Fen - Whole Book (Spoilers allowed) (Mar 2019)

[Hugh]

This topic is for free discussion of all elements of the book - expect spoilers. So if you want to discuss how the collection works as a whole, which you liked / disliked most or have any other views having finished the book, this is the place!

[LindaJ^]

One of the things I noticed was the appearance of the local pub in a few of the stories and that the pregnant bartender in one of those was the lead character in another. That made me wonder if there are other places and characters that make more than one appearance.

I like the fen mud people. They made me think about golems. Is there similar folklore associated with fen mud?

[Whitney]

LindaJ^ wrote: "One of the things I noticed was the appearance of the local pub in a few of the stories and that the pregnant bartender in one of those was the lead character in another. That made me wonder if the..."

The two men lured in by the women in "Blood Rites" both appear in other stories. Marco is Arch's twin in "The Scattering". The vet is presumably Joe Lloyd, whose absence in "The Cull" is noted by the narrator.

[Marc]

One of the aspects of this collection I liked the most is how Johnson sort of injects a renewed spirit of mystery and feralness into what it is to be human. Dealing with youth and the transformation into adulthood and becoming sexually active, she treats both human genders, animals, and the land almost like separate species entwined in some sort of primal dialogue that's as confusing as it is mystical.

As stated above, the recurring characters/motifs really tied this collection together strongly. It's rare that I find a collection of short stories that works so well individually and as a whole.

[Whitney]

Definitely, it was really well tied together thematically.

People were discussing how different "How to Lose It" was from the other stories. I couldn't find a publication date, but it felt like it was an early story, with Johnson starting to play with the ideas that she would later wield so fearlessly. I'm thinking in particular of the transformations that are at the center of the other stories, which in How to Lose it are in the imagination of the two kids on the boat, picturing their fox baby and his gilled siblings. I thought the line "And it was that winter she realised the danger of the imaginings, but let them come anyway" was almost an introduction to what was to come.

I would place most of these stories firmly in the category of weird fiction. "A Heavy Devotion" was actually selected for Year's Best Weird Fiction, Vol. 4, and was one of my favorites. Weird fiction tends to defy solid definition, but I would say liminality, transgressiveness, and a rejection of anything approaching a conventional explanation are hallmarks.

[Marc]

Certainly, I was more drawn to the stories with stronger or more supernatural elements but I felt, like you, that "How to Lose It" dealt heavily with transformation that is both natural and supernatural on its own, so to speak.

I wasn't really able to easily categorize this collection, but I'm not that familiar with "weird fiction"--it seems like an apt description. Reminds me a bit of the pop surrealism movement in painting/art.

[Hugh]

We have reached the last day for this discussion - thanks for all who have made it lively and interesting. Sorry I didn't find time to participate more actively myself.