by Alaya Dawn Johnson.
Read by N. K. Jemisin.
“Get in the car, Leah,” my mother said. Her already husky voice was pitched low, as though she’d been crying. That made me nervous. Why was she here?
“Ma, Chloe was going to show me her dad’s new camera. Can’t I go home on the bus?”
My mom pulled on the cigarette until it burned the filter, and then ground it into the car ashtray—already filled with forty or so butts. She always emptied out the ashtray each evening.
“Get in the car, Leah.” My mom’s voice was even huskier as she lit another cigarette and tossed the match out of the window.
I sat down and shut the door.
We rode in silence for a while. Despite her shaking hands and the rapidly dwindling box of cigarettes, she drove meticulously, even coming to a full stop at the stop signs. She never stopped at stop signs.
“Ma . . . is something wrong?” I asked hesitantly.
Her fingers tightened on the wheel until her knuckles looked even paler than my skin. “We’re going on a trip, Leah,” she said finally, jamming on the brakes at a stop sign.
Rated R. for violent and possibly disturbing images.
epilonious said,
June 11, 2009 @ 9:19 am
Probably one of the most beautiful and engrossing stories I’ve heard on Podcastle. It contained seimultaneously what is wonderful and terrible about humanity wrapped up within characters that were so realistic I could find them in my neighbors and friends. But the best part is that the wonderful bits won out in the end. I just loved it. I’m still emotionally engrossed an hour after it finished, and I know I’m going to want to listen to it again.
Many thanks to Alaya Dawn Johnson for writing it, to Podcastle for sharing it, and N. K. Jemison for narrating it so wonderfully.
My voice acting debut; first person angst at the Magic District at Epiphany 2.0 said,
June 11, 2009 @ 10:05 am
[...] at PodCastle, I’m reading Alaya Dawn Johnson’s “Shard of Glass”. I had a cold while I was reading most of it, and kept having to pause/edit the recording to cough, [...]
Tori said,
June 13, 2009 @ 4:02 am
I just have to echo what epilonious wrote. Loved the reading. Loved the story.
scatterbrain said,
June 14, 2009 @ 4:14 pm
This is an example of magic realism at its best: an engrossing story with subtle fantastique elements layered with human drama and exotic locale. My only disapointment was the ending, which could have been pulled off far better and in a way that reflected the story more as a whole.
Reed said,
June 22, 2009 @ 5:11 pm
This story didn’t do much for me. The main plot - evil politician, basically kind, but weak father, mother and illegitimate daughter from oppressed race on the run - felt quite blunt. The power of the shard wasn’t woven into the story so very well and not much explored.
It was okay to listen to, but… *shrugs*
Natasha said,
June 22, 2009 @ 5:24 pm
I enjoyed the story, but felt quite unsatisfied at the end. Well, not quite the end, but just beforehand. After all the buildup - the running, the fear, the close calls - after all that, the conclusion with the Bad Guy was too short and felt perfunctorily tacked-on. It almost felt like story was written without that character, and then he was tacked on afterward by means of a paragraph added here, one there, just to give the main characters a reason to run.
I agree with a previous poster that the shard was as integrated and integral to the story as it could have been. I, however, really liked the racial dynamics at play - I have to say, it’s a rare fantasy story told through the voice of a woman (or girl) of colour, and I thought it was well done.
I enjoyed the story as I was listening to it (it was really well read), but it ultimately left me unsatisfied.
Natasha said,
June 23, 2009 @ 11:22 am
Oops, “the shard WASN’T as integrated…blah blah blah.” Forgive my typo, please.
Dave (aka Nev the Deranged) said,
June 23, 2009 @ 8:53 pm
Hm. I liked this story, although the ending would have made more sense if it had been made previously clear that she could actually pass through the glass physically- although I suppose that might have been a bit blatant as foreshadowing goes.
Well read, although a bit quiet- I had to keep turning it up to hear the narrator’s soft voice, although it suited the character very well.
New post at the Magic District… at Epiphany 2.0 said,
June 25, 2009 @ 9:18 am
[...] New post at the Magic District… June 25th, 2009 …on How Much Fantasy is Too Much/Not Enough? In which I get meta-val on Alaya Dawn Johnson’s “Shard of Glass”. [...]
Vance M. said,
June 30, 2009 @ 8:42 pm
Amazing, amazing, amazing story. Absolutely loved it. Pulled me in quite easily and kept me engrossed the entire time. The narration was well done and the story made me feel as if I was traveling with the Leah and her mother the entire time. If there was any way, I would actually love to hear more tales told in this universe and about this very unique little girl and her adventures (i know, i know it did end…but they did travel quite alot).
Romer said,
July 6, 2009 @ 7:44 pm
Liked the story and thought the narrator’s voice suited it well but I also found it pretty quiet. I usually listen to my Escape Artist podcasts while working in a fumehood with big currents of air rushing everywhere so even with the volume turned up full, I lost some of the quieter portions of the dialogue =(
LaShawn said,
July 20, 2009 @ 3:49 pm
Wonderful, heart-renching story, and wonderful reading by N.K! Iwas drawn in immediately. I do agree that her ability to go through the glass could have been made clearer, but overall the story struck a chord with me. Well done!
Gwen said,
July 28, 2009 @ 12:03 am
I liked the story and loved the narrator’s voice, which was very melodious, but the recording was much more quiet than the introduction and theme music, and I often had to strain to hear. I had to listen to the last line about 4 times before I understood what she was saying. Please keep in mind that many of us listen to PodCastle on our headphones and have to contend with background noise!
devora said,
August 11, 2009 @ 1:29 pm
Wonderful story, beautifully read (if a bit to quietly recorded). They say if you bring a gun onstage in a play it better be used somehow, and I was wondering about that gun. Was it a macguffin?
Re: her travelling through the shard, she does travel once in the middle. So it wasn’t a complete surprise that she could do so.
Mike said,
August 18, 2009 @ 9:27 pm
When i heard the end i thought it meant she died too does anyone else think that