Come to Me: Short stories by Amy Bloom — 1 year ago
This book of short stories was exquisite. Truly a gem. Something that I want to savour and dip into every now and then. There’s a delicacy about it. A sense of softness and intimacy. With no judgments.
In the first story we hear about a woman at her mom’s funeral, who comes to finally deal with her discovery as a teenager that her parents had an unconventional relationship. Her mom had a lover, with her father’s blessing. Not only that, the three of them were very close, and when her mom dies, the two men support each other in the loss of someone they both loved. The daughter herself is not as open-minded and struggles to understand it, while also sensing that this rigid adherence she has to convention doesn’t always serve her in her own relationships.
For me, that story really resonated. I have often thought, and experienced, that love and life don’t always fit in the neat little compartments that my mind sometimes sets out for it; that for my own happiness, I need to blend and blur the edges now and then. The story also speaks to me about not judging other people. That they live their lives, and I live mine; if something works for them, then I’ll share in their happiness and peace, instead of allowing my personal judgments to separate us. Especially if it’s loved ones. Or maybe even more if it’s not. Lastly, I can relate to the story somewhat because I wonder sometimes about the notion that there is one person out there for me. Yes, I might get a close fit, but as complex and multi-layered as I am, I want a relationship that is freeing, and not encumbered. Even though I don’t think I’m going to rush headlong into a polyamorous relationship, I can understand the motivation for it quite well.
Each of the other stories in this book are as exposing of us in our humanity. It’s subtle, and honest. Sometimes quietly painful, as life often is.
