Episode 82: Novellas
Summary: We’ll make it quick this week, folks! Or not, since Holly and Devin can’t resist waxing poetic about how awesome novellas are. Shorter than a novel, longer than a short story, these ~160 page books really pack a punch. Growing in popularity in Holly’s wheelhouse lately but still more rare in Devin’s, this corner of published works is sometimes overlooked but always worth digging into more deeply, especially if you enjoy watching authors use economy of words to create a world you’re sucked into.
Topics Discussed:
The Dagger (5:15): Holly discussed We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, a gothic horror novella following Merricat Blackwood, an 18 year old girl who lives on her family's estate with her older sister Constance and their ailing uncle Julian. The Blackwood family used to be larger but was decimated by arsenic poisoning at a family dinner six years before the novel begins, for which Constance was accused and acquitted. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears, seeking to claim the Blackwood fortune. His presence threatens their secluded way of life, and Merricat feels she must act swiftly to keep them all safe from his designs. Holly’s key takeaways were:
The novel explores themes of societal cruelty, mob mentality, and the persecution of those who are different. Through Merricat and Constance, the reader explores human nature and society’s treatment of outsiders. The story can be read as a subversive take on women’s roles, with Constance as the domestic caretaker and Merricat as a defiant, untamed force.
Jackson creates a chilling atmosphere of dread and paranoia, influencing modern gothic fiction and psychological thrillers we see today. She explores the lines between social ostracization and self-imposed exile, how the Blackwoods' past defines their present and how Constance and Merricat cope differently with their trauma.
As a novella, Holly was impacted the most by Jackson’s effective writing in so few pages. She felt joy at every single sentence, every weird quirk of the characters, the tone that was partly childlike and partly old fashioned, every detail about their house and their shopping and the claustrophobia of it all.
The Heart (16:56): Devin discussed Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood, a collection of three novellas that can stand alone but also work in harmony as a collection. Mara, Sadie, and Hannah are three engineers with different specialities, living in different places, united by friendship and their hatred for men thrust into their lives. Whether you’re following Mara as she fights for space living with Liam, Sadie as she grapples with rejection while trapped in an elevator with Erik, or Hannah as she struggles for survival (and control of herself) with Ian in the arctic, these novellas are delightfully feminist and steamy. Devin’s key takeaways were:
As with many of Hazelwood’s works, these novellas are grounded first and foremost in feminism and women in STEM; the three protagonists are very different but united in their work in the sciences and the challenges they face as women in a male-dominated field.
As a novella, these stories stay tight and build romantic tension by putting the protagonists in closed environments; roommates, trapped in an elevator, in a tiny research facility in frigid conditions. By limiting the scope of locations and characters, Hazelwood could more efficiently create the perfect cocktail of emotion, tension, and chemistry that makes for great Enemies to Lovers reading.
A standout component of the novella collection was the men; each in their own way was misunderstood by the female protagonists and for good reason. The flip of the switch from skepticism and assumption that they’re just one of those sexist, ladder-climbing men to understanding and attraction was a blast to read.
Hot On the Shelf (29:51):
What’s Making Our Hearts Race (34:52):
Devin: Sex Lives of College Girls Season 3 on Max
Holly: Say Nothing on Hulu
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