I haven't read much short fiction this week, and this morning nothing had stood out. I thought I might be using my "safety" story -- a story I've raved about on facebook -- so I'd have a fiction rave. However, although I found Leah Bobet's "The Ground Whereon She Stands" difficult to begin, I'd started this at least a week ago, I found the story magical. You can find it in the June issue of Realms of Fantasy.
Sometimes, I find beginnings hard, and it may be I don't like the story itself, but sometimes, the story counters whatever it was in the beginning that kept me outside the story and I find the tale lingering, leaving a sensuousness, and consuming my thoughts. This is one such tale.
Alice has a way with plants and the visual, textural, and olfactory way that layout captures this is a sensual feast. Yet, the premise of giving flowers and having it go awry, so that the receiver, the protagonist, sprouts all manner of living things provides a fabulous world on which the story is hung. However, what makes this story stick is the way it pursues the deeper theme of the difficulty of declaring love.
If you have the opportunity to pick this story's fruit, may you savor every word.
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