Alternative title: An author’s note on the interpretation of stories

I admit to being quite taken aback at how my short story Henry & Isa has polarised readers, specifically how some readers feel the lack of an ‘explanation’ warrants a salty review. For any other title I’ve written, I’d ignore such reviews—I know I can’t and won’t please every reader—but Henry & Isa is a deeply personal story for me, so I feel obliged to offer a response to those or future reviewers.

There have been many more favourable reviews for this story—one reviewer specifically noted they were grateful I hadn’t explained the story—but the salty reviews made me consider this question: do I have an obligation to explain a story to a reader?

Read more at Michael Gardner's Blog.