Yesterday's Shadows

Zine
Title:	Yesterday's Shadows
Publisher:	A New Enterprise Publication for The Helpers Network UK
Editor:
Author(s):	Janet Kilbourne
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):
Date(s):	July 1994
Medium:	print zine
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Beauty and the Beast (TV)
Language:	English
External Links:
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Yesterday's Shadows is a het 93-page Beauty and the Beast novel by Janet Kilbourne. There are two pieces of art by Helen Charlotte Hill.

The story concerns a young Vincent who falls victim to the dark side of himself.

Reactions and Reviews

This unrelentingly grim tale of Vincent's 13th year is excellently written, though the proofreading is occasionally iffy and the viewpoints dance around a lot (for those sensitive to such things). With (presumably) the onset of puberty, everything is going wrong for Vincent, and only the rare phantasmic image of a green-eyed woman who will someday love him provides occasional and insufficient relief from his misery.

From guest reviewer Marion Kozlowski's comments:

"Twelve-year-old Vincent is being verbally and emotionally tormented by Lisa, Mitch, and a jealous Devin who sees him as a rival for Father's affection and approval. Vincent is a pet to Lisa and a burden to Devin who, though he loves Vincent, has also hated him from birth because he feels he must be his brother's keeper. [Devin finds that responsibility more and more troublesome as the inescapable limits of Vincent's life begin to fully bear down on both boys.]

"Vincent is told repeatedly by all three that he's nothing more than a beast and good only for protecting the community from danger. He sees his life as a dark void, a black tunnel with no light at the end of it. He will be a prisoner Below for as long as he lives and will never walk in the sun. The darkness suffocates him and becomes so oppressive that he feels he may go mad. It sends him stumbling into the Maze.

"His worst fears are realized when he's forced to kill a robber [attacking a helper] Above on the eve of his thirteenth birthday."

Two days later, Devin locates him, withdrawn into catatonia, behind St. Vincent's hospital. From this point on, Vincent has to contend with the community's doubts about his "beast" nature, as well as his own.

The visit to the carousel, Vincent's slashing of Devin, and Devin's departure from the tunnels figure in this tale. Also described is Vincent's averting a serious flood by unleashing his power and ferocity.

The ambivalent attitudes of Devin, Lisa, and even Father toward Vincent, whom they both love and fear, are nicely, if somberly, revealed. And Vincent's torment as he poises on the brink of manhood—in many senses of that word—wondering what is to become of him, whether the shadow he feels looming at his shoulder will engulf him utterly, is extremely poignant.

Adds Kozlowski, "Kilbourne paints pictures with words in a way that puts the reader in each scene."

The many readers who have enjoyed Kilbourne's other zines will want to put this on their must-have list. But lovers exclusively of sweetness, light, and warm fuzzies must be put on notice that they'll find none of that here.