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The Cure
3 pages, Unknown Binding
First published June 1, 2015
183 people want to read
About the author
Malinda Lo
41 books4,987 followersHi Goodreads! I've only created this profile to claim my name here, and I don't check messages here or add friends. I invite you to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or visit my website at malindalo.com.
BIO: Malinda Lo is the bestselling author of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, winner of the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, as well as Michael L. Printz and Walter Dean Myers honors. Her debut novel Ash, a Sapphic retelling of Cinderella, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award and the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the Lambda Literary Award. She can be found on social media @malindalo or at malindalo.com.
BIO: Malinda Lo is the bestselling author of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, winner of the National Book Award, the Stonewall Book Award, and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, as well as Michael L. Printz and Walter Dean Myers honors. Her debut novel Ash, a Sapphic retelling of Cinderella, was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award and the Andre Norton Award for YA Science Fiction and Fantasy, and the Lambda Literary Award. She can be found on social media @malindalo or at malindalo.com.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 31, 2017
WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!
last year, i carved out my own short story advent calendar as my project for december, and it was so much fun i decided to do it again this year! so, each day during the month of december, i will be reading a short story and doing the barest minimum of a review because ain't no one got time for that and i'm already so far behind in all the things. however, i will be posting story links in case anyone wants to read the stories themselves and show off how maybe someone could have time for that.
here is a link to the first story in last year's project,
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
which in turn links to the whole monthlong project, in case you wanna do some free short story reading of your own! links to the stories in this year's advent-ure will be at the end of each review.
enjoy, and the happiest of decembers to you all!
DECEMBER 6
That night when the red-headed woman came, I asked her, “Why are you here?”
“For you,” she said, her voice a purr in my ear, her cool fingers soothing away the lingering pain of the electric shock treatment.
“But why?” I asked, and pushed her back so that I could look into the dark of her eyes.
“You are not like the others,” she said, and she climbed into my bed and pressed the length of her body along mine.
I knew she was right, and a cold certainty settled upon me. “What are we?” I asked as I stroked her back through the thin cloth of her nightgown.
She did not answer at first. Instead she moved her mouth across my neck again, her teeth nipping at the soft spot in my throat beneath which my pulse quivered as if to leap into her, as if to become one with her.
“We are alive,” she said at last, and when she raised her head to look at me it was as if her eyes glowed in the dark, so alive was she, so alive was I when she was near.
slightly claustrophobic story about one way to get out of a sanatorium for hysterical women, where a woman has been confined after being told:
my emotions had gotten the best of me, that my delicate female constitution couldn’t handle so much education, that I had best withdraw for the rest of the semester and focus on more womanly arts: some light embroidery, perhaps, in preparation for my upcoming wedding.
in the plus column, at least she got out of that wedding, yeah?
read it for yourself here:
http://interfictions.com/the-curemali...
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DECEMBER 31
last year, i carved out my own short story advent calendar as my project for december, and it was so much fun i decided to do it again this year! so, each day during the month of december, i will be reading a short story and doing the barest minimum of a review because ain't no one got time for that and i'm already so far behind in all the things. however, i will be posting story links in case anyone wants to read the stories themselves and show off how maybe someone could have time for that.
here is a link to the first story in last year's project,
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
which in turn links to the whole monthlong project, in case you wanna do some free short story reading of your own! links to the stories in this year's advent-ure will be at the end of each review.
enjoy, and the happiest of decembers to you all!
DECEMBER 6
That night when the red-headed woman came, I asked her, “Why are you here?”
“For you,” she said, her voice a purr in my ear, her cool fingers soothing away the lingering pain of the electric shock treatment.
“But why?” I asked, and pushed her back so that I could look into the dark of her eyes.
“You are not like the others,” she said, and she climbed into my bed and pressed the length of her body along mine.
I knew she was right, and a cold certainty settled upon me. “What are we?” I asked as I stroked her back through the thin cloth of her nightgown.
She did not answer at first. Instead she moved her mouth across my neck again, her teeth nipping at the soft spot in my throat beneath which my pulse quivered as if to leap into her, as if to become one with her.
“We are alive,” she said at last, and when she raised her head to look at me it was as if her eyes glowed in the dark, so alive was she, so alive was I when she was near.
slightly claustrophobic story about one way to get out of a sanatorium for hysterical women, where a woman has been confined after being told:
my emotions had gotten the best of me, that my delicate female constitution couldn’t handle so much education, that I had best withdraw for the rest of the semester and focus on more womanly arts: some light embroidery, perhaps, in preparation for my upcoming wedding.
in the plus column, at least she got out of that wedding, yeah?
read it for yourself here:
http://interfictions.com/the-curemali...
DECEMBER 1
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December 31, 2015
NOTE: This won't be added to my 2015 challenge as it is just too short for me to consider as a book read. I first read "The Cure" on July 8th, 2015.
This was a really delightful short story. I thought that the atmosphere that Lo has created here is extremely successful and rich. I adored the voice of the main character and was really impressed with how Lo had her progress throughout the story - she was this bold woman who thought that going to a sanitarium would at least let her get out of marriage but then, after meeting a mysterious red-headed girl, she becomes sort of this wild and, at times, animalistic force.
I like how the story is kind of ambiguous and how I was never really sure if that red-headed woman was ever actually present. The nuances are very well done and Lo's writing is captivating. This sort of reminds me of "The Yellow Wallpaper" - well, they have hints of similarity but are really completely different. I would definitely enjoy having more of this story.
This was a really delightful short story. I thought that the atmosphere that Lo has created here is extremely successful and rich. I adored the voice of the main character and was really impressed with how Lo had her progress throughout the story - she was this bold woman who thought that going to a sanitarium would at least let her get out of marriage but then, after meeting a mysterious red-headed girl, she becomes sort of this wild and, at times, animalistic force.
I like how the story is kind of ambiguous and how I was never really sure if that red-headed woman was ever actually present. The nuances are very well done and Lo's writing is captivating. This sort of reminds me of "The Yellow Wallpaper" - well, they have hints of similarity but are really completely different. I would definitely enjoy having more of this story.
December 7, 2017
short story.
an unwanted marriage, hysteria, a sanitorium, water treatment and electric shock, walks by the sea, a red-haired mystery. and...the ending. the writing is stunning, if their method of escape is a little, well, surprising.
free on interfictions.com.
an unwanted marriage, hysteria, a sanitorium, water treatment and electric shock, walks by the sea, a red-haired mystery. and...the ending. the writing is stunning, if their method of escape is a little, well, surprising.
free on interfictions.com.
December 17, 2017
Sigh, it read like ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ but then ended with (lesbian?) vampires...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2023
I was enjoying most of this short story, but the ending just left me wanting so much more.
March 4, 2025
if hysterical, try lesbianism.
December 20, 2019
Fun, short
June 10, 2019
The author painted a haunting and thick atmosphere and I enjoyed the premise of this short story, I young woman who would rather be committed to a sanatorium for hysteria then enter into an unwanted marriage. Unfortunately this story was not quite my cup of tea.
June 24, 2015
So... Victorian* psychological treatments and a vampiric twist. An atypical combination, certainly. I'm giving it three stars for what felt like intelligent writing, but a story that I found mildly revolting. The treatments aside, I have been vegetarian way too long to cope with so much bloody steak!
* I am guessing, though it could be earlier.
June 12, 2015
I cannot summarize The Cure without giving away the plot so trust me and go read it, it's amazing.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews