Favorite Story of the Eight in "The Buried Secrets of Peonies"

[NL Hartje]

For those of you who've taken the time to read The Buried Secrets of Peonies by Mernegar Dorgoly, I'm wondering which was your favorite story?
Which metaphor impacted you the most and why?
Was there one you not enjoy?

1.Petunias
2.Howl
3.Dungeon
4.Black Bag
5.Mirror
6.Canaries
7.Stretcher
8.Peonies

[NL Hartje]

Personally, Mirror and Canaries hit me the hardest.

The raw self-loathing in Mirror made me shudder and wince while watching the horror unfold on the page before me. The phrase "A door whimpered open, then slammed shut" was particularly powerful after the frantic scrubbing. It forcibly embodied the torture of the soul being depicted; she may have begun with small whimpering hopes, but night after night her soul slammed shut against any lingering faith.

I think Mirror got me worked up and Canaries uncorked the bottled emotion. By the end of Canaries, I was crying (which is incredibly out of character for me).

Canaries despair built with her anxiousness; the delicate pretention of smoking her cigarette to calm her nerves. At the first reading of the chapter title, I thought it would be an elementary metaphor and didn't think I would relate to the chapter. But as the story moved forward, I was sucked in. I was left stunned by the imagery of the last sentence: "In the window, she caught the reflection of a naked woman next to an empty cage."

I cannot even begin to imagine the nakedness of every aspect of my world if I were to lose my "canary."

[jvez]

Howl and Mirror are my favorites though it's honestly difficult to pick.

In Howl, the way the soul of the victim had to endure as a stray dog was extremely heartrending. And I definitely agree with your comment in Mirror. I can't help but empathize with the victim who had to go on relieving those moments even if she made it out alive.

Canaries is also very beautiful as much as it was very sad. And it was one of those type of stories wherein you just feel the characters' pain through her actions (the cigarette as you mentioned), and the imagery the author included.

[Lgs1089]

It was really hard to pick a favorite because I loved them all so much. I feel like I'm being partial to one character's life over another, and that feels dirty. If I have to pick one, it's Howl. I got Sixth Sensed. It was even more chilling as the collection led to Dungeon. The mother in Dungeon is approached by her son in a dream. She screams as her son withers away in front of her and when she wakes, she knows in her heart he's dead. In Howl the narrator says,

Finally, he opened his mouth and tried to say, "Mom, follow me."
Even though, he knew, his mother only heard a howl, she followed him anyway.

Both mothers, in both stories, lose their sons. The experiences are different, but the same. There's a strong connection present.

Windows are referenced in every story. Commonly, windows have a deeper meaning specific to the Islamic faith, and Dorgoly uses windows as a portal to allude to the Qur'an and the divine light of Allah. When hope is lost, the windows are shut. All of the characters become hopeless. They long for the past. At least in the past, there was still a future. Eventually, all of the windows are closed.

My favorite line in The Buried Secrets of Peonies is,

Her joy and enthusiasm for life were dripping from her soul, like drops of water from a tightly balled fist.

There were so many powerful, chilling elements present in this collection. I could go on forever, but I'll stop for now.

[NL Hartje]

Both mothers, in both stories, lose their sons. The experiences are different, but the same. There's a strong connection present.

Windows are referenced in every story. Commonly, windows have a deeper meaning specific to the Islamic faith, and Dorgoly uses windows as a portal to allude to the Qu'ran and the divine light of Allah. When hope is lost, the windows are shut. All of the characters become hopeless. They long for the past. At least in the past, there was still a future. Eventually, all of the windows are closed.

Wow, you have picked up on some connections within the book that completely eluded me. I didn't put the two mothers together, nor am I overly knowledgeable about Islamic symbolism. Thanks for these great inclusions!

[P Reefer]

My favourite chapter was the last one, the selfless love of uncle was quite heartrending.

" The hidden papers revealed an untold story a broken heart. The broken heart of a man who chose the past over his future."