1 [Report This]Date: August 06, 2018 11:10 am Title: love set you going like a fat gold watch
Wonderful and realistic
Date: March 03, 2010 12:47 pm Title: love set you going like a fat gold watch
You do a wonderful job of describing the tedious soulsucking parts of motherhood. I do hope the "real" Pam has a balance of more moments of joy and fewer doubts than the scenario you've written here. Nice work, though.
Date: March 02, 2010 08:44 pm Title: love set you going like a fat gold watch
This is so, so wonderful. I was hesitant to read it at first because I saw it wasn't completed, but when you changed that I jumped right in. I loved this one. I'll be rereading this a few times. Pam's reaction to the pregnancy and impending motherhood hasn't really been highlighted, and there's a good chance we won't get to see a whole lot of it post-baby episode, perhaps, so this fic is going to fill a void. And it's a great way to fill it. I hope to see more from you again soon!
10 [Report This]Date: March 02, 2010 05:11 pm Title: love set you going like a fat gold watch
I am not a mother. As such, I didn't feel qualified to or capable of writing this particular version of Pam's story, though the thought did occur to me. I'm glad that someone with more skill and insight than I posess did and that it is so, so beautiful.
I don't want to say love, because it's the wrong word, but I love how cleanly and vividly you capture Pam's desperation, her sense of being trapped and misunderstood by her husband, her coworkers, and even her child. I don't know why you chose to obscure the child's gender, but the effect of doing so is striking - it creates a distance between Pam and her child that subtly underscores her confusion and amazement at the situation.
Finally, "Love set you going like a fat, gold watch" is perhaps one of my favorite lines of poetry in English. This felt like an extension of the knot of misery and love that Plath was reaching for in some of her Ariel poems. And nice Eliot reference in your disclaimer. I like that. :) Please do share your writing with us more often - it was a pleasure to find this here this evening.
10 [Report This]Date: March 02, 2010 03:55 pm Title: love set you going like a fat gold watch
Very true to life, kyrafic. My little one is about to turn 1, and this hit very close to home for me. Well done :-)
10 [Report This]Date: March 02, 2010 02:50 pm Title: love set you going like a fat gold watch
Very very beautiful :)
10 [Report This]Date: March 02, 2010 12:25 pm Title: love set you going like a fat gold watch
I loved this. I know how excited everyone is about the baby, and I am excited, but honestly? I wasn't ready for Pam to have a baby yet. I wanted her to really be an artist, do something with that skill professionally, not be in that office anymore. I feel like this is the reality. It isn't all excitement.
9 [Report This]Date: March 02, 2010 12:14 pm Title: love set you going like a fat gold watch
Sorry, I forgot to give stars, and you can't do that without reviewing, and I don't want to delete and write the whole thing again, so double post. So sorry.
Also, rereading my review, the wording "no need to feel bad for Pam", is off. It's not my place to tell anyone how they should feel about things. I just meant that I, personally, think it's possible to be happy for her, and that her life, while not clamorous, is going to be just fine. Hope that makes sense.
Date: March 02, 2010 12:10 pm Title: love set you going like a fat gold watch
You know, my first niece just turned one. She's adorable, and it's obvious that my sister loves her more than anything. The way I've heard new moms describe it is as "a very different kind of love." But they also talk about the exhaustion, the loss, the loneliness... It's all very real. My sis said the first year has been harder than she could have even imagined. I kept hearing that, when I read this. Your writing is very evocative, in many ways very true to life.
Still, my sister is going back to school this fall. So contrary to popular belief, having a baby is not actually the end of life. There's no need to feel so bad for Pam. Many people live this kind of life, and manage to be happy and content. I doubt very much she's sticking her head in the gas oven anytime soon. Even if she never becomes super successful in her professional life.
But about the fic itself. It's very beautiful. Bittersweet and understated in best ways. I love it, even though I don't completely share your bleak view on lives of wives and mothers. (And I hope it's okay for me to say that. It's not even criticism, as such, just a different point of view.)
10 [Report This]Date: March 02, 2010 10:51 am Title: love set you going like a fat gold watch
This made me cry. My baby girl turns 2 next week, and it is just like this. That utter absorption, that total love that hides a tiny blade of resentment, that yearning to figure out how the person that is "you" and the person that is "mommy" co-exist in your now-stretchmarked skin. I love this to pieces, I truly do.
9 [Report This]Date: March 02, 2010 10:31 am Title: love set you going like a fat gold watch
Kyrafic, I just read Live Better, Work Union, and here you are with a new one! I think you've captured the mood of the early months of motherhood so well in this--the loneliness and isolation mixed in with the moments of pure joy. Great job. Is this a oneshot or will there be more?