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What I Didn't See by Karen Joy Fowler

DaveK's picture
Wed, 04/21/2004 - 10:31pm — DaveK

This story won the 2003 Nebula award for short stories. It can be found at http://scifi.com/scifiction/originals/originals_archive/fowler/fowler1.html

Two questions--where is the science fiction and where is the story? I can't believe that this was nominated much less that it won.

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Sun, 04/25/2004 - 11:18pm — camidon
camidon's picture

Re:What I Didn't See by Karen Joy Fowler

The link isn't working, neither clicking on it, nor copying and pasting it.

However, it is the correct link. When I did a google search for the story, I was able to pull it up right away, and the link as written above, is the link where the story can be found.

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Life is a lot like caving: Most of the time you grope around in the dark.

Sun, 04/25/2004 - 11:54pm — camidon
camidon's picture

Re:What I Didn't See by Karen Joy Fowler

Good golly. Ain't this business strange. 1) The story is all told. 2) There's really no suspense though I think there's suppose to be. 3) It's a character piece, pure and simple, a gaggle of strange fellows with wonderful personalities. 4) I was thinking Congo the whole time. 5) I'm left wondering: So the <BLEEP> what? So what if the main character wonders "what she didn't see"?

Oh sure, I could make a lot of literary arguments based on this story: man vs woman, man vs nature, man vs the unknown, man vs himself, man vs bondage and slavery, the call of the wild, Women as slaves in society, and a whole lot of other stuff, but what does this story do that others have not?

Now I will admit, the writing is beautiful. The descriptions are vivid, and the characters alive. Great detail, but for what?

I do see a story, a character story, but not one of interest to me.
As to scifi: Got me? Could I possibly make an argument for Horror? Maybe. Could I possibily make and argument for spec-fic/mystical/mystery, maybe.

I say again, ain't this business strange.

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Life is a lot like caving: Most of the time you grope around in the dark.

Sun, 04/25/2004 - 11:55pm — DaveK
DaveK's picture

Re: What I Didn't See by Karen Joy Fowler

[quote="DaveK"]This story won the 2003 Nebula award for short stories. It can be found at http://scifi.com/scifiction/originals/originals_archive/fowler/fowler1.html

Two questions--where is the science fiction and where is the story? I can't believe that this was nominated much less that it won.[/quote]

Well, it works if you put the www at the begining. Like:

http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/originals/originals_archive/fowler/fowle...

I'm sure I cut and pasted the link. Weird. But what did you think of the story?

Alos check out the Nebula novelette winner "[u]The Empire of Ice Cream[/u]" by Jeffery Ford at:

http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/originals/originals_archive/ford4/ford41...

A bit better in my opinion but not award winning.

Mon, 04/26/2004 - 12:03am — camidon
camidon's picture

Nebula Awards

So this story made me google some Nebula info and here's what a small recap of the recent ceremony said about this story:

[quote]...announced the winner as Karen Joy Fowler's "What I Didn't See". (The story's win was ironic, or perhaps poetically just, considering the controversy following its publication over whether it was SF or fantasy at all.) [/quote]

Here's the link: [url]http://www.locusmag.com/2004/News/04_NebulaWinners.html[/url]

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Life is a lot like caving: Most of the time you grope around in the dark.