So begins another run of Fas. We now meet monthly. The Society Club continues to host us most graciously.
Attendees: FB, AS, AHS (new member), SN
Read: Comfort Food episode 4 (SN web short); Untitled (AHS short story)
The fourth instalment of Sandy's comedy-drama offering about a long-distance relationship held together by the couple cooking over the 'phone. In episode four, Luke's commitment is, remarkably, questioned by Liyana as she discovers he may not be taking the whole thing as seriously as she suspected... as she hoped? A very spirited reading this time - thanks to Adam and Aki. The questions remain the same: are the characters developing significantly enough? Is the food a lasting metaphor for what's happening within the relationship? Similarly, do the humorous excurses (like the pigeon super model) that the characters provide offer something to the audience in terms of their habits / thoughts / feelings? I maintained that Liyana's anger was best expressed by a simple action direction like 'She pipes the word "fucker" onto her ice-cream' but I suspect such frivolous recommendations might not make the cut.
Next up was an as-yet untitled short story offering from Aki. It told the story in first-person of a family deprived of their mother, a narrator brain-damaged, and the muscular, hulking, glue-like presence of the family's father. We probed the voice, the reliability of the narrator, and questioned whether the start, so boldly in medias res, caused more problems than it solved. That said, the eloquence of the language, the musculature and threat of 'Pa', and the repetition of pinning (so well observed by Adam), lent the piece a charm and atmosphere that was wholly effective. We look forward to more from our newest member.
