Status Updates From Fiori Fantasma

"It would be exquisite to be hugged by a cactus, all prickly and hurting; to bleed to death in a delicious, agonizing embrace.

I just finished the introduction, and boy, I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a book. The story of Fraser, his sense of being, his light touch and spirituality, are all things I relate to and crave. Sometimes I skip introductions entirely but I'm happy I read what Mark Valentine had to say, because honestly, even if this book was just him writing about Fraser – I'd be just as happy =,-)

A most sympathetic view of madness. Not what I expected from a piece of writing from this period. It is touching, but not maudlin, decadent in its subject matter but more practical in its portrayal, and seething with existentialism but not buried in fatalism. An extremely interesting, surprising read.

The trippiness of the second part of this pretty little novella is a nice contrast to the bland domesticity of the first.

The more I read, the more I am enjoying this mildly hallucinogenic story.

Insanity? Pollen-induced hallucinations? Remote memories of a past life or a soul caught between states of existence? I cannot yet fathom. Nor can she. But it is beautiful, sad, and languid, whatever the source.