Recently, I had to read the story titled “Where Oaken hearts do Gather” by Sarah Pinsker and posted in the Uncanny Magazine. The story revolves around a few commentators discussing the traditional English ballad about Fair Ellen and Sweet William, with the discussion slowly realizing that the story may have been about murder rather than love. The story is widely lauded for its excellent use of form and for being a fun journey for the reader.
Personally, I did not feel like it was that interesting or engaging. I understood the idea of the format chosen – it was supposed to mirror the correction notes found in Wikipedia or a dedicated forum. However, it felt incredibly difficult for me to read and follow the general train of thought as it was interrupted by multiple commentators. I felt like trying to make sense of a Youtube comment section, which was not a pleasant exercise. So, the execution of the idea felt short for me there.
In addition, I felt the story was too long – 6729 words is approximately 25 pages, all of which is essentially dedicated to a few people talking about a single folk tale. I think I lost much of my interest at around page 10. The arguments presented to move the story along were circular, and most of them were pointless, as the main “conversation” was between Barrowboy and Dynamum in the latter half of the story. The characters were largely indistinguishable from one another. The sense of dread from the aforementioned fantasy-horror story was largely nonexistent for me. To summarize, while the idea of the story was inventive and unusual, the execution was limited by the chosen format. I am unsure if there is anything in this story for me to learn or borrow in my future endeavours.