Chlorine - thoughts?
Currently reading Chlorine and I’m curious what other people think about it. I’m about 25% through but I’m afraid it’s going to be a DNF for me. For reference - I’ve read earthlings, *the vegetarian, lapvona, and boy parts*. I loved each of those
Chlorine feels like Song’s personal memoir to me, and I’m not sure I love that? That was my first “hmm” moment. As I’ve read further, I can see the mermaid obsession (which I’ve pegged as performance/body horror) and two things.
1 - it feels like Song is building up the mermaid obsession mechanism as maladaptive. Personally, I see a lot of myself in that; a performed outer self for the world vs true inner self. I don’t view mine as maladaptive though, more like a less common, meta aware coping mechanism
2 - and maybe I haven’t read far enough yet, but it doesn’t feel earned to me either. Like the traumas she’s experienced thus far, an abusive swimming coach, neglectful parents, social alienation; to have such a strong and intense seeming coping mechanism that (I assume) it gonna end badly or negatively in some way, just doesn’t feel coherent to me
I am curious what other people’s thoughts are, I do ask that you be conscious of big spoilers, but I also totally get that there’s gonna be some. I’m kinda looking to see if I should keep going and maybe there’s some sort of payoff at the end, or if I should just pack this one up as not for me.