Archives for September 2022

First sentence: “The Following Agreement is made this first day of the first month between the members of the Arcadia Gardens Homeowners Association [hereinafter known as “the Association”] and the titleholders of 1 Cedar Drive [hereinafter known as “the Residents” and “the Property,” respectively].”

Comfort Me With Apples is a novella that you absolutely need to go in blind because life in Arcadia Gardens is not what it seems to be.

To everybody, life in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. It’s a community that has strict rules, but despite that, Sophia doesn’t have much to complain about—she has a husband who she loves even though he’s been a bit distant lately, a house that’s perfect aside from certain furniture being too big for her, and neighbors to gossip with about the goings arounds in town who keep asking if she’s happy.

When she finds unexplainable items—locks of a woman’s hair that isn’t her own, a finger bone tip—and unsettling people turning up who look at her like they know her, her perfect and happy life is thrown into question.

Comfort Me With Apples gives you a bit of Stepford Wives-vibes—from the way the women, specifically Sophia, is super submissive to the whims of her husband. It makes these characters seem like they’re stuck in a simulation with the Bluebeard lore mixed into this.

The way that Catherynne M. Valente weaves her words together to create this bizarre, unsettling world that’s filled with uncertainty and symbolism is nothing short of brilliant. Her writing is consistently lush, and it always amazes me how she creates these twists and turns that leave me in awe, especially how everything is revealed. It made me go back and reread to see the hints that I missed throughout the novella.

Should you read Comfort Me With Apples? Uh, sure. Though, fair warning, this novella does have biblical references (that I know may dissuade people).