Fic Rec: Literary Shortcomings

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Title: Literary Shortcomings
Author: rachelindeed
Pairing: Gen
Length: 1,420
Rating: G
Warnings: N/A
Verse: ACD books
Author's summary: Glimpses of a shared life. (This story follows the 1sentence format, wherein one takes a prompt table of fifty words, writes one sentence for each prompt, and then combines them to examine a character or relationship. The story's main focus is on Watson & Holmes and it also touches on the John/Mary marriage.)

Reccer's comments: And so we come to the big one…

This fic was my gift in Round 6 of acd_holmesfest. And I have to say it is far beyond anything I was expecting or hoping for. I felt like someone opening a present, knowing it was probably going to be something good and being prepared to say: “Oh, it’s just what I always wanted.” And then it was just what I always wanted.

You may be looking at the form used and hesitating. But it’s like any kind of literature: novels, short stories, poems… If the writer matches form and content correctly, then the form stops being important and moves into the background. And believe me, the author makes perfect use of her chosen form. This piece is made up of 50 separate stories that combine to make something bigger. If I can use an analogy: it’s like going into an art gallery and expecting to see one huge painting. But instead you’re presented with a series of exquisitely painted miniatures. They all obviously belong together—they are in the same style. They’re hung on the walls in a particular order, and they have the greatest impact in that order. But it’s also possible to group them together in smaller numbers under different themes and they can stand alone as well.

Some of these “exquisitely painted miniatures” make you laugh, some make you think, some make you cry. You’re taken through the whole arc of Holmes and Watson’s friendship from Watson being wounded in Afghanistan to the events of His Last Bow. The writing is gorgeous and it’s just a very powerful piece. I truly urge you to try this fic.

Comments

[ancientreader]

Seconding. This story knocked my socks off.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

It's something special, isn't it?

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Oh my -- I can't thank you enough for this beautiful recommendation, I am just amazed by it. I am so very glad that the story turned out to be special in your eyes, that is what every author hopes for when they write a gift, and certainly what I hoped for. Thank you for speaking about it in such a lovely way - the art gallery metaphor makes me look at it in a new way, too, and I really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

You're most welcome ^^ I tried my best to do justice to your story in the rec.

And your story certainly is special to me. It had just never occurred to me that microfiction could be used in this way - or that microfiction could turn up during ACD Holmesfest ^^ I was so moved and excited to receive something that was perfect for me and was such an outstanding piece of work.

[hardboiledbaby]

Thirding! So well-crafted, it's a very much a case of the whole being more than merely the sum of its parts :)

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's brilliant ^_^ There's so much to it.