The Splinter [Kindle Edition]

Remittance Girl (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

For thousands of years, man has sought experience of the divine. He has found strange and sometimes shocking ways to achieve it. Dolores Gutierrez has had visions since early childhood. Convinced that God is calling her to holy orders, she has modeled herself on Teresa of Avila, a medieval saint. But it is pain, not prayer, that brings her visions.

Acutely aware of the dark history of his own religion, Father Steven, the sensible priest of her parish, is certain that Dolores is far more in need of psychiatric care than a nun’s habit. He seeks the help of a colleague, Brother Simon, to assess the disturbed Dolores.

Uniquely qualified to counsel the young woman because of his own struggles with self-immolation, Simon takes on the task only reluctantly; he is not convinced his own demons have been put to rest. Is God really speaking to Dolores, or is it something else?

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 86 KB
• Print Length: 54 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Republica Press (February 3, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003980XHA
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,187 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Remittance Girl is the pen name of a Canadian writer who inherited and then squandered the talents of both her mother, the composer, and her father, the writer. She produced her first piece of erotic fiction at the venerable age of 36.

Born in Toronto, Remittance Girl spent her childhood at bullfights and in Catholic churches in Madrid, Spain. Her adolescence passed locked away in a selection of chilly boarding schools in the south of England. In her early twenties, she was a vocalist in a number of alternative bands. These experiences proved to be an excellent recipe for the formation of a rather perverse imagination.

The persona of Remittance Girl was born on the web in 1998 when she moved to Southeast Asia and began writing in earnest. As a perpetual expatriate, her stories often take the point of view of an outsider looking in. They examine eroticism in the face of personal and moral dilemma, and cultural disorientation. The express purpose of the work is to both arouse and disturb, often at the same time.

Remittance Girl's influences are broad in scope: from the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca, the novels of Jane Austen and Kobo Abe, the music of Erik Satie and Metallica, to the films of Ridley Scott and the murky deviance of Japanese hardcore animation.

Her short stories have been published in M. Christian & S. Vivant's 'Garden of the Perverse', Lisabet Sarai's 'Cream', Violet Blue's 'Girls on Top', D.L. King's 'The Sweetest Kiss' and M. Jakubowski's upcoming 'Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, Vol. 9', among others. Three of her books, 'Gaijin', 'The Waiting Room' and 'The Splinter', are available through Republica Press. An anthology of her short stories is available: 'Remittance Girl' from Coming Together Press.

Remittance Girl now lives in a house with a giant mango tree in the garden and a cat named 'seven'. She writes, teaches, and grows orchids.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Less Erotica, More Psychological Study, October 25, 2010

By 

Claudia D. Christian (Gainesville, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Splinter (Kindle Edition)

In "The Splinter" we have Dolores, a young girl fanatically devoted to her faith, who sees pain and blood as the ultimate sacrifice and proof of faith. Everyone around is unnerved by her fanaticism, yet, unsure of what to do.

After all, Dolores loves God. How can you discourage that?

Father Steven, a priest who describes Dolores as "She was just too - it was hard to find a word for what she was - devout? Fanatical? She was too fascinated by far with the harsher aspects of Catholicism," sees the unhealthy notes of her love. So he sends her to see Brother Simon, a man who has carved the proof of his extreme devotion on his body and face. From there, Dolores and Brother Simon alternately become Tempter and Temptee for one another until the very end.

I would describe this book as less erotica and more a psychological study. The writing is strong, the characters sharp, and the self-violence unflinching. While "The Splinter" did not necessarily hit my kink button below the waist, it did hit it above.

My tastes don't necessarily run along the flowery meadows and whispers of love that many of my fellow gender seem to celebrate. Was it childhood trauma? Not enough love? Too much pressure? Daily violence? Or was I just built that way?

"The Splinter" brings those questions to mind as I examine Dolores and Simon. Why are they the way they are? Why does extreme pain bring clarity and peace to them and the many like them? Why does pain show love?

I'm left with no concrete answers nor am I expected to. Remittance Girl presents us a view into someone else, not as a cautionary tale or a seedy thrill, but as a way to say, "People are different. We all have that quirk which makes us feel isolated and unworthy of love. The peace comes from finding those who are built the same. It is then you feel the beauty of who you are."

For that, I truly enjoyed this piece. I encourage those who understand this kind of message to explore "The Splinter" and see what questions come about inside of them.