Assistant Editor Rome Hernández Morgan: In “Or Better Yet,” Llanes Brownlee captures the whirlwind of color and sound of a bustling family gathering. I appreciated that, although the characters are named in groups rather than individually (the aunts, the uncles, the children), the family dynamics she describes are specific and detailed. Thought-provoking, “Or Better Yet” also gestures outside of itself, portraying gender roles and their generational impact.
To hear Llanes Brownlee read the piece, click below:
Or Better Yet
The aunties, a gathering of tasteful floral patterns in an array of short muʻumuʻu and billowy blouses, talk story around the food table. A bowl filled with poi, purple and thick, sits in front of them, their arms laden with golden bracelets, flicking flies that scramble for purchase on its rim. The uncles prick the aunties’ bubble with shouts for more beer as they brag about hunting wild boars with bows and throwing net for all the fish for the party. The aunties give them the stink eye and yell for the kids to come and get some beer already, the children’s tiny hands digging into the icy depths of the fishing coolers lining the wall, chilled fingers popping tops while uncles, creased by age and sun, tease them into taking sips. Dark arms around tiny shoulders, tiny hips, the uncles sparking into laughter when tiny mouths spit it out or, better yet, keep it down. Tiny voices peep excuse after excuse, the dark current of laughter pulling them under.
Melissa Llanes Brownlee (she/her) is a native Hawaiian writer with recent work in The Rumpus, Fractured Lit, Flash Frog, Gigantic Sequins, Cream City Review, Indiana Review and Craft. Read Hard Skin (Juventud Press 2022) and Kahi and Lua (Alien Buddha 2022). She tweets @lumchanmfa and talks story at www.melissallanesbrownlee.com.
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