The Teardrop Method Review – Another Stunning Novella from an Esteemed Publisher
Gareth Jones
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Written by Simon Avery
Published by TTA Press
Singer/songwriter Krisztina Ligetti, stuck in a creative and professional rut in Budapest, uncovers a fantastical resurrection for her musical career following the death of the love of her life, Alice, in Simon Avery’s The Teardrop Method. At the bedside of her critically injured beloved, Krisztina discovers that she can hear songs of the soul – musical representations of the lives of those who are about to die, rendered manifest in her ears with increasing clarity as death closes in.
Resolving to complete a new album – partly as a way of cementing the memory of Alice – Krisztina spends her days trudging through the snow-laden Budapest streets, following the notes on the air and ensuring she’s nearby when the unwitting producers of these melodies meet their various ends.
From suicide, to assassination, old age, and accidental death, it is in these final moments that the songs fully reveal themselves to Krisztina, who quickly heads back to her home to translate and record what is sure to form another breakout album. But when Krisztina’s usually passive observation – or channelling, if you will – of the machinations of life and death is interrupted by the unforeseen murder of one of her subjects, she finds herself placed in the sights of someone with a similar ‘gift’.
Yet while Krisztina is meek, passivity is not an option for her mysterious – and insane – counterpart. For them, cold-blooded murder is the only way to extract creative energy from others… and Krisztina’s story is one that has been calling to them on the wind.
The Teardrop Method is a novella that swims in both the melancholy and the elation shared by many things – life, love, artistry, personal wounds, forgiveness, repentance, and reparation – all coated with the glittering sheen of Hungarian snow, and the ever-present scent of European cafés. Avery’s prose is remarkably absorbing, quickly easing the reader into Krisztina’s shoes as she channels her way through the creation of her latest album – a work that feels more reverent of those whose demises have fuelled it than it is exploitative of their tragedies.
There’s a sense of pureness there that’s superbly offset against the corrupt and insane nature of the work of Krisztina’s counterpart – a series of writings metaphorically soaked with the blood from slit throats, punctured hearts, and lives cut short in a greedy, self-serving artistic fervour. The connection to a horribly disfigured man who was once a beautiful, sought-after model but now hides behind a porcelain mask following a tragic road accident adds an extra layer of metaphor to dissect – not to mention more than a few astute nods to European genre cinema.
A quote from Nicholas Royle, printed on the rear cover of The Teardrop Method, delivers his opinion that the story could very well be the novelisation of a lost Argento movie, and a more apt description would be difficult to conjure. Majestic and compelling throughout, The Teardrop Method is an exemplary specimen of a standout novella. It’s beautifully written, excellently produced, and a sign of Black Static publisher TTA Press at the top of their game.
Speaking of Black Static, The Teardrop Method also contains Avery’s complete short story, Going Back to the World. Originally published in issue 44 of TTA Press’s aforementioned regular publication, Going Back to the World shares a few pieces of connective tissue with the novella being reviewed and makes for a nice extra.
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The Teardrop Method
Summary
An exquisitely-drawn tale of creative strife and human emotion, awash with European ambience… and blood.
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