In this post: A protagonist as solid as a mountain has her foundation shaken by a romantic partner, and an impactful life event causes an aftershock.
Category: Fast Fiction + Short Story Collection
Ramiah Recommended?
Yes!
Okay, first, I need to talk about Commaful, the platform this story was published on. This was my first exposure to the site, and may I say, I LOVE it! There's a story-book feeling to the site - each page has an image in the background and only a sentence before the user needs to turn to the next page. It gives me the excitement of reading a paper book, in that I didn't know what to expect to be on the next page. When I read e-books, which is the medium I mostly read in now, I often have to fight the temptation of my eyes looking slightly further down the screen and onto the next page. For a book, there's a manual process to turn my head slightly to look at the next page or to turn a page entirely that slows me down. Needless to say, Commaful is the best of both worlds in giving you an e-book but maintaining the paper book feel.
Not knowing what to expect is a perfect descriptor for this story. I think the element of surprise is an asset for "The Mountain" so I encourage you to read it here before reading on. If you want a little more to go on before jumping over, however, please indulge yourself. :)
We follow a protagonist whose emotional control is incredible (but borderline avoidant). When a problem comes her way (think an argument with a sibling, a bully, or an inconvenience in school), she is as steady as a mountain - giving in to someone, ignoring the issue or person, or redoing an action -- and moves on. She meets a man, and through dating him, sees her approach to things differently. They go on to get married and have children, and when the husband dies, she changes. She becomes more direct and expressive. She stands up for herself and her family, as their love has empowered her.
There's a series of twists and turns: as soon as I thought it was about a woman's relationship with her family, a romantic partner was introduced; as soon as I thought it was a love story, there was heartbreak; as soon as I thought it was a story about life, there was death. It kept me on my toes.
The story is in first person, so I felt connected to the protagonist as if I was experiencing the story through her eyes, although we never learned her name. Or anyone's name.
It's interesting that the story is detailed in terms of the descriptions of feelings and passing of events, but the basic information that a reader is usually given in a story -- names, setting, etc. -- is not present. For "The Mountain" those foundational details would not add anything more to the story, readers can still get a sense of the personality of characters without them. For instance, when the protagonist reluctantly accepted her partner's money gift when she could no longer eat lunch to afford her textbooks (she "snuck most of it back into [his] wallet that night when [he] was asleep"), or when the protagonist showed humor and regret after punching her brother at her husband's funeral ("I apologized later, of course"). The attention-grabbing piece was the author's use of 'mountain'.
The mountain motif is a powerful one, and its imagery is the background of every slide. The protagonist learns that being as solid as a mountain is not always realistic, there are life events that force emotion out of a person, and for her, it was the death of her partner. The mountain allowed her to build a foundation for herself, but her relationships with others allowed her to grow; just like a mountain, there are peaks and valleys in life and a person's journey through it.
Something that also called to me within this story is the act of misjudging and how a person is more than what the surface presents. The character's temperate is reserved, non-confrontational, and sometimes avoidant. She kept to herself and was often described as quiet. It's not uncommon knowledge that people with this temperament are considered 'other' in a lot of spaces; the protagonist herself shared she was made fun of throughout her life. Her disposition was viewed as a weakness. This judgement happens all the time.
Though I would've stronger favored a story of self-empowerment, rather than her character development coming from her life partner, I do appreciate the implicit messaging of this story that cautions against characterizing another's character. I too grew up reserved or shy, and through not NEARLY as passive as the protagonist, had acquaintances believe my character was a sign of weakness or inaction. This story exemplifies those judgments are unfounded and wrong, and the protagonist's growth made me nostalgic and reflective of my own.
In all, it was a nice, short tale that had character development and a strong theme that tied it together. I recommend anyone to give it a read.
Ramiah Reflects
Questions to Ask Yourself (and answer!):
"The serene snow-covered peaks that look so tranquil from a distance are the deadliest," was a metaphor for the protagonist's calm nature often being misjudged as a weakness or inability to advocate for herself. Have you found yourself making that judgment of others, or have you experienced being similarly misjudged?
Ramiah's Re-read When
Re-read when:
You want a story of surprise
You want to channel your mountain energy
You want an endearing love story
(No notes this time, folks!)
Check out my other posts and book notes here.
Until next time!
Montana Houston
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