SH Comments
Reged: Feb 16 2004
Posts: 1056
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This thread is for comments about La Malcontenta, by Liz Williams, illustration by Emily Tolson.
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bagoink
New user
Reged: Jan 27 2005
Posts: 24
Loc: New Castle. PA
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This is a good story.
I especialy likes the ways it references old-time Mars stories, but in doing so, turns the corner and builds something completely new. The skating on frozen canals is straight out of Bradbury, or could be, but that's not what the story is about. The story isn't about referencing Bradbury, it's about a woman conflicted between desires and conforming to the expectations of society. It does so extrememly well.
For those of you who wonder why I read SH, this story is why: It has fully developed characters that I care about. Those characters do things that build a conflict and then resolve it. They do so in a world that is fully realized and beautifully detailed.
At first I questioned the present tense used here, but by the end I realized it gave the story a breathless urgency that was just perfect.
My only complaint is the ambiguity of the last two paragraphs. I didn't understand what happened to Shorn there, but then I realized that understanding wasn't required to appreciate the story. Perhaps the ending is extraneous, and the story could have ended successfully before the last three paragraphs. Or perhaps I am missing something important, that I will find on the next reading.
Thanks to SH for publishing this.
Drew
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all the same writing a story makes you sweat even in winter also Im afraid because the lamp has gone out and as the man said my thumb akes
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Alaya
Unregistered
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I really liked this piece. I didn't quite understand the ending, but it was cool anyway ;) In fact, I have Liz Williams novel in a pile on my nightstand, and I think I'm going to have to fish it out and read it.
Which leads me to ask: is this story in the same universe as some of her novels? The one I have is Banner of Souls, btw.
Alaya
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Dawn B
Regular reader
Reged: Mar 31 2004
Posts: 32
Loc: Bay Area, California
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I enjoyed this story, though I too wished for a more concrete ending. I also would love to see more of this Mars to understand what happened to lead women and men down these paths.
Re: Alaya
Viewing the info on Amazon it seems likely that they are related.
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MorningStar
New user
Reged: Mar 01 2005
Posts: 18
Loc: South Carolina, USA
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Very nice story, good illustrations. As in the last story, there was a lot of pretty imagery, but of course, more plot. I thought one of the coolest things in "La Malcontenta" was the "masked ball" on ice.
I thought the ending made sense. Shorn's final decision seemed logical to me, considering her experience with that society. But I am still wondering how she actually did the deed...
One question: why's the title "La Malcontenta" instead of "The Malcontent"? Is this a reference to some Spanish or Italian custom?
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JoanneMerriam
Regular reader
Reged: Oct 07 2004
Posts: 93
Loc: Concord, NH
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I can't tell if she is supposed to have killed herself, or left a stuffed figure in her dress and escaped. Either ending makes sense to me.
I really liked this story. I found the backdrop world particularly compelling, and will have to pick up Williams' other works to find out more.
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see how moonlight's sharp music breaks all of your windows
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MorningStar
New user
Reged: Mar 01 2005
Posts: 18
Loc: South Carolina, USA
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My impression was that she left a stuffed figure and escaped somehow (perhaps with the help of one of the vulpen?). Of course, she'll probably die out in the wilderness, but she'll die free, at least.
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Dawn B
Regular reader
Reged: Mar 31 2004
Posts: 32
Loc: Bay Area, California
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I went for a physic willing of death and resulting quick freeze, but that's me.
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Evgenij
Unregistered
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Good story!
To begin with I see this story as a legend of the Dark Ages (a new variant of them). :-)
Why? Because having been under incredible psychological pressure, Shorn hasn't broken. She is surely a strong character with clean soul and feelings, like the hero of an ancient legend.
Why Dark Ages? Not only because of 'shorn witches' and the supremacy of Church. In the story (adult) people are heartless. [Essegui.. Although she was sure her sister's soul was stolen, she hadn't even said a warm word to Shorn! I hoped Essegui has loved her sister after all, but the last paragraph disproved this suggestion as she thought about her friend while waking up... But it is still ambiguous about Essegui, imho she is the most interesting character.] People are alike that fortress: although the hearts seems to be alive, they are frozen with big amount of ice. The Winter striked not Mars, but people's hearts...
La Malcontenta, 'la' means female gender in French... Why had she got so crazy about that vulpen? How has she survived that year? Why did she die in a closed room? But the last question needs no answer...
I can't help but cite bros. Strugatsky ("Hard to be a God"). It doesn't make all things clear, but..
"people like you have been born in every epoch of the bloody history of our planets. Pure, unsullied souls who do not understand cruelty and who know no hatred. Victims. Unnecessary victims."
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I've only just caught up with this, so apologies for the authorial silence!
Many thanks for your kind comments. This is one of the things that makes a writer's life worthwhile! I really appreciate your input.
The ending is deliberately ambiguous, by the way. In fact, she is supposed to have simply disappeared - a connection between her isolation and the gradual erosion of her physical presence.
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