Jenny doesn’t remember much before the playground where
she plays with her friends and her puppies, but she does enjoy herself.
But her fun is at an end when one of the Guardians,
Azula, arrives and takes her to make a very important choice.
This book is a very short story – which usually leaves me
with little to say and kind of frustrated by lack of content.
But being a short story worked here. There was no need
for exposition or world building. There was no need for epic description or
even detailed characterisation. The past of these characters, the details about
them, their history, their lives and even where they go from here are all
purposeless. The nature of the world with the afterlife and the Guardians and
the playground and the dogs all lack explanation – and don’t need it
Not only would any exposition be unnecessary, it would
also really damage the power of this story
This story is stark and very present. It’s about the pain
and grief and forgiveness and the shallowness of that and easy paths to
redemption. It’s incredibly powerful, it cuts to the bone and it’s amazingly
moving
This story is 12 pages long. It doesn’t need to be one
page longer and never have I read something so short that had so much impact
and emotion and thought provoking material in it.
Normally I wouldn’t read something so short and I
certainly wouldn’t review it. Had I realised how short it was before picking it
up I would have put it back down again. I’m very glad I didn’t.
