tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-155197540326010032.post5789338407977251648..comments2024-03-29T12:58:34.121+00:00Comments on FICTION on the WEB short stories: Mia Bambina by James MulhernCharlie Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04834189452905372024noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-155197540326010032.post-89376141893509119172016-01-17T17:03:36.295+00:002016-01-17T17:03:36.295+00:00Wow, I did not see that ending coming! Great chara...Wow, I did not see that ending coming! Great character building and plot. See echoes of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" with the jester cap and even some of the description and dialogue, and of course, the narrator.<br /><br />Very well crafted and thought out. Thank you. <br /><br />StephenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-155197540326010032.post-79045490074103447972016-01-16T13:57:55.245+00:002016-01-16T13:57:55.245+00:00A wonderful diabolical story with a surprising twi...A wonderful diabolical story with a surprising twist.<br /><br />Thank you.<br /><br />MaryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-155197540326010032.post-24442344847926716342015-08-31T11:34:00.736+01:002015-08-31T11:34:00.736+01:00An utterly compelling read! I took an instant disl...An utterly compelling read! I took an instant dislike to Molly because of my probably over-righteous reaction to the intrusion on Ashley's photograph. Though Ashley is defensive and priggish I was already investing time in feeling sorry for her. I naively expected that the outcome would be a redeeming of the situation, that hidden warmth would be revealed in the conflicting personalities, and that they would end the best of friends. So convinced of this psychology was I that I failed to pick up any of the clues in the narrative. The first inkling I had of foul play was the hint of nail varnish remover on Ashley's breath. I think the police would have been more hip, Ashley's family's aversion to autopsies too much of a coincidence...no the strength of this story for me - and what gives it its eminent readability - is the dialogue between the teens. That gauche 18 yr-old testing, probing, provoking, is chillingly acted out with skill! <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17142492723192523556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-155197540326010032.post-32659160328462306542015-08-28T15:16:47.439+01:002015-08-28T15:16:47.439+01:00This was quite a journey .... initially as a reade...This was quite a journey .... initially as a reader I identified strongly with Molly and her antipathy towards the woeful Ashley. The carefully paced and gradual unveiling of Molly's true character and impulses, with the<br />final evil climax, therefore packed a double punch. I also liked the juxtaposition of unlikely realities e.g. Nonna as an archetypal devoted and loving grandmother and yet someone who could be an accessory to murder without compunction. You fine tuned a number of dissonant hints in the course of the narrative e.g. Ashley's truthful admission that she wishes that she had a body like Molly's (thus presenting her as vulnerable and as a sympathetic character in a way that we had not seen her before) - but then leading back to the previous assumptions about her: these devices added to the complexity and power of the story. All in all a brilliant depiction of a 'charming psychopath' - many are found in the prison system and they are often intelligent, charismatic people who present as well functioning - until their cover is blown - and even then they will have their defenders who will swear that people have misjudged them (metaphorically and literally in terms of their crimes). Well done and thank you,<br />CeinwenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com