Reading More: “Wild Milk” by Sabrina Orah Mark
Sabrina Orah Mark’s Wild Milk and the collection of short stories it featured are indeed wild.
Wild Milk is not meant to be read in one sitting. It’s meant to be picked at slowly. After each one it’s best you gather around a table full of mice to discuss the story of the day and pass around the pages like an appetizer to slowly devour each one and describe the taste it leaves on your tongue.
The stories come with a punch of defamiliarization. Defamiliarization is when a familiar object or situation is presented in an unfamiliar way, allowing for a fresh perspective.
In “My Brother Made A Movie And This Is What Happened” we are introduced to a son, Gary, as he films his movie about the Holocaust. The first paragraph immediately defamiliarizes the situation, we are at the whim of Mark, holding her hand as she walks us through what happens. The family is supportive of Gary and his burden of dreams. This dynamic is familiar to the reader, the only son who is aged and should’ve given up dreaming a long time ago. It’s a family dynamic that when stripped to its core is relatable and understood, but the malapropping brother, the phobia naming grandmother, and the 11 other brothers and sisters are strange.
My favorite was, “I Didn’t Eat The Child” it is a step-mothers perspective on her step-daughter, Holy or Ugrit. The daughter is grotesque in the way a stepmother in a fairy tale is usually depicted and even though she’s grotesque you can’t help but feel sympathetic — it’s not her fault she’s a step-daughter. And yet you understand the step-mother questioning whether to buy her a hen for dinner, wanting to send her away, handing her marble heart to her father. The relationship is complicated and seeing it through the eyes of the stepmother is unique.
Wild Milk explores family dynamics and relationships, and it’s funny. My tone throughout this has been serious but these stories are funny and even though there’s more going on underneath, it’s okay to read them just to read them.
For many readers, Mark’s style of writing could be considered unapproachable, but I think readers should be open to reading different styles and formats. I personally enjoyed these stories. They push style and format in ways I hadn’t previously considered. As a reader and writer, it’s exciting to see.
Bonus May Read
On her 12th birthday, Aris is given a book, How to Write a Novel in 30 Days, by her mother, Diane. Aris helps her mother with grading essays, co-parenting Max, and developing romantic relationships. Aris’ hope is that her book, once it begins to sell, will provide her family with economic security. Aris uses her grown voice, literally, to tell the story of her life during throughout these 30 days.
How to Write a Novel challenges traditional notions of what a story should be, I would even argue it’s another example of defamiliarization. The novel plays with structure and form in fun and innovative ways. It is divided into 5 parts — the 5 parts of a novel. And features stories within the story. Poems, essays, and social media.
For this novel to work you need to treat the introduction as scripture, “allow me to propose that as a fictional character, I exist in the fourth dimension of reality…” This novel exists outside of our reality and it should be treated as such.
However, there was a moment where I had to pause. A particular word was used, in a story within the story, and it’s use didn’t add anything to the character or story being told. It was clear the character was racist and them saying it was unnecessary. The novel does seem to carry white guilt, and I think that perhaps that story, that instance, is what drives Diane’s character to Charles, a student of hers. But, idk y’all…if y’all do pick it up and read it let me know how you feel…because…
Someone’s got to say it, and because it’s just me in the room it’s gotta be me it feels like posting my May reads at the end of June is….late…but guess what it’s never too late, ok? May was a tough month. Taurus season was not kind to me. I got stitches, my laptop fried, and some others things happened too, I believe lol — but we are back in one piece and back into at it, okay? Forgive me.
Also how wild is it that both books I picked up last month at my library are both writers who lived in Georiga (where I stay) and are writing in similar styles???
