A Place

Between

Waking &

Forgetting

by Eugen Bacon

published September 2024

– A Review –

by Fran Eisemann

            For this collection of 17 stories by Eugen Bacon, the title offers a clue as to where many of these stories ‘live’ and on how to approach them as a reader. The rational waking mind will wander and bump aimlessly about, but open the emotional eyes of the half dream state and suddenly you are immersed, plunging through a current filled with closely felt and mysterious life that flashes through a gamut of emotions. Characters and scenarios vary widely, but the stories share strong expressions of love, suffering, a kaleidoscope of colors, images, food, and music.

            The opening story, “The Devil Don’t Come With Horns, and a few others, vibrate to a background tone that left me with the kind of melancholic sadness one might feel coming out of an Ingmar Bergman movie.

            There are hints of myth and fairy tale elements, as in “The Set” where Jabari wishes for more interest in his life, for adventure. But as always, be careful what you wish for. And in “Dimension Stone”, Pendo has prospects of a happy life with a loving person, then finds a shimmering ring and picks it up, like the traveler finding an object in a fairy tale forest and keeping what all instinct pleads one to run from. For Pendo, the grim Greek saying ‘Count no one happy until they are in their grave’ becomes not pessimistic enough. Then there is the instinctual warning that Zawadi, in “The Water Runner” feels as she is being persuaded against her better judgment to a procedure she’s told will get her from an apocalyptic landscape to a heavenly haven.

            In “Derive, Moderately”, the attack of the robopets is reminiscent of the attack of the computers in “Danged Black Thing”, that wonderful story Bacon wrote with E. Don Harpe. It’s technology gone wild and dangerous. The unresolved cliffhangers in “Derive” leave the reader the chance to hope for the best.          

            Bacon pulls no punches with the suffering of her characters. We see them coping as best they can, sometimes enjoying life and love, but there are no magic wands to save them from the harshness put upon them by others. Except perhaps in the form of far advanced technology when wielded by beneficent aliens, as in “Human Beans”. This may be out of respect for the reality of human suffering, but it also makes the happy endings when they come along both joy and relief.

            And then we come to “The Mystery of a Place Between Waking and Forgetting”, in which Bacon introduces Shalok Homsi and Watison. She manages to fashion a tale that captures some of the essence of the Sherlock Holmes stories while at the same time creating something fresh, original, and charming. In a world of Holmes derivatives, this is truly no mean feat, and I hope we see this pair again.

            In this same story there is a character, Njoki, who in her speech transposes ‘l’ and ‘r’. I only knew of this as something Japanese people do to some degree when speaking English. Eugen let me know that Njoki is a member of the real life Kenyan Kikuyu tribe, and they heavily transpose ‘l’ and ‘r’. 

            How many other real-world details liven and strengthen the bones of these in-between borderless-realm stories, where dream and ‘reality’ intertwine? Sometimes the reader must puzzle out the answer along with the characters, as in “Aquarii”, a lyrical story that unpuzzles itself by the end.

            The overlap also means that sometimes in stories where traditional African life mixes with modern or Western elements, the Western elements take on an aura of an alternate world impinging on the real one. As in “The Water’s Memory”, where the portents brought by the leopard and snake fit the truth of village life far better than the wedding dress and cake.

            There are some very clear opposites. In “A Fiddle of Whisper Music” we have Hyacinth’s revenge on an abusive father and a mother who apparently turns a blind eye, in a devolution of self that spirals its way to absolute nightmare. But then there is the so beautiful “She Loves How He Glows”.  Perhaps some day we’ll be treated to another story about Chief Ade and her magical children from the city of lights.

            In the lighthearted and sly “Sleuthing for a Cause”, Ja the raven watches on as the village witchdoctor, Knuckles, conducts his daily healing sessions. She regrets she cannot be his familiar, but helps investigate the mystery of who is bewitching so many in the village. I did wonder if Knuckles’ head-bashing with a calabash technique solved his patients’ problems. There were at least no complaints.

            There is all this and much more to explore – Bacon packs a great deal into a deceptively slim volume. The stories are so original and varied they merit repeat readings that will yield more discoveries each time you turn to them. And the cover art by Bizhan Khodahbandeh beautifully expresses the essence of the book. Published by Raw Dog Screaming Press, A Place Between Waking & Forgetting is available from their website and online from other bookselling venues.

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