"The Thing in the Forest" by A.S. Byatt

As a world-famous chronicler of the short story form, I should probably proceed to write with great confidence and authority about A.S. Byatt's long short story (or is is short long story?) entitled, "The Thing in the Forest."  If you, like me, are of average intelligence, you will know that this is not possible; it's A.S. Byatt after all.  I believe she may be an alien sent here to make humans feel stupid which will ultimately allow her to lead her alien race in assimilating us.

"The Thing in the Forest" is the first story in Byatt's collection, "Little Black Book of Short Stories."  Many of you may know her as the author of the lovely, difficult, world-renowned novel Possession.  Every time my husband talks about his experience reading that book he shivers and gets a far away look in his eyes as if he needs to be held for a few minutes before he can go on living.  My advice on Possession: once you make it through the first 200 pages you're golden.

"The Thing in the Forest" is the story of Penny and Primrose, two little girls turned neurotic middle-aged women, who see a giant worm in the forest when they are evacuated from their homes during the height of WWII.  The image of the worm splitting itself in two to wrap around a tree, then coming together again whole on the other side is forever imprinted on my mind.  The alien Byatt uses her magic to create a full-on sensory experience.  The worm's odor leaks of the pages.  I can hear it slurping and slapping as it makes its way across the forest's floor.  I kept picturing a less jovial Jaba the Hut.  Through Byatt's masterful imagery, we are transported to the forest, both in Penny's and Primrose's childhood, and again when they return to the forest as grown women, seeking some closure from their frightful hike in the woods.

Did the girls really see the worm or did the worm represent the horrors that war inflicts on children?  Is the worm Hitler?  Did Primrose, who later becomes a storyteller by trade, create the worm for herself and Penny?  And who or what is Alys, the little girl the worm ate?  Is Alys the girls' last, tenuous grasp on innocence?  

I have no idea, but sometimes that's the best part of short stories.