The Distance of the Moon

I don’t think that the distinction between genre and literary fiction is entirely necessary. Genres are basically a “promise” made to the audience that a work will contain certain elements similar to others in its category. It is simply a label used to better market the work and give the reader an idea of what to expect; and depending on the work, that can either be a good thing or not. Personally, I really like going into a reading blind, with no expectations. I feel like it opens up my mind and allows me to enjoy it for what it is.

In the case of this short story, I’m glad I went in blind. It had elements of fantasy or magical realism with the moon, but the way that the story explained the moon trips and the purpose/logic behind them is something that is very much like Sci-Fi. However, the focus of the story is not why they were making the moon trips, but rather the relationships between the characters. I didn’t even make the connection that it had Sci-Fi elements until after I read and absorbed it, so was able to read it without any preconceptions limiting my expectations.

I enjoyed the reading because it had a lot of sensory details that made it easy to immerse myself in what was going on. The dramatic mood left me pondering about what the author was trying to say towards the end. The story is basically about change, and the characters demonstrate different ways of handling it. I like that the author uses the moon as a character to show that change is inevitable, just as it was inevitable that the moon separated itself further from the Earth. The deaf cousin accepts and even encourages that change, in contrast to other characters who go through many stages until finally settling. The story is also about different kinds of love. The protagonist goes from simply lusting after Mrs. Vhd Vhd, to having an unrequited love for her, to loving her almost unconditionally. His love for Mrs. Vhd Vhd was constantly changing, but since she never reciprocated, he eventually had to give up. Even though he gave up on trying to get Mrs. Vhd Vhd to love him back, his love for her didn’t diminish completely. This feeling of heartache is very common after being rejected. Overall, I found the reading to be very interesting, and I enjoyed the mood of the piece.