Underground lairs, wormholes in the soul
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| No-mushrooms-included English edition. |
The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper.
This a special story, it has remained very close and fresh since I read it. It is a short book, the kind that many will argue that it should be longer and others, shorter. I found it a perfect measure. As not long ago, another short book I read, yes, I wish to know more about Monique, the cult, Donna, but as the story was made and presented, I found it delicately balanced and endearing.In a way, it felt like discovering and coming along to a road of despair. But before I go on, as usual for me, I went in almost blankly, I would recommend reading the least possible about it, there are some aspects that are built steadily and I found the experience to discover them as I read the book very rich, just… tag along.
It starts in the middle of a strange situation, Monique takes you on a dark ride as you wonder about her fixations, her desperation, the harsh worlds that she inhabits, the relentless determination to find Donna, her missing lover. The dark ride isn’t only in the outside, as she gets deeper in the mysterious streets and tunnels leading to the psychedelic cult that looms below the surface, you get deeper in Monique´s story, the tunnels of pain in her soul that leave her constantly on the edge. How not to earnestly sigh in anguish with her?
Random mumbling.
Big time spoilers ahead.
Donna was so very intriguing. It is a very straightforward motion to see her as evil, that crazy and monstrous display of hers at the end… But somehow, I wondered about that, because of the backstory she has with Monique, showing how she really cared for her, her comforting answers and care when everything started to go bad. I imagined a person trying very hard to get by, to adapt when things get worse and worse… until she broke. Maybe some people break and pick up the pieces, glue it together as best as they can to go on, but maybe some remain crumbling, in pieces. Monique, was able to hold on to herself and to Donna to keep going, Donna couldn’t. I think the age difference also was significant factor, it carries an uneven power dynamic and distance (in perspective, expectations, the place in their worlds). Not to say age gaps are bad, but on certain circumstances maybe things can become more complicated, as many things can do that. Anyway, I imagined that possibility.
Now, sometimes you find characters that touch you so deeply, like Monique was for me. And this left me almost numb thinking how different her story could have been, with seemingly easy things to acquire. It is not that she wanted to be the queen of mars, have infinite riches and a super powerful space monkey army to conquer the avocado universe, right? She just wanted to be herself, acceptance, respect, love, a life. And in the end, even wining had a bitter taste, it was so far away of what she wanted.
About the trippy ending, I found fascinating the fulfilling of Donna´s dream: the creation of a world without hate. Donna wants it bad (in more than one way) and when setting things up for her wish to became true with the worm, she kind of seals her own universe´s destruction by readily be willing to sacrify her lover, as opposed to the first kings that loved their daughters and backed off the deal because of that. The human timeline shows no mercy in any moment (except Corine, to end miserably, and Monique -worm does take her away in the end), when Mimic in her Lovecraftian craziness tried to connect, and I could adventure, had some empathy. So clever.
End of spoilers.
Donna was so very intriguing. It is a very straightforward motion to see her as evil, that crazy and monstrous display of hers at the end… But somehow, I wondered about that, because of the backstory she has with Monique, showing how she really cared for her, her comforting answers and care when everything started to go bad. I imagined a person trying very hard to get by, to adapt when things get worse and worse… until she broke. Maybe some people break and pick up the pieces, glue it together as best as they can to go on, but maybe some remain crumbling, in pieces. Monique, was able to hold on to herself and to Donna to keep going, Donna couldn’t. I think the age difference also was significant factor, it carries an uneven power dynamic and distance (in perspective, expectations, the place in their worlds). Not to say age gaps are bad, but on certain circumstances maybe things can become more complicated, as many things can do that. Anyway, I imagined that possibility.
Now, sometimes you find characters that touch you so deeply, like Monique was for me. And this left me almost numb thinking how different her story could have been, with seemingly easy things to acquire. It is not that she wanted to be the queen of mars, have infinite riches and a super powerful space monkey army to conquer the avocado universe, right? She just wanted to be herself, acceptance, respect, love, a life. And in the end, even wining had a bitter taste, it was so far away of what she wanted.
About the trippy ending, I found fascinating the fulfilling of Donna´s dream: the creation of a world without hate. Donna wants it bad (in more than one way) and when setting things up for her wish to became true with the worm, she kind of seals her own universe´s destruction by readily be willing to sacrify her lover, as opposed to the first kings that loved their daughters and backed off the deal because of that. The human timeline shows no mercy in any moment (except Corine, to end miserably, and Monique -worm does take her away in the end), when Mimic in her Lovecraftian craziness tried to connect, and I could adventure, had some empathy. So clever.
End of spoilers.
And then...
Get the tinfoil hat ready and hold your knickers on, it is going to be a crazy ride.
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