h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: In my heart there's an image - A27528069
Author: ianhimself - U5477852

Ah, the bug is now fixed and I can submit this!

As I've said somewhere else (and totally irrelevantly) this is the first thing i've written in some time. It's also only a first draft and i have no idea really if it's in its final form......but i thought i'd put it in here for comments....

not about the structure....because i know it's pretty raw and messy
nor about the dramatic point of the story .... because i'm pretty sure there isn't one of those
but about the character at the core .... and the emotional mood of the story.... ie is the character and his life worth caring about? does the story connect at any meaninfgul level with readers?

thanks again....

I remember the other version of this, and see it in my head when I read this letter.

yesyesyesyes I care about this guy! Keep on keeping on, pretty please.

I loved Leibniz the dog. And rearranging the books. And getting the name 'Derrida' in someplace he scarcely belongs...for the contrast.

But the image in the heart...that's the best touch.

And thanks - I needed that today.

Yes, I remember the first time I read this. And this guy's alive, and he's smart, and he's sensitive and he's human.
I love him a tiny bit myself.

Thank you, Ian, as usual.

This is poignant and evocative. The detail is great: Doctor Leibniz, rearranging the books, the snow etc. And the image in the heart is lovely.

But as for the narrator, isn't he the same narrator as we've met before, in Last Love and other stories?

who knows? ......not me....

i suppose the problem with first person stories is that too much of yourself creeps in and you end up telling the same story a zillion times!

I remember the meeting with the woman over the coffee - but not the rest.

And the narrator's familiar, ish, from some of the other stories. Not all, though.

"is the character and his life worth caring about? does the story connect at any meaninfgul level with readers?"
That's surprisingly difficult to say. We're only seeing him through his own eyes and he feels very inward-turned. I want to know more of him, yes. I'm interested enough to keep reading for now but not sure - that's the best summary. And I want to see if the new woman can jolt him out of himself, mostly, I think. I'd like to see him through their eyes, too.

I think it's wonderful, and we'll be including it in our special birthday issue this week. Congratulations, and thank you

Rich