The Art of Mumblecore Fiction // Lucy Ives's Cosmogony

Lucy Ives is a demon in disguise and her new collection Cosmogony should not be taken lightly. Be warned. A demon never gives her reader anything in plain sight. This writing can be deceptive, nondescript, unreliable. Some would even say, glib. In Cosmogony, we are presented with a collection of stories that diverge from what we think we know, about ourselves and our position in the cosmos. Stories that cut right into the meaty character of prose. 

Yet, this collection is not meant to be read broadly either. Do not look for over-arching structure, Lucy Ives goes many ways at any given time. In one such story, 'Bitter Tennis', her character in a character, who happens to be a writer says: 

I never want to have a story that's about one thing.

And this sentence is good way to approach Cosmogony, if you dare do so. It is how her stories work: quips and digressions, chatter, inner monologues and undisclosed mutterings that make the reader move through character instead of plot. 

The result of this is a kind of mumblecore fiction, a way of consciously styling dialogue over description. And she laughs at and sometimes with the reader, I think, knowing and relishing in her character's thoughts that are as wry as they are revealing.

Sometimes she gets so close to thought, the act of reading feels more akin to eavesdropping - and becomes just as shameless. 

And so, here is a demond hidden, in the complexities of chitchat, the form of the short story in disguise. All of which are oblique, funny, satirical and snippets of something bigger. Her particular kind of mumblecore has a lot to offer the reader - just don't let your guard down for one moment. You 'll never know where you end up but you will always be surprised.