comfort me with apples catherynne m valente

But she shakes her head against his chest and the moment floats away. Other vowels and other consonants, strangers in the halls of her ears. He says her name over and over, until it no longer sounds like her name at all, but someone else’s, and for a moment, Sophia could swear it is someone else’s name. It’s clear that that isn’t because Valente is withholding it for the sake of a plot twist, but because it highlights all the things she’s cut off from, and the drastic power dynamic between the two of them, as well as the gulf between him and all of their neighbours, who do all have names known to her. Her neighbours are delightful, and her biggest concern is whether they like her as much as her husband.īut his name is never mentioned. She lives in a perfect gated community, so safe there aren’t even locks on the doors. She knows she was made for him, her husband, and her whole life is perfect, just perfect. If this maintained through a whole novel, it would be frustrating, but of course not only does Sophia get an arc, but she gets one in a very short book. Her inner monologue at the start is about how happy she is, and how she will please her husband by keeping a clean house and following his instructions. At the beginning she’s extremely naive, and she seems incapable of having much agency. That’s because Comfort Me With Apples’ point of view character is Sophia. Sometimes, prose is about what’s not said, and that’s the case in this Comfort Me With Apples. In this case, that means plenty of intentional repetition and a simple vocabulary. Valente is well-known for her exquisite prose, and she changes her writing style to suit her story. Comfort Me With Apples, her newest, also retells an old story-but trying to discern which old story is part of the joy. That’s true of fairy tales like Deathless or Speak Easy, legends like her Prester John series, or comic books with The Refrigerator Monologues.

Valente often breaks down existing stories and uses them as fertilizer for her own work.

Catherynne Valente is the author of over twenty-five books, and the winner of numerous awards.

Comfort me with apples catherynne m valente