I never knew the names of the Fates in Greek mythology until I saw the new musical, String, at Village Theatre last month. Lachesis is the middle sister who allots each of us our life’s length of thread. A few days later, I was offered a review copy of the book, Lachesis’ Allotment, by Diana R.A. Morris. I had to check it out.

Lachesis’ Allotment

The book is a tiny paperback. I read it in one evening. The full title is Lachesis’ Allotment a short collection of notes, observations, questions, and thoughts. It’s a pretty accurate description. In structure, the book combines short essays with a screenplay. It was an interesting concept.

Screenplay

The screenplay followed two women, former roommates who have lost touch, through a “catch-up date.” One of them ghosted after college; she’s the one who initiated the reunion. The other friend is still hurt. The abrupt end of friendship is a good theme to explore, but I don’t think real people actually have conversations like these two. Or I don’t know. Maybe they do and that’s why I don’t have a lot of friends. Anyway, to me the screenplay concept was a lot less engaging than the essays.

Essays

I preferred the collection of “notes, observations, questions, and thoughts.” They varied from a couple sentences to a couple pages; from notes to self to essays on James Cameron’s artistic vision and personal family history. Overall, the essay parts of the book felt like a much more personal conversation than the screenplay. You get a real sense for the author’s own engaging personality. Although the entire book is supposed to be a meditation on friendship and interpersonal ties, there was a lot about creativity and one’s life work woven into it.

The Package

I’ve read a couple of novels that started out as school projects – Fool on the Hill, Hullabaloo in the Mango Orchard – and this book seemed like a thesis project the author didn’t want to go to waste. The unusual structure, a sort of prose chapbook, is not exactly the sort of thing publishers are grabbing. Just because a book is DIY doesn’t mean it has to be rough-edged. The cover design and copy editing are clean and professional. The writing is polished without losing its personal flavor.

I enjoyed Lachesis’ Allotment. It felt a little bit like a coffee date catching up with a friend I haven’t actually met yet.