Monday, October 9, 2017

So Sings the Siren, by Annie Neugebauer

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(Horror) A little girl accompanies her mother to a performance by a “siren.” What does it really mean to suffer for your art? (1,180 words; Time: 03m)

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ Not Recommended

"So Sings the Siren," by (edited by Jason Sizemore), appeared in issue 101, published on .

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

Pro: Obviously the core message here is that artists do suffer for their art, and, in this story, the artist is literally butchered. Yet, as we learn in the last lines, it was worth suffering for. Even though, from the artist’s statement right before the show (“she could imagine no better cause for a life.”), we know she’ll perish in this performance.

Con: Although we don’t actually see the mutilation, we know it involves “the prying up of fingernails, the spindling of intestines, the flaying of skin.” That makes it more gross than horrifying.

There’s not really a story here. There’s no protagonist other than the girl, and she’s not in control of anything nor trying to accomplish anything.

Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 101)
Annie Neugebauer Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline

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3 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. To me the message is against artists needing to suffer for their art. And particularly leading the little girl to believe that the beauty justifies this suffering. And I feel the genders of all involved are significant.

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    Replies
    1. As ever, I have problems with stories that involve people being butchered alive--no matter what the message.

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    2. Yeah, not a story I'd really recommend either.

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