{"id":917,"date":"2009-03-08T16:46:52","date_gmt":"2009-03-08T21:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/?p=917"},"modified":"2009-03-08T16:46:52","modified_gmt":"2009-03-08T21:46:52","slug":"story-of-the-month-beluga-beluga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.amberstults.com\/?p=917","title":{"rendered":"Story of the Month – “Beluga, Beluga”"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Beluga, Beluga<\/a>” was published in the Fall 2008 edition of Sotto Voce<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Nothing happens as expected in this story by Mark Leahy.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first sentence immediately grabs the reader.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0“I wake up on the foam mattress on my sister’s floor and for an hour the cat and I watch squirrels dart across the living room skylight.”\u00c2\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why is the narrator at her sister’s?\u00c2\u00a0 Is the hour time wasted?\u00c2\u00a0 Is there somewhere else the narrator should be?\u00c2\u00a0 Or is the narrator’s life such a mess that no one notices she’s not where she’s supposed to be?<\/p>\n

Leahy picks words and phrases that are concise yet say so much.\u00c2\u00a0 For example, “we’ve\u00c2\u00a0just been\u00c2\u00a0vending” conjures up the image of two people standing in front of the vending machine discussing the options and finally making a decision.\u00c2\u00a0 The act itself is impersonal while the conversation about the choices can be the opposite.\u00c2\u00a0 Returning to one’s desk with the vending machine prize can be a disheartening experience if the chosen item is not 100% to the person’s liking.<\/p>\n

The question of whether the disappointment expressed in the ending\u00c2\u00a0is for herself or her sister keeps it from being heartbreaking.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of layers to this story and I think that’s one of the reasons why I keep coming back to it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Beluga, Beluga” was published in the Fall 2008 edition of Sotto Voce.\u00c2\u00a0 Nothing happens as expected in this story by Mark Leahy.\u00c2\u00a0 The first sentence immediately grabs the reader.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0“I wake up on the foam mattress on my sister’s floor and for an hour the cat and I watch squirrels dart across the living room… Continue reading Story of the Month – “Beluga, Beluga”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-story-of-the-month","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t