses to immediately get the audience on her side. She reveals early on in the story that she is the last remaining member of her family, having lost both parents and her younger brother. She makes frequent references to her recently deceased therapist while she travels to the office of her new therapist, Doctor Fawning, and it soon becomes clear that her troubles stem from a past trauma involving her family. Probably a skill derived from her years of writing poetry, but not a word is wasted as we are ensnared within Andi’s mind. Tantlinger taps into the psyche of her troubled protagonist with great care and wonderful skill. Given Andi’s already fragile state of mind-the reasons for which are explored throughout the story-this rejection does very little to help. What Andi felt would have been the perfect token of love from her to her own Luna isn’t received so favourably. Told from the point of view of protagonist Andi, the story opens with her observing the behaviour of some nearby vultures before she presents her girlfriend, Luna, with a handcrafted gift, made from the shed skins of Luna moths. To Be Devoured is her first novella to see print. Holmes (StrangeHouse Books, 2018), received even more acclaim, culminating in the Bram Stoker Award for Poetry Collection. And her second poetry collection, The Devil’s Dreamland: Poetry Inspired by H.H. Love for Slaughter (StrangeHouse Books, 2017), her first collection of poetry, was welcomed with open arms by many critics and fans alike. With an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction, it would be safe to assume that she has ambitions to take her writing career even further.
Sara Tantlinger began writing poetry while in Middle School, and has since branched out into longer prose. “A compelling and harrowing debut that adds to the not insubstantial evidence that Sara Tantlinger is a promising and exciting new voice in horror.”
0 kommentar(er)
