Subterranean Press has announced a new novella from science fiction Grandmaster Connie Willis: Take a Look at the Five and Ten.
The novella will be released in November with art by Jon Foster. The story is about a woman named Ori who is dreading the upcoming Christmas holidays with her annoying and condescending family. But a new member of the family, Lassiter, realizes that their grandmother’s ramblings might have a bigger story behind them, they run an experiment to try and uncover more of her past.
Here’s the full description:
Ori’s holidays are an endless series of elaborately awful meals cooked by her one-time stepfather Dave’s latest bride. Attended by a loose assemblage of family, Ori particularly dreads Grandma Elving—grandmother of Dave’s fourth wife—and her rhapsodizing about the Christmas she worked at Woolworth’s in the 1950s. And, of course, she hates being condescended to by beautiful, popular Sloane and her latest handsome pre-med or pre-law boyfriend.
But this Christmas is different. Sloane’s latest catch Lassiter is extremely interested in Grandma Elving’s boringly detailed memories of that seasonal job, seeing in them the hallmarks of a TFBM, or traumatic flashbulb memory. With Ori’s assistance, he begins to use the older woman in an experiment—one she eagerly agrees to. As Ori and Lassiter spend more time together, Ori’s feelings for him grow alongside the elusive mystery of Grandma’s past.
The book will be part of a limited, 1500-number run, and will cost $40. It’s available to preorder now.
