Siren Suicides by kseniaanske
Recommended and reviewed by CG.
Siren Suicides transported me back to my days as a fantasy book addict, where I would devour book after book, curious what would happen next, but it also keeps the nuances I learned to appreciate in literary works. It's a rare gem that has metaphysical workings while demonstrating the kind of emotional intensity and character development reminiscent of genre fiction, often weaving in and out of surreal consciousness and dynamic plot. It combines the dark, but beautiful literary poetics of Sylvia Plath, with a modern twist of the mythological and fantastical like Harry Potter.
Opening with a suicide attempt, you understand that the story won't be a watered down, and PG version of sirens, but a depiction of their original, dark mythology. Written from the viewpoint of Ailen Bright, an angst-stricken, damaged teen who has a volatile and fractured relationship with her father, the narration effortlessly alternates between its dream-like components and Ailen's physical and emotional transformation. Through her interactions with death, sirens and their realm and humanity's depravity, the reader navigates her thoughts and relationships with others making for a fun, intriguing, and sometimes stomach churning read. The writing is accessible, entertaining, capable of engaging the reader, but it's impossible not to notice, experience and appreciate the sublime and the profound.
Here is an example of Ksenia's beautiful prose: "A bright light blinds me, like a photographic flash that illuminates the scene. It's my hand floating in the water, yet at the same time, in sharp clarity, it's a wide expanse of freshly speckled soil. Iridescent circles form in my peripheral, then another flash makes me wish that I could shield my eyes. I see my wrist up close, with a forest of hairs shaking lightly. I look down the length of my body. The brilliant blue of the hoodie is too intense, making my two feet, dangling at the far end of each leg, look whiter than they are. Then it all turns fuzzy."
In addition to being on Wattpad, you can find Ksenia Anske's Suicide Sirens: Second Edition on Amazon.
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