Each Friday, a member of the 2022 Klio staff will highlight two pieces from our archive that deeply resonated with them. Our 2022 editor-in-chief, Julia Mertes, is kicking off our series with Alise Deveney’s piece Until Death Do Us Part, paired with the equally heartbreaking titled piece of art, Old Man Kissing His Wife’s Hand by Abby Guo.
Fiction: Until Death Do Us Part by Alise Deveney
Originally Published: 2018
“Upon finding Deveney’s work, I was thoroughly entertained by the story and found the introduction to have a solid hook to keep readers interested and engaged in learning more. The story contains various murder attempts that were committed by unexpected culprits — an elderly couple who despised their own greedy children and wanted to kill each other out of spite.
Everything in the story seemed carefully chosen and curated — even the characters’ names, Vern and Rhonda, which were not names typically associated with murderers. The concluding paragraph of the work especially stood out to me because it alluded to increased shenanigans between the duo as Vern planned to initiate a murderous car accident while they traveled to church.
The fact that the couple was headed to a place of worship after considering such sinful deeds just adds another comedic element to the story. Despite discussing murder, a carefree tone continued from beginning to end as the couple tried to murder each other with typical components of their daily routine (from pb&j sandwiches to bleach-infused drinks). The ending also allowed for future continuation of the story, meaning the author could submit a sequel to the work if she desired to.”
Art: Old Man Kissing His Wife’s Hand by Abby Guo
Originally published: 2019
“When I came across the work, Old Man Kissing His Wife’s Hand on Klio, I was taken aback by the intricate detail used throughout the piece as a whole. The work demonstrated great artistry, and the creator was effectively able to showcase an emotional dimension to the piece through successful realism.
Artist Abby Guo utilized purposeful shading and made a successful decision of integrating her own flare into the piece. This work, which was a re-imagination of a similar magazine photograph, is an emotion-eliciting artistic construction that everyone should take a moment to view. Creating the work on a wood panel allowed the black-and-white coloring to strikingly stand out and make a larger impact on viewers.”