The Compleat 'Thorn Forest' (A Gift for AW)

Stew21

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My first reaction: OH YAY!!! More!

then I read it, and of course the epic continues in splendid fashion.

I love the description of how he follows her. and that last stanza is killer.
 

CassandraW

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What Stew said.

Anna's encouraging him to pilfer now. Alas, I think it's just the beginning.

I love the way "she said" is set off on its own line at the end. That gave me a little shiver.


ETA:

My typo also gave me the shivers. It's not me, it's my phone. Well, OK, sometimes it's me.
 
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Sarita

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Yes! I read that last stanza and said, "Holy sh!t!" out loud, to no one, in my office.
 

CassandraW

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I've thought, especially when reading part 21's "shaming and sharing my sin," that the preacher might be molesting Anna.

Given his fury that Jacob and Anna have run off together, I'm guessing I was right.
 

Perks

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It's absolutely riveting. I have no idea how far we are from crescendo, but I'll say here that I love the title. It's so hard to pick a title that conveys something succinct and important about the work, but 'Thorn Forest' is just dread. And that's what I've had from the first stanza - dread and sympathy.

Where we are now in the story is a place between dread and sympathy, a kind of pulling, inexorable, toward the cliff's edge. You can see it happening, diagram it back to the whys - at least for Jacob and Anna - and there's not one damn thing that can put the brakes on it.

For me, that's what you've captured so far.
 

cray

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happy new year to you too, william.


perks was able to articulate how i felt reading this latest part of thorn forest when she said we are somewhere between dread and sympathy. i'm leaning towards dread though.

again, awesome.
it has me hungry for more, scared about what will happen to jacob and anna, and sad that this poem will eventually come to an end.

bastard. :D



thank you. amazing work!
 

Stew21

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So much to love in this last installment. I didn't expect the preacher.

Can't wait to dig in to this one.
 

Ken

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Parlant au nom de tout le monde, ici, à écriture absolue, vous nous avez sur le bord de nos chaises. La seule déception est que nous devons attendre pour chaque tranche. Pour honte, William, de honte. Nous taquiner cette façon;-)

Merci pour le divertissement agréable. Anticiper la prochaine, comme toujours!
 

Ken

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for me, more exit strategy than end.
maybe when/if I improve and gain greater command.
writing. tres tres difficile :-(
fun too at times !
 

CassandraW

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Anna, you vixen.

Watch out for the preacher, Jacob. Putting parts 23 and 24 together, I'm fearing a trap, and possibly a cudgel.