Fic Rec: Far Shore by Angelfish

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Title: Far Shore
Author: Angelfish
Zine: Never Far Apart
Permission to archive the rec/review at Palely Loitering: Yes
Notes: Following on from bits and pieces that cropped up on byslantedlight’s post about what we were all reading, and from a back and forth with noblesentiments, I thought I’d take the plunge! (Folk should note that it's only available in the zine.)
Short review: It’s post-CI5, as it were. Doyle’s invalided out and in the Hebrides, carving out a difficult, solitary existence for himself. He and Bodie have been on the outs for two years, since a disaster in Northern Ireland that saw Bodie basically abandon Doyle and get married. One day, a car draws up, Bodie gets out.. and the rest of the story is the pair of them working out their respective demons amongst the heather and storms of north west Scotland.



I know this fic has caused mixed reactions, so I think I should state my take on it at the outset. I have a blind spot when it comes to Angelfish. I adore her, she’s my favourite writer in the fandom. And my blind spot is what I like to think of affectionately as the Maclean/Fish Syndrome. The pair of them do things to the lads that shouldn’t work in the cold light of day, but through the skill of their writing I’m drawn into their world, their Bodie and Doyle. Hook, line and bloody sinker. Yes, Ray Doyle – and Bodie, actually - weep a fair bit in this, but their demons break my heart in Far Shore, so I’m there. Yes, Ray goes a-scrabbling in the stones and Bodie leaves AGAIN, but my howl of frustration is recompensed by a Bodie who sits with Doyle on the floor and finally realises he has done enough, so I’m there. And yes, Bodie’s abandonment of Doyle remains inaccessible, but he’s such an awkward, tender diamond when it comes to caring for him second time around that, yup, I’m still there.

My favourite part of the story is the beginning of that second time around, actually, when they’re tentatively finding their way with each other again.

Gradually it bore itself in on both of them that they were living happily. It took some accepting. Neither had managed anything remotely like it before…
….They discussed the phenomenon and discovered that each had independently reached the conclusion that he would die on the streets too young to make any permanent attachment worthwhile…. Neither would have believed that each other was the heart of it – it had taken this long enforced experiment, subtracting the high-octane lifestyle, to show them what was left.

And besides all this, I get the Hebrides again. I spent every summer as a child camping there, so to have them again through the eyes of my favourite writer is the icing on a rather windswept cake for me. The weather did its Hebridean thing and soaked them between bursts of brilliant sunshine. Quite! And I love Bodie’s silent appreciation of the headlands and views Doyle shows him, “an uncomplaining serenity, most unlike his normal city self.”

Anyway, feel free to use these ramblings as a springboard. I deliberately haven’t been too detailed, so jump in. What did you love about it? Any misgivings? Why? I will simply end this, my own ‘Appreciation of Far Shore 101’, with her description of Bodie waiting for Doyle to come out of surgery. It catches at my heart everytime and I love it.

He had started to fall and had fallen like Lucifer until somehow Ray had stopped his descent. Somehow forgiven him. Loved him. Warmth like sunlight in winter branches went through Bodie’s limbs as he considered this, deliberately, consciously, for the first time, and the hard plastic chair and the smell of antiseptic faded out. That Doyle had come to love him during the years of their partnership he had eventually allowed himself to know. It had gone without saying, which was just as well. Bodie was not emotionally equipped for declaration, much as he had liked and come to rely on his partner’s affection.

Daily bread, or sunlight. Men like him seldom gave conscious thanks for either. Which was stupid, really, since both could be so easily discontinued. Since everything could.

Comments

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

So much has been said here already but I just wanted to add that I found this story - like many descriptions of Doyle’s face - beautifully flawed. I loved and devoured large chunks of it to the extent that every time I put it down I actually looked forward to returning to it (which is rare these days), it was always on my mind and I wanted to know what was happening in their lives and what the next stage was in their relationship blah blah blah. I loved the beautiful writing, the atmosphere, the setting (and I really could see them there), their (desired) isolation within that setting, and I think some of the more problematic details mentioned above didn’t really bother me as long as they didn’t detract from the story, i.e. to repeat someone else’s description, as long as they ‘didn’t jar' for me. But, a couple of things *did* jar and I think that’s a shame because they could so easily have been corrected or tidied up: e.g. Bodie’s ‘drowning scene’ - I had to read a couple of times to work out what was actually happening; the now famous ‘GP’ scene and the idea that a happily married GP would suddenly contemplate having sex with a patient (and the fact that he was a happily married family man had been stressed by the writer, so it seemed more odd) – I don’t think the writer needed that scene and she gave herself more work by including it, and, more importantly, it made me scratch my head about Doyle at that stage, made me question my perception of him and so interrupted the flow of reading (not to mention the fact that Bodie disappeared a bit too easily, given the strength of their feelings at that time).

I think maybe the problem is that I’m judging this particular writer by her own near-perfect standards and what might be overlooked or glossed over in a more mediocre or below-average story writer/story stands out more in her work, because – in my opinion - her norm is so damn good. And it seems a shame to achieve the hardest part i.e. the beautiful writing, while missing out other things like the (slight) inconsistencies mentioned above which could so easily have been ironed out. But anyway, despite it not being perfect(!) I loved a lot of it, still think it’s head and shoulders above most other stories and I definitely intend reading it again. Amen.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

I found this story - like many descriptions of Doyle’s face - beautifully flawed. Now there's a poetic way to say it - what a lovely description! It's interesting, isn't it,that the doctor scene jars with most of us - even those like me who love unreservedly.

I think the point in your last paragraph is a very valid one. A new Angelfish fic is an event, expectations are incredibly high when it happens. She writes so few and is held in such high regard, as you say her norm is so damn good, that any flaws /inconsistencies maybe stand out more somehow?

I'm with you, though. It's a fic I will read and savour again and again.

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this, C.

I'm with you, though. It's a fic I will read and savour again and again.

I shall definitely read it again. I think I've mentioned elsewhere that I did read it very quickly the first time round but I've got a feeling that I'll like it even more second time.

[paris7am.livejournal.com]

S2K,
This is a masterful piece of writing in itself. Thank you. The quote which Callisto pulled out is incredible - one I'll remember.

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

oooooh, thanks! It wasn't original but I'll accept the compliment anyway!

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I'm so daft....the quote wasn't original but the rest of it was! Thanks again.