[On May 10, 2021 Strange Horizons officially expressed its political support for Palestinian solidarity. The views of Tangent Online reviewers are not necessarily those of Strange Horizons. Fiction critiqued at Tangent Online is, as much as is humanly possible, without prejudice and based solely on artistic merit.]

Strange Horizons, February 6, 2023

“Hers” by Fernanda Coutinho Teixeira

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

In “Hers” by Fernanda Coutinho Teixeira, a teenage girl becomes pregnant after her first sexual experience. She tries to get an abortion, but authorities prevent her. She absorbs the people around her into her body, growing incredibly large, with no apparent limit to this bizarre process.

Most of the story is realistic, with the fantasy premise entering as something of a shock, and with the feeling of a horror story. (There are earlier hints that the girl can observe herself from outside her body, but this could be interpreted as metaphoric rather than literal.) The girl’s growth might be seen as an allegory for control over her own body. However readers may feel about abortion, they are likely to find the speculative content grotesque or even ludicrous.

Victoria Silverwolf has been seeing deer near her house lately.