My Immortal

I am not kidding when I say that My Immortal is a seminal work of postmodern literature. While there is a plot, that is not why anyone ever read it. Nominally a Harry Potter fanfiction, My Immortal’s intertextuality also incorporates such cultural icons as Lord of the Rings’ Tom Bombodil, Star Wars’ Darth Vader, Back to the Future’s Mary McFly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Robyn’s “Konichiwa Bitches,” as well as the various pop punk boybands referred to throughout. Indeed, My Immortal’s Snap and Loopin can be understood as a nod to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Hamlet. In a stunning example of bricolage, these disparate elements seamlessly meld together to form a setting and cast that are at once both familiar and decidedly alien. The reader is challenged with choosing whether or not to reconcile these elements with their canon forms. No matter their choice, a piece of writing is fractured beyond repair. My Immortal is postmodern in other ways as well. From the moment it was first published in 2006, debates raged throughout the internet on whether it was trollfic or meant to be taken completely seriously. Reviewers on fanfiction.net participated in the story’s creation, egging on the author and spurring rants in the author’s notes beginning each chapter. Multiple versions of the story exist: the inclusion of the so-called “hacker chapter” is largely left to the reader’s discretion, and since the story’s removal from fanfiction.net, the many rehosts have presented the text in a variety of formats and contexts. In the years since its publication, multiple individuals have claimed authorship of My Immortal, yet none have been accepted by the readers at large as the true author. This may seem odd given the nature of the discussions over the years where readers wrote of their yearning to learn the motivations behind the writing of My Immortal, but it actually makes perfect sense, since My Immortal works in ambiguities, to name the truth would be to destroy the phenomenon. And that would be no fun. Through both main character Enoby’s struggle to differentiate herself as a “goff” from the rest of the “posers” and “preps” in the school, and the authorial persona Tara’s parallel struggle to assert herself as a writer, the text addresses issues of identity negotiation and peer acceptance, which are a significant part of the teenage condition, if not the human condition. In conclusion, My Immortal is a multilayered examination of what it means to be authentic in the Internet Age. It is not the only work in this category, of course; I would say that enduring cyber legends of, for example, Kaycee Nicole, Boxxy, LonelyGirl15, and MsScribe also cover much of the same ground. Where My Immortal distinguishes itself though, is in its humorous nature which these other narratives lack. To call My Immortal merely a Harry Potter fanfic with atrocious grammar would be an insult.

Literally only gave it “0.25” stars because it’s funny and probably satire. That’s also the only reason I read/listened to it.

There's very little I can say about My Immortal itself; it's My Immortal. It's either hilariously inept or a very entertaining trollfic; I tend to lean toward the latter interpretation these days, but still thoroughly enjoyed rereading it.

This print edition contains several related works by other authors, of varying interest and quality. My Immortal 2: Wake Me Up Inside is a fan sequel by someone claiming to be Tara Gilesbie, but it's clearly the work of a different author; the errors are all wrong and it doesn't read like the original at all - in fact it's usually quite a bit less legible, as this author runs with the premise that Gilesbie's editor Raven committed suicide, and so the entire text is written in imitation of Gilesbie's author's notes. It has more graphic sexual content and introduces Paris Hilton as a new prep nemesis for Ebony. It's not terribly interesting or believable as a pastiche.

My Immortal 2: Fangz 4 De Venom is described by the book as an "official sequel" co-authored by Gilesbie and Xanthan Gum, but while Xanthan Gum is generally closer to Tara's style than the author of Wake Me Up Inside, it's still clearly a parody. The premise of this one is that Xanthan Gum is Gilesbie's new boyfriend and beta reader, and begins authoring chapters when Gilesbie is sick. The two switch off every few chapters. Much of Fangz 4 De Venom is dedicated to the antics of Xanthan Gum's OC Brick, a 47-year-old butter enthusiast and ephebophile who is inexplicably a Hufflepuff student. The XG chapters are competently written on a technical level with a very distinct tone, as he tends more towards edgy, lolrandom humour than Gilesbie's exaggerated "goffik" stylings. I did get a few good laughs out of Fangz 4 De Venom, but its inclusion here still feels odd to me - there must be dozens of fan sequels to My Immortal out there, and there's no way this one is really the "official" sequel.

A Vampre Wil Nevr Hurt You is also attributed to Xanthan Gum as an "official sequel" by the afterward, which is patently false as, though the two authors identified themselves as Gilesbie and her friend Hayley, by the end they had admitted that they were trolls and were openly mocking Gilesbie's work and bad fanfiction as a whole. It's also, noticeably, not a sequel. "Gilesbie" and Hayley alternate chapters to tell the story of Moon - a "goffik" version of Luna Lovegood - and Gianna - Hayley's OC - through their trials and tribulations as they find love, commit murder, go on the run with Voldemort, and magically turn Harry and Ron goffik. By the end the two authors are goofing around, including a goffik makeover for J.K. Rowling herself. I'm not convinced Xanthan Gum wrote this one; it's still on FF.net on an account called "goffikblood666" which has no other fics, and the tone of the author's notes are different from XG's notes in Fangz 4 De Venom.

More interesting are I'm Not Okay and Ghost of You, two short works written by Gilesbie's editor Raven under the name bloodytearz666. Of the five additional works included in this volume, these are the only two I actually think need to be here, as they seem to be accepted as authentic. I'm Not Okay tells the story of Eternity Demen'tia Johnson, an American goth and witch who runs away from her abusive parents to attend Hogwarts, and makes friends with Draco, Filly "Shadow" Clarke (a stand-in for Raven's friend Filly), Pansy "Sea" Parkinson, and the half-vampire Darren. It's written far, far better than My Immortal, though it covers a lot of the same ground in its five chapters - name dropping "gothic" bands and movies, cutting, putting up your middle finger at preps, and so on.

Ghost of You is a single chapter apparently co-authored by Raven and Tara. It concerns a gothic version of Hermione named "Maya" returning to Hogwarts with her friends Ginny and Cho after murdering her abusive foster parents and becoming a goth. It covers their train ride to Hogwarts and not much else.

The typesetting is horrible throughout. It's not unusual for a chapter header to appear at the very bottom of one page and the actual chapter to begin on the next. If a chapter does begin on a new page, it's often more than halfway down the page. The "THE END" at the end of Wake Me Up Inside is at the top of an otherwise empty page. A quick skim through and few enters and page breaks would have greatly improved readability and made the book look more professional - while it's clear from the tone of the introduction and afterward that they weren't taking this too seriously, a little effort would have gone a long way here. Most damningly, the single chapter of Ghost of You is placed between chapters 1 and 2 of I'm Not Okay. Chapter 1 of I'm Not Okay even ends with "THE END", making things even more confusing.

So 3.5 stars for My Immortal and the Raven stories, minus 1.5 for the terrible typesetting and extraneous content.

The best book I have ever read. I love it. It should be read in schools and translated to share with the world!

Best piece of literature I have ever read 👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

Beautiful. Conpletely stunning. I have never in my life stumbled upon a writer with such a flowing and captivating writing style and vision. Being able to read about Ebony(Enoby) Dark'ness Dementia Way's journey as a teenager at Hogwarts, struggling with all the typical teenager problems, showed me a side of teenagers I had forgotten about. This book is a true masterpiece, a revolutionary work that has completely changed my view of literature and stories and should be treated as such. BY BEING LOCKED IN A BOX AND THREWN IN THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE. Sorry about the yelling, I lost my cool. Totally unprofessional of me, I know and apologize. *I was being sarcastic, I beg you not to take my words seriously*

dear frickin god Well, it's been awhile since I last even recalled that this existed, but I just discovered that there's an entry for it on Goodreads, so I thought I'd just add my two cents. This person is either the best troll in history or the worst writer I've ever seen. This work of fiction made me want to rub my face against a cheese grater and double over in uncontrollable laughter. Sometimes, at the same time. So. Would recommend. Then again, I really, really wouldn't. It's your call.

I C O N I C

My Immortal is The Room of fanfictions. Anyone who gave less than 5 star is a fukin prep.

simply the best fanfiction i have ever read. the characters are so complex and the writing is absolutely brilliant. 5 stars are not enough for this masterpiece.