Friday, April 14, 2017

Lacuna, by Lane Robins

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(Modern Fantasy) Father Jean-Paulo has come to Lacuna to bring an old dying priest home, but the golem girls in the Burlesk are a powerful distraction. (3,562 words; Time: 11m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

"," by (edited by Jane Crowley and Kate Dollarhyde), appeared in issue 04/10/17, published on .

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: Lacuna means “gap,” and Father Jean-Paulo has a blind spot. As the golem girl tells him, “We never wanted to be saved. We wanted to be freed.” So blind is he that it never occurred to him to create her with a mouth that could speak.

At the end, he fails Father Padraig, he fails the golem girl he created, and he fails himself, heading back to the Burlesk.

Con: There’s probably some larger message here, but I’m not seeing it.

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3 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. [Spoilers]

    The city recycles everything from the dead. The old bones for musical instruments and for the walls. Souls such as Jean-Paulos are slowly eroded from this world into the golem girls. This is Jean-Paulo's blindness.

    He must say the rite for Father Padraig-Immanuel lest his soul be recycled by the city as well. Jean-Paulo fails him and fails himself. As the story ends, his golem-like gait and blackened slip-footsteps foreshadow his inevitable transformation of his soul into a golem.

    I fear for my own soul. Before this site allowed me to publish, it asked me to click "I am not a robot." But who among us can truly be certain?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We turn a blind eye to the better class of robots--the kind that are able to deny being robots--so it's okay. :-)

      Thanks for the explanation. Its always nice when authors are willing to come here and comment.

      Delete
  2. Maybe he's going back to free the others... yeah, I doubt it.

    ReplyDelete