on Willing Flesh, Jay O’Connell @Asimov_sf #ScienceFiction, April-May 2015
I relate to the struggle of Garrison, the protagonist to gain control of diet and exercise. In twelve step addictions recovery, the participants speak of a willingness to go to any length to free themselves.
And so it is with Garrison. Garrison hates to exercise. He hates to diet. He hates his morbid obesity even more. The attraction of the weight loss/diet/exercise program Garrison turns to is that he doesn’t have to experience any of the hardships of the program while reaping the rewards. Sounds great to me! But Garrison’s life spins out of his control as the program takes over. Results are astounding and miraculous, but at the cost of who Garrison was. In the real world, all of us suffering from morbid obesity must lose ourselves to save ourselves.
So it is with Garrison. He struggles to regain control of the new Garrison. End the end, the author sends a deus ex machine to resolve Garrison’s struggle. As Lois Tilton says, “[t]he author is pretty kind to Garrison”. A fun story to think about as I struggle to save/lose myself.