META/GC: Why You Should Read Correspondence With the Goddess

[Andrew Perron]

Because it's *good*!

No, wait, that's not very convincing. Okay, let's see. Correspondence With
the Goddess is a story told in the epistolary format - that is, as a series
of letters - from a very literal goddess named Lydia. The premise of the
series is that Lydia has no idea why or how she went from a normal human
girl into a being with power over the fundamental aspects of the universe,
and she's telling us about the events that lead up to it as a way of
figuring out how.

The thing about Correspondence With the Goddess (which I'll call GC from
here on out) is that it's focused entirely on Lydia's interiority. Almost
everything (we'll get to the exception in a minute) is told from her
viewpoint, and we explore her thoughts and feelings deeply and in detail.
And she's a really interesting person - flawed in a lot of ways, with more
than a bit of self-loathing, but despite that, a better person than most to
be chosen as the holder of ultimate power. As well, her perspective on the
events around her is both incisive, showing her to be deeper than she
thinks she is, and funny.

If Lydia is the viewpoint character, her sister Elana is the opposite of
that. She fits around the narrative like a minimalist picture frame,
drawing attention to how little she draws attention to herself. Before
every chapter, she posts an introduction, talking about her functionally
omnipotent sibling in a way that reveals much about their relationship.
Within the story, she functions both as a restraint on Lydia's activities
and as someone for her to define herself against.

This super-focus on Lydia's interiority means that only a few other
characters outside the main two get much screentime - but all of them are
sharply developed. We see them through Lydia's eyes, which more than once
has meant that the way we "should" feel about them is defined - and then
they step outside of that. It's a neat trick that takes advantage of the
format.

The plot of the series takes its time, but in a good way; winding through
various events at the speed necessary to let Lydia's train of thought take
the scenic route. A lot of the obvious points in the plot - power-ups,
reveals, and so on - are made less so by emphasizing the path more than the
stops along the way.

Basically, if you like interesting characters explored thoroughly, you
should read Correspondence With the Goddess.

Andrew "NO .SIG MAN" "Juan" Perron, and also because it's good.