The Aquatic Uncle

This is by far the WEIRDEST thing I have ever read but then again it is also one of the most interesting.  I would say that I'm not into "fine arts" thinking where everything is so abstract that you feel as if you're floating through an acid dream but I wouldn't necessarily say that this story is like that.  Sure, the names are extremely weird and the creatures are on that border of "real" and "alien" but the over concept behind them is in direct correlation to our beliefs in evolution.  Who knows, maybe it was and it just seemed alien to us because the story took place from the prospective of creatures in the midst of change.  The only logic going against that theory is the fact that it was evolution sped up by thousands of years.

You could tell this story was a satire on our own society much in the same way that Animal Farm is quite obviously a satire.  The themes and morals of peer pressure and society making you want to think that the newest is the best.  What captivates me the most in the story is the fact that there is an obvious favoritism for every species to think this way.  Wanting to go backwards through evolutionary process just seems dumb and no one thinks that way.  In fact, Qfwfq automatically assumes that Lll would want to stay a land creature and is very confused when she actively pursues the old uncle to learn the ways of the water. There are so many old morals that could be contributed to this story which makes this odd setting run parallel to that of a fairy tale.  For instance, "you always want what you can't have" and "you never know what you have until you've lost it".  "Listen to your elders" seems just a tad too obvious but it's there none the less.

In the end, I enjoyed how simple the message was among the weird names and creatures.  In a way it brought the most basic ideas out into the open without us being tripped up by the notion of "well they are human characters so this is all must be more complex because that's how humans are".  There are so many times when we are having discussions analyzing literature that I just want to scream out STOP just because people read way too far in to things.  That is especially true if the story revolves around a human character.  Sometimes just taking the human factor out of the story makes the design of it simpler, easier to follow and therefore more enjoyable to read.  I guess, all in all, I am just saying that I appreciate this story exists and I have read it.  Will I read it again?  Most likely not but at least I have.