Weekend Shorts - In My Country by Thomas Ha

Name - In My Country

Written by - Thomas Ha

Published on - Clarkesworld Magazine April 2025 (issue 223)

A timeless allegorical story with captivating prose, this one is a story remarkably fitting for current times, having a strong political message. The style and execution reminded me a lot of Ray Bradbury with its dreamlike quality, serine storytelling which is also deeply intense despite the initial appearance.

'In My Country' relates the story of a man and his family who reside in a country so much different from the ones we live in, yet so much similar when you look at it. There is government which allows criticism and maintains good governance, but only until you peel back the shiny veneer. But once you look deeper, there is the cruel reality of strict authoritarian fascism, where they are trying to regulate your thoughts and actions, while punishing you through their deceit for you trying to think for yourself.

Thomas Ha depicts the conflict inside the narrator so skillfully, peeling back the layers of the illusion and making us feel as powerless as he does. He then introduces his grief, his coming to terms with loss, and then finding hope even in such a bleak condition.

The author plays with so many allegorical elements in such a short space. The need for a writer to convey the truth, the dichotomy and dilemma with immigration, the false sense of security encompassing us, the vigour and rebellion of youth and future generations, and the inability of those who came before us to stand for what is right, etc. He tries to convey so many messages through his mesmerising prose in a poignant display of using genre fiction as literature.

This is one of my favourite stories dealing with these concepts and surely deserves the awards and nominations it received.

A well-deserved 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. I am cutting .5 because I think the author should have elaborated this into at least a novella.