“if i were better, then i’d be enough” . . . this was an interesting read. magm…

“if i were better, then i’d be enough”
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this was an interesting read. magma is written in short vignettes that trace our narrator’s journey through a tumultuous relationship. at the beginning, she’s falling in love. we watch as she moves in with her partner, as they make homes form themselves in each other’s lives. but as we read, the partner is revealed to be extremely manipulative and emotionally abusive. we watch as our narrator realizes this about him, makes excuses for him, and falls into the depths of an extremely toxic and unhealthy relationship. she becomes trapped, but often willingly trapped, as she acknowledges her partner’s double standards and hateful language and spiteful actions but continues to wish them all away, talking herself into staying out of her love for him. her spiral into self-hatred and self-harm is fast and hard. one review from the vulture says magma “lucidly captures the magical thinking of a coercive relationship”. i enjoyed the simple, straightforward writing and the sparse dark humor. i liked the questions the book posed about why we make the decisions we do, why we allow ourselves to be treated the way we think we deserve, the way we internalize abuser mentalities, the way we lose ourselves in being needed by someone else. however, i didn’t feel like this novel tied itself together at the end. i felt like the majority of the book was really leading up to serve as a commentary on abuse and mental health and survival, but the events at the end didn’t give that to me. this too, though, is a commentary of its own sort. read this if you want something contemplative and poignant.
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