Elucidations

by Beth Hahn

In Elucidations, a young girl searches for more than her missing mother. As the seasons change, she begins to learn the nature of rebirth.

Genres: Short Stories

22 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 22, 2018

About the author

https://www.instagram.com/bybethhahn/

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars tells you nothing so I feel I should write something. This is basic: most of the sentences begin with a noun or pronoun. The writing seems YA which is not a bad thing but I don't read YA. It's about a 13-year-old whose mother disappears. Mom is a somewhat interesting character made of bits and pieces most readers will have encountered in many other characters -- except that she's fascinated by, and obsessed with Brood X cicadas. It sounded intriguing* but it's not nor is the concept well executed.

*I bought this as one of twelve short stories sold for Kindle separately or in two collections of six each. It was the middle of the night. I came across them while deciding whether to read Mostly Dead Things, which I had passed over as an ARC and has mixed reviews.
She's written one of the stories and I wish I'd just gotten only hers but the covers somehow said "experimental fiction" to me. In the middle of a sleepless night in which I'd started and stopped at least seven great books and some previously-read and unread short story collections by beloved authors.

This is shortly after I did my first Goodreads Challenge -- and now I that I've rated this I see each of these twelve will be counted as an entire book. Not trying to game the Challenge 🤣 Hoping the stories get better. Nine to go, and hoping in those nine there's one or more that will excite me.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful novella about grief and that time in your life when you realize your mother is a complicated person just like yourself. Also, in this case, the love between mother and daughter, and how your mother, wether she's there or not, informs who you are.