Title: Flotsam
Author: Caitlin R. Kiernan
In: The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2 (Trisha Telep)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Oceans, Romance
Dates read: 5th May 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: But it’s all the same, really, as I am hers to do with as she will, no strings attached, no farthest limits to my devotion; I made that promise the first night and have not yet regretted it.

Sometimes we make promises that are hard to keep. Other times, it’s the easiest decision we’ve ever made.

I found this tale a little hard to get through. Which was a little weird when I considered that so far, I have loved every Kiernan short story that I’ve read. And then I realised that this entire story was a single block of text. No paragraphs or breaks of any kind. Just a big wall of sentences and text that reflected the vastness and overwhelming sense that the ocean provides.

There are so many ways in which the ocean is idolised and picturesque. Yet this story doesn’t really highlight that aspect of the vast horizon, rather it shows the idea that the ocean likes to take. As well as give. But, in the case of this story and partnership, it takes and hurts, and in some, weird, roundabout way, manages to make the giver feel more alive and vibrant. Makes them feel that they’re vital in ways they weren’t before.

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