Paper and ink, lemons and a bike
November 16, 2021 3:59 AM   Subscribe

Small, kind, domestic scifi stories in a climate-changed US. "When she pressed the county seal into the page, embossing an eagle rampant and ivy wreath, the diploma-shaped ache in her chest eased almost to nothing. It should have been hers anyway." "The Notary of No Republic" by J. Byrd (published this year): a self-appointed public servant gets a complicated request. "'Hope is a habit, Dix.' A bad habit, yes, a dangerous one. Hope had shaped this foundering world into what it was." "A Luxury Like Hope" by Aimee Ogden, also published this year: despite everything, an aunt tries to use lemons.
posted by brainwane (14 comments total) 30 users marked this as a favorite
 
A lovely story, and almost eponysterical for me.
posted by notoriety public at 5:00 AM on November 16, 2021 [1 favorite]


Please accept my stamp of approval, brainwane.
posted by notoriety public at 5:16 AM on November 16, 2021 [7 favorites]


The Notary of No Republic is more deeply beautiful than a story that is, at least on its surface, about bureaucracy should be.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:53 AM on November 16, 2021 [6 favorites]


It’s a sweet and terrible story.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:51 AM on November 16, 2021


Terrible in the setting, not the writing
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:49 PM on November 16, 2021 [1 favorite]


Brainwane, I am very much appreciating these story postings. Please, keep them coming, my good fellow
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 6:50 PM on November 16, 2021 [1 favorite]


DeepSeaHaggis, I appreciate the sentiment but I'm not a fellow. :)
posted by brainwane at 7:05 PM on November 16, 2021


"The Notary of No Republic" by J. Byrd

No surprises in this one, but having a bit of warmth unexpectedly pressed into still feels nice.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:07 PM on November 16, 2021


My apologies. I literally wrote that, thought "Is fellow gendered?", and came back to it after the edit window
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 7:08 PM on November 16, 2021 [4 favorites]


Oh my god, the notary story WOWED me.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:56 AM on November 17, 2021


A day later, and that notary story is still on my mind. It's just such a powerful piece of world-building, and a lovely story about our need for connection at the community level and at the individual level.

Near as I can tell, it's the only thing the author has ever published, which would make it one hell of a bravura debut.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:14 AM on November 17, 2021 [2 favorites]


DeepSeaHaggis, I know women who are fellows. There is a genderless aspect to it, esp. as a role or position. I know what you meant.

But oh, that story was a marvelous bit of cli-fi. I am a better, more thoughtful person for having read it. And now I am contemplating community, sacramentality, epistemology, and how to help lay a foundation for hope to rebuild amongst the coming troubles.
posted by cross_impact at 9:42 AM on November 17, 2021 [1 favorite]


jacquilynne! Inspired by your comment, and by the zero info I could dig up about "J. Byrd," I tweeted at Luna Station Quarterly and they replied to direct me at Julia Byrd's website and Twitter! So there is more by this author to read!
posted by brainwane at 2:13 PM on November 17, 2021 [1 favorite]


Oh, ha! I had the same idea, and got the info from them on twitter, as well.

And she has written a couple of gothic romance novels, which are extremely my genre.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:35 PM on November 17, 2021


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