Mehreen Ahmed's Blog, page 5
November 16, 2017
Float Down the Stream of consciousness By Joseph Ferguson
https://futurism.media/float-down-the...
On a planet with two moons far in our future, not much has changed. Poverty and political corruption are rampant, religious discord still divides humanity, and immigrants seeking a better life are feared and shunned.
Moirae is a dense book packed with literary allusion, existential crises, and personal and public tragedies, told through a unique blend of narrative and stream-of-consciousness styles, tinged with moments of magic realism.
Ahmed enhances the stream-of-consciousness segments by eliminating all punctuation, turning sentences into double entendres depending on where you think they should end. “You stupid fool why did you lie so Tell them the truth…” This technique also forces a closer read than if supplied with all the usual markers.
The term "stream of consciousness" was coined in 1890 by philosopher, William James, who said, “A 'river' or a 'stream' are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it hereafter, let's call it the stream of thought, consciousness, or subjective life.”
In 1922, James Joyce wrote his masterpiece, Ulysses, employing the stream of conscious narrative device. Since then, it has been hailed as one of the most elusive and beautiful writing styles that an author can choose. But because of the difficulties in achieving brilliance in such a demanding narrative voice, only masterful writers choose to take up the call. Virginia Woolf’s, Mrs. Dalloway, William Faulkner’s, The Sound and the Fury, and Samuel Beckett’s, Molloy are a few of the greatest examples.
More recently, and perhaps more closely aligned with Moirae’s use of stream of consciousness, Irvine Welsh’s, Trainspotting is an example of how states of dreaming and reality collide together to form a narrative that is not mediated. The character’s mind is unfettered by the structure of a regular narrative. As such, even with the double entendre in meaning when Nalia dreams in Moirae, we are presented with a truer representation of reality; the world is not narrated by a third person. That shift in Moirae, of removing the traditional narrator, is the realism that stream of consciousness writing strives for; a story without mediation.
Only the bravest authors tackle stream of consciousness. The atmospheric imagery and richly layered language required is akin to Picasso’s abstract art or John Coltrane’s free-form jazz. That is, the unusual phrasing and lack of punctuation create brush strokes and notes of a unique voice.
In Ahmed's story, the plight of a number of characters forced by circumstances to leave their homelands, or commit acts of desperation is presented to the reader as a river of thought; flowing from place to place, and from person to person. Each is a story of escape: by boat, or by madness; from one hell to another; from a clear-cut problem, to an empty Kafkaesque nightmare. Simultaneously celebrating the human spirit, while allowing capricious fate to rule, the author elevates the plight of the poor to Greek Tragedy; even, at times, supplying choruses drawn from ancient theater.
An intelligent tale requiring a high level of reader participation, Moirae captivates and satisfies on multiple levels.
On a planet with two moons far in our future, not much has changed. Poverty and political corruption are rampant, religious discord still divides humanity, and immigrants seeking a better life are feared and shunned.
Moirae is a dense book packed with literary allusion, existential crises, and personal and public tragedies, told through a unique blend of narrative and stream-of-consciousness styles, tinged with moments of magic realism.
Ahmed enhances the stream-of-consciousness segments by eliminating all punctuation, turning sentences into double entendres depending on where you think they should end. “You stupid fool why did you lie so Tell them the truth…” This technique also forces a closer read than if supplied with all the usual markers.
The term "stream of consciousness" was coined in 1890 by philosopher, William James, who said, “A 'river' or a 'stream' are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it hereafter, let's call it the stream of thought, consciousness, or subjective life.”
In 1922, James Joyce wrote his masterpiece, Ulysses, employing the stream of conscious narrative device. Since then, it has been hailed as one of the most elusive and beautiful writing styles that an author can choose. But because of the difficulties in achieving brilliance in such a demanding narrative voice, only masterful writers choose to take up the call. Virginia Woolf’s, Mrs. Dalloway, William Faulkner’s, The Sound and the Fury, and Samuel Beckett’s, Molloy are a few of the greatest examples.
More recently, and perhaps more closely aligned with Moirae’s use of stream of consciousness, Irvine Welsh’s, Trainspotting is an example of how states of dreaming and reality collide together to form a narrative that is not mediated. The character’s mind is unfettered by the structure of a regular narrative. As such, even with the double entendre in meaning when Nalia dreams in Moirae, we are presented with a truer representation of reality; the world is not narrated by a third person. That shift in Moirae, of removing the traditional narrator, is the realism that stream of consciousness writing strives for; a story without mediation.
Only the bravest authors tackle stream of consciousness. The atmospheric imagery and richly layered language required is akin to Picasso’s abstract art or John Coltrane’s free-form jazz. That is, the unusual phrasing and lack of punctuation create brush strokes and notes of a unique voice.
In Ahmed's story, the plight of a number of characters forced by circumstances to leave their homelands, or commit acts of desperation is presented to the reader as a river of thought; flowing from place to place, and from person to person. Each is a story of escape: by boat, or by madness; from one hell to another; from a clear-cut problem, to an empty Kafkaesque nightmare. Simultaneously celebrating the human spirit, while allowing capricious fate to rule, the author elevates the plight of the poor to Greek Tragedy; even, at times, supplying choruses drawn from ancient theater.
An intelligent tale requiring a high level of reader participation, Moirae captivates and satisfies on multiple levels.
November 12, 2017
Moirae reviewed by Dr. Tony McMahon, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University.
Moirae by Mehreen AhmedMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Dr. Tony McMahon's review of Moirae
Mehreen Ahmed is a wildly interesting writer. Moirae is not the first book from the Queensland scribe that I’ve read, but it is undoubtedly the best, most mature work. This is a nebulous yet - paradoxically perhaps – razor sharp text that speaks to the reader on a number of intellectual levels. Ahmed somehow manages to blend stream of consciousness type prose with a sure knack for story telling, and the results are no less than delightful. If you think about it, this kind of mixture is one that few writers have the ability – or the audacity – to attempt. Joyce is one exception that springs to mind, but he is probably an exception that only proves the rule. Jack Kerouac maybe. Either way, with this work, it is obvious that Ahmed joins a very select group indeed. Thoroughly recommended for both its technical beauty and, not inconsiderably, its bravery.
Dr. Tony McMahon, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University.
View all my reviews
October 1, 2017
Rose's Lament
Daddy dad! Oh what am I to do now? Malcolm? No no nothing! He is but a baby No Oh this! This despair. Unbearable pain. The loneliness. But Malcolm is still small. Who? What am I to do? Quiet. Listen! Listen to the music. It is but the music of silence. For life has completely gone out of him. Grey lips, Pale. He is so pale. Frozen like the still snow topped mountain. His body cut out to melt. Pulverise in grave. Eaten away by moths of… days go but nights…Oh how dark is it? How dark is it in that grave? Peter Peter can you hear me? The coffin to be lowered. Swollen like a belly full of water. the river flowed. The shimmering silver but look something sails it sails but not in isolation. Multitude of swollen floating. Floating like fallen leaves and the thin stringy water dripping barks of the poplars. Wake up! Peter please wake up. Look at our Malcolm. How he thrives in health… Who would take over Peter? All this wealth! The Gold! Yes the Gold. Who would run the business now? Malcolm can’t! I can’t either. John? What does he know? He doesn’t know business.
Oh but you were never there. Look at me. Look me in the eye and tell me how was I to cope? Those lonely days have silenced our lives. Yours and mine, infidelity! That was it wasn’t it? But I ran on the beach. I flung myself on the sand. I sink. Peter hold me. Pull me up. For I’m lost without you. I never knew I was so helpless. Have you seen God? Have you seen my two mothers. Emma and Lydia. Speak to me Peter please. Show yourself to me? Have you entered the heavenly nether-lands of death.
Life. thrives beautifully in a never ending stream of life. Where there is no pain, no death, no fear. But is it me? is it really me in that kingdom of heaven? Peter I have questions for you. One too many to ask God. Eternal life. What would that be? The ocean in the front. Shimmers of dark water of odra… not down that way? Acheron? The river of pain. Through the powerful lenses of the lighthouse but… the Cocytus. The wails never end. They never do…When will I see you Peter? Will you come in my dream? There I see … I see you now… a shadow … an apparition …come to tell me how I failed. That strong smell of the skin balm. I can smell your odor. Your body odor does not beguile me. But Oh it does round and round the Oceanus. The laments of the widow down the Phlegethon down the depths of Tartarus.
Oh but you were never there. Look at me. Look me in the eye and tell me how was I to cope? Those lonely days have silenced our lives. Yours and mine, infidelity! That was it wasn’t it? But I ran on the beach. I flung myself on the sand. I sink. Peter hold me. Pull me up. For I’m lost without you. I never knew I was so helpless. Have you seen God? Have you seen my two mothers. Emma and Lydia. Speak to me Peter please. Show yourself to me? Have you entered the heavenly nether-lands of death.
Life. thrives beautifully in a never ending stream of life. Where there is no pain, no death, no fear. But is it me? is it really me in that kingdom of heaven? Peter I have questions for you. One too many to ask God. Eternal life. What would that be? The ocean in the front. Shimmers of dark water of odra… not down that way? Acheron? The river of pain. Through the powerful lenses of the lighthouse but… the Cocytus. The wails never end. They never do…When will I see you Peter? Will you come in my dream? There I see … I see you now… a shadow … an apparition …come to tell me how I failed. That strong smell of the skin balm. I can smell your odor. Your body odor does not beguile me. But Oh it does round and round the Oceanus. The laments of the widow down the Phlegethon down the depths of Tartarus.
September 11, 2017
Stream of Consciousness: A note on parallelism with Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Mehreen Ahmed’s Moirae
http://www.cosmicteapot.net/mehreen-a...
When the stream of consciousness technique was first introduced at the turn of the 20th century, it was difficult for many publishers to accept it. Mainly because, such a style endorsed ungrammatical choppy sentences and sentences that had not made much sense. After James Joyce, finished and published Ulysses, it was almost impossible to comprehend it, because of the many spelling and grammar errors in it: mother was spelt as nother and many such errors in punctuations through to the last chapter which concluded in a total mayhem with Milly’s thoughts. It had 5000 errors and many of them were intentional.
Stream of consciousness as suggested by the terminology is but an internal act of undeterred flow of thinking. When reflected in narration, the written language flows unplugged without stops. Sentence endings and punctuations in the narrative are rare and often ungrammatical with misspellings as they would appear in the characters’ thoughts. Monologues, therefore, take precedence over dialogues and soliloquies. Such thoughts are sporadic and must never find an audience. They appear in the mind spontaneously and remain there for as long as the characters are engaged with the selves.
Only narrators who are omniscient and omnipresent have access to those private thoughts and it is their jobs to soak them up like sponge and wring out the sponge in narrations so the reader would know exactly how they took place in the characters’ minds. As a mediator, between readers and the characters, the narrators do not interpret or intervene in such thought processes, rather allow for the narrations to be filtered through them.
Having said the above, how does this definition fit Moirae? Although Moirae is an ode to a nondescript, floating population, it is nevertheless an allegory and a dream allegory at that. The story is one of persecution where innumerable nameless people are seen fleeing their villages together on a boat called the Blue Moon, to seek asylum elsewhere. However, the place in which asylum is sought is not free of danger either. And they soon find their fates hanging in the balance, once again.
The narration takes place in a dream of the main character, a female protagonist by the name of Nalia. Nalia is intelligent but is a poor village girl. She sees things through her wavering dreams which the narrator follows and pens down as they appear. The only place where the narrator’s presence is felt is when she introduces her own PoV. However, those points of views have also been interjected in a dreamlike fashion so they would merge seamlessly into an already existing dreamline that Nalia is dreaming.
As for the other characters, they are all conceived in Nalia’s one gigantic dream, where diverse thoughts, voices, actions and experiences have slipped. We see them through a haze of smoke-screen. The many errors littered across the novel are thus accounted for as stream of consciousness; a result filtered through this lucid dreaming. The ending of the novel is particularly dreamlike where a utopia has been painted and delivered to this long suffering, plight-ridden people. A place where spectacular new life begins.
One parallelism that can be drawn between Moirae and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is this, Heart of Darkness is a voyage just not to Africa, but into the minds of a confused peoples at the brunt of the horrific treatment by the British colonization. The chaotic, stream-of-consciousness style Conrad adopted displayed the confusion of those characters, and challenged the readers to think what the writer meant. Conrad experiments with this style, left some sentences without ending: "not a sentimental pretense but an idea;…something you can set up…and offer a sacrifice to…." (Conrad, Longman p. 2195), very choppy sentences full of holes for readers to interpret for themselves what they meant.
Conrad talks of the "two women knitted black wool feverishly,” similar to Moirae where the character Nalia records her story in her knitting, in her dreaming, of the horrendous persecutions by the regime. This which substitutes Conrad’s British of "weak-eyed devil(s) of a rapacious and pitiless folly" (Conrad, Longman pp. 2198, 2199, & 2202). Like Conrad's mind moves through a long literary monologue to convey to the reader his ideas, Nalia in Moirae does the same, interpreting perceived notions of democracy through long monologues in her knitted tales.
When the stream of consciousness technique was first introduced at the turn of the 20th century, it was difficult for many publishers to accept it. Mainly because, such a style endorsed ungrammatical choppy sentences and sentences that had not made much sense. After James Joyce, finished and published Ulysses, it was almost impossible to comprehend it, because of the many spelling and grammar errors in it: mother was spelt as nother and many such errors in punctuations through to the last chapter which concluded in a total mayhem with Milly’s thoughts. It had 5000 errors and many of them were intentional.
Stream of consciousness as suggested by the terminology is but an internal act of undeterred flow of thinking. When reflected in narration, the written language flows unplugged without stops. Sentence endings and punctuations in the narrative are rare and often ungrammatical with misspellings as they would appear in the characters’ thoughts. Monologues, therefore, take precedence over dialogues and soliloquies. Such thoughts are sporadic and must never find an audience. They appear in the mind spontaneously and remain there for as long as the characters are engaged with the selves.
Only narrators who are omniscient and omnipresent have access to those private thoughts and it is their jobs to soak them up like sponge and wring out the sponge in narrations so the reader would know exactly how they took place in the characters’ minds. As a mediator, between readers and the characters, the narrators do not interpret or intervene in such thought processes, rather allow for the narrations to be filtered through them.
Having said the above, how does this definition fit Moirae? Although Moirae is an ode to a nondescript, floating population, it is nevertheless an allegory and a dream allegory at that. The story is one of persecution where innumerable nameless people are seen fleeing their villages together on a boat called the Blue Moon, to seek asylum elsewhere. However, the place in which asylum is sought is not free of danger either. And they soon find their fates hanging in the balance, once again.
The narration takes place in a dream of the main character, a female protagonist by the name of Nalia. Nalia is intelligent but is a poor village girl. She sees things through her wavering dreams which the narrator follows and pens down as they appear. The only place where the narrator’s presence is felt is when she introduces her own PoV. However, those points of views have also been interjected in a dreamlike fashion so they would merge seamlessly into an already existing dreamline that Nalia is dreaming.
As for the other characters, they are all conceived in Nalia’s one gigantic dream, where diverse thoughts, voices, actions and experiences have slipped. We see them through a haze of smoke-screen. The many errors littered across the novel are thus accounted for as stream of consciousness; a result filtered through this lucid dreaming. The ending of the novel is particularly dreamlike where a utopia has been painted and delivered to this long suffering, plight-ridden people. A place where spectacular new life begins.
One parallelism that can be drawn between Moirae and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is this, Heart of Darkness is a voyage just not to Africa, but into the minds of a confused peoples at the brunt of the horrific treatment by the British colonization. The chaotic, stream-of-consciousness style Conrad adopted displayed the confusion of those characters, and challenged the readers to think what the writer meant. Conrad experiments with this style, left some sentences without ending: "not a sentimental pretense but an idea;…something you can set up…and offer a sacrifice to…." (Conrad, Longman p. 2195), very choppy sentences full of holes for readers to interpret for themselves what they meant.
Conrad talks of the "two women knitted black wool feverishly,” similar to Moirae where the character Nalia records her story in her knitting, in her dreaming, of the horrendous persecutions by the regime. This which substitutes Conrad’s British of "weak-eyed devil(s) of a rapacious and pitiless folly" (Conrad, Longman pp. 2198, 2199, & 2202). Like Conrad's mind moves through a long literary monologue to convey to the reader his ideas, Nalia in Moirae does the same, interpreting perceived notions of democracy through long monologues in her knitted tales.
August 8, 2017
Authority and Ambition: A Publication Day Guest Post by Mehreen Ahmed, Author of The Pacifist
I receive literally dozens of review and guest blog requests every day, and sadly I simply can’t accommodate them all. However, when Cosmic Teapot (how’s that for a name?) asked if I’d feature The Pacifist by Mehreen Ahmed which is set in Australia, a country I loved visiting, I had to grab the opportunity.
The Pacifist is published by Cosmic Teapot today, 11th May 2017, and is available for purchase from Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, iTunes and B&N.
The Pacifist
In 1866, Peter Baxter’s misfortune ends the day he leaves Badgerys Creek orphanage. Unsure of what to do next, Peter finds himself on a farm run by Mr. Brown. An ageing man, Brown needs help and is happy to give Peter a place to live in exchange for his labour. Unbeknown to Peter, Brown’s past is riddled with dark secrets tied to the same orphanage, which he has…
View original post 742 more words
May 30, 2017
May 9, 2017
The Pacifist
Title: The Pacifist
Author: Mehreen Ahmed
Malcolm Baxter is what some claim to be a benefactor who draws people into giving charity to support the Badgerys Creek Orphanage. But, if these walls could speak and the victims that have been placed there could explain the screams, wails and fear that was instilled in them and if the authorities did not look the other way things might have been better for the poor children placed in this abusive setting. Money was at the root of those running the orphanage and no one bothered to look into the care of the innocent children or where the money was going. Malcolm Baxter was hosting a fundraiser for the orphanage but in the back of his mind he was remembering his own past, jealousies and fears. Malcolm is self-absorbed, lacks self-esteem and needs to be revered and honored. Malcolm with the help of Henna…
View original post 1,572 more words
