The Latin phrase, in media res, meaning ‘in the middle of the things’ describes the technique by which story writers begin their tale in the middle of an action. It’s an age-old trick to get the reader involved immediately in the action of the story. However the real task then is to keep the reader continually interested. Singhurd Saga perfectly accomplishes this task.
The description of the green eyed Singhurd who was a Viking in some other life, with braided hair and thick, beaded beard stems out from the cultural clichés and stereotypes with regard to Vikings in popular culture. Somewhere in this fable the reader gets a shock of familiarity among the erratic moments and imagination. Narrating a day in his life, the author presents a unique psychological insight of Singhurd’s complex relationship with the outside world. It’s the regular people, birds, autos, only shaped differently in Singhurd’s head.
Towards the end of this intrepid adventurer’s rather ordinary day, as he leaves the bar with his friend and comes to a tunnel with mirrored walls what greets him is not the visage of the “fearsome Viking marauder” but that of a thin, hollow eyed man, the real ‘Sigurd’, afraid of his mediocrity and submerged into the identity of his greater self, ‘Singhurd’. Upon juxtaposition, these two identities living different realities merge into a dark atmosphere.
A descriptive narration, the story delves into a man’s desire for greatness, wanting to change himself and in fact be someone else.
Buy the story here.
