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Luca or Luca
Two young women live in the same city in the Middle East; Luca is drowning, while Dani is slowly being lifted off the ground.
Luca is rapidly spiralling into a heavy depression that no one but her can see. Alongside Luca's descent, Dani is trying to find her place in the world. She has the unusual ability to see other people's emotions.
Fortunately for Luca, Dani's ability isn't just an inconvenience; it might also be a gift.
CW: Self-harm
Luca is rapidly spiralling into a heavy depression that no one but her can see. Alongside Luca's descent, Dani is trying to find her place in the world. She has the unusual ability to see other people's emotions.
Fortunately for Luca, Dani's ability isn't just an inconvenience; it might also be a gift.
CW: Self-harm
126 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 25, 2023
This short novella is told from the point of view of two main characters: Luca and Dani. It is set in the middle-east, but a very vague middle-east. Luca is struggling with mental health issues. She self-harms and has reached the point where she doesn't think she has anything to live for. It feels very personal and I get the impression - based on the character's name and the author's - that Luca's story is not a million miles away from Or Luca's own. Luca is drowning.
Dani is struggling too. But in a different way. They're trying to find their place in the world. Dani moves in with her grandmother, who is a tad eccentric. Their conversations are drift to the philosophical and they start to read Ovid's Metamorphoses together.* At that point you realise that this is a book about finding a way of understanding the world and one's place in it. Of finding meaning and identity. This seems particularly true as Dani meets Joey and their stories intersect with Luca.
It seems to me more a book that uses magical realism - perhaps that's the wrong phase - to tell a story about depression and mental health.
This is Or Luca's first published work I think and I did feel, particularly at the beginning, like this book was a tad over-written. I got used to it and as the book went on it began to feel like the right style for the story.
It's worth reading I think and might be the right book at the right time for some people because it feels so personal, even though it is fiction. It is, despite the darkness of parts of the book, I think a hopeful book. The final paragraph nailing something real.
Apparently Or Luca is working on longer work and I'd be interested to read more from her.
*Further proof of my theory that Ovid's Metamorphoses is, after the Bible, probably the most influential work in the Western Cannon.
Dani is struggling too. But in a different way. They're trying to find their place in the world. Dani moves in with her grandmother, who is a tad eccentric. Their conversations are drift to the philosophical and they start to read Ovid's Metamorphoses together.* At that point you realise that this is a book about finding a way of understanding the world and one's place in it. Of finding meaning and identity. This seems particularly true as Dani meets Joey and their stories intersect with Luca.
It seems to me more a book that uses magical realism - perhaps that's the wrong phase - to tell a story about depression and mental health.
This is Or Luca's first published work I think and I did feel, particularly at the beginning, like this book was a tad over-written. I got used to it and as the book went on it began to feel like the right style for the story.
It's worth reading I think and might be the right book at the right time for some people because it feels so personal, even though it is fiction. It is, despite the darkness of parts of the book, I think a hopeful book. The final paragraph nailing something real.
Apparently Or Luca is working on longer work and I'd be interested to read more from her.
*Further proof of my theory that Ovid's Metamorphoses is, after the Bible, probably the most influential work in the Western Cannon.
May 7, 2023
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/bsfa-short-fiction-5/
Some good things in this novella: impressive depiction of the two major characters’ psychological and personal issues, and they are brought together neatly at the end. But I did wonder if it actually qualifies as science fiction or fantasy? The unreal elements of the story are explicitly the title character’s hallucinations, which didn’t seem to me to have much direct impact on anyone other than her. I also wasn’t hugely convinced by the setting, a country in the Middle East which doesn’t feel very Middle Eastern.
Some good things in this novella: impressive depiction of the two major characters’ psychological and personal issues, and they are brought together neatly at the end. But I did wonder if it actually qualifies as science fiction or fantasy? The unreal elements of the story are explicitly the title character’s hallucinations, which didn’t seem to me to have much direct impact on anyone other than her. I also wasn’t hugely convinced by the setting, a country in the Middle East which doesn’t feel very Middle Eastern.
November 19, 2025
This one was ... interesting. I guess the first thing to mention is this one deals with some deep themes, including suicide, self-harm, and depression. All appropriate trigger warnings apply.
More magical realism, this time in the shape of two narratives, moving together in alternating chapters, exploring the concepts of acceptance, belonging, and change. It's quite a heavy read, and yet for that it kept me hooked from the start. The writing style is easy to read despite the themes, and the two main characters are engaging enough that I wanted to keep following them all the way through to the end of the book.
Content warnings notwithstanding, this is another recommendation from me.
More magical realism, this time in the shape of two narratives, moving together in alternating chapters, exploring the concepts of acceptance, belonging, and change. It's quite a heavy read, and yet for that it kept me hooked from the start. The writing style is easy to read despite the themes, and the two main characters are engaging enough that I wanted to keep following them all the way through to the end of the book.
Content warnings notwithstanding, this is another recommendation from me.
April 12, 2023
This is a must read
It’s a truthfully painful depiction of a girl struggling with mental illness. The main character’s life is intertwined with another character - Dani, that finally helps her find solace.
The writing is beautiful
The use of water in the book is amazing- in the first part, the struggle, the girl is drowning in water but eventually finds clarity within them
I enjoyed the book immensely
And from knowing the author personally I can say that her own personal fight was heroic!
It’s a truthfully painful depiction of a girl struggling with mental illness. The main character’s life is intertwined with another character - Dani, that finally helps her find solace.
The writing is beautiful
The use of water in the book is amazing- in the first part, the struggle, the girl is drowning in water but eventually finds clarity within them
I enjoyed the book immensely
And from knowing the author personally I can say that her own personal fight was heroic!
December 26, 2022
An impressive story of fantasy, mental health and power of therapy which I really enjoyed
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews