Official Description:
Everywhere I look, something reminds me of him. Smells, words, colours, songs. For two years I’ve cried over him. The best thing that’s ever happened to me. The love of my life. He left because we were hurting. Because I was in the shallows.
Word Count: 6,684
In the Shallows is a story about loss and grief, love and second chances. The words are simply beautiful, fraught with emotion. I’m a sucker for stories that make me feel, and this one does it so well, it hurts. With short chapters, Porcia chooses her words carefully, giving every word weight. She has the rare ability to capture the essence of Bella and Edward’s relationship with simple lines like these:
“I’m so addicted to you in the morning. Forget coffee, you’re all I’ll ever need.”
The words are so…him.
I’m convinced I’ll remember them until the day I die.
The story unfolds out of sequence, and yet the author is able to weave together past and present seamlessly. I found myself holding my breath, hanging on her every word. By leaving out insignificant details, the story emphasizes the ones that matter. Quiet details like the color of the walls, robin’s egg blue, are melancholy, haunting even. There is a bit of mystery as to how their relationship fell apart and a lingering suspicion that maybe it’s too far-gone to salvage.
“My head turns back towards the window just as the hospital room door opens. I know it’s him. His feet carry him to the side of my metalic bed. He doesn’t crawl onto the mattress, cradling me in his arms like the first time. He doesn’t cry with me and hold me like he did the second time. He doesn’t sit beside me and let me cry on his shoulder like last time.
He pats my hand.
Pats my hand.”
Edward and Bella’s story is told in glimpses. Separate and together. How grief manifests differently for different people. How wanting something you may never have can be so all-consuming that it tears you down. How sometimes love isn’t enough. How sometimes it is.
Porcia understands the power of simple words and the idea that fewer words can sometimes invoke stronger emotions. In the Shallows is easily devoured in one sitting. It’s a story about courage. It’s a story that left me with a sense of hope. It’s a story I will carry around with me for a long time. In fact, I think it might just be time for a re-read.
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