First thing to note is that the title story appeared in The New Yorker and the other two novellas are republished from her other collections. So not nFirst thing to note is that the title story appeared in The New Yorker and the other two novellas are republished from her other collections. So not new material. If you haven't read Keegan before these repurposed pieces are a good introduction. All exquisitely crafted.
"So Late In The Day" is a day in the life of an empty man, but not just any day. To say more would be a spoiler. For this to work you have to grant the assumption that the focal character is truly empty, that he doesn't instead have a set of misogynist feelings. Does being uncaring equate to being devoid of feelings? That seems to be Keegan's presumption here. What wasn't clear is why Sabine would ever be interested in this guy to begin with? That seems a weak point in the story. Overall, though, a brilliant portrayal of emptiness, and misogyny.
"The Long and Painful Death" is essentially about the creative process, showing how procrastination (blockage) gives way to expression, using a stay at Heinrich Boll's house as a vehicle, with a prod from a retired German literature professor.
"Antarctica" is a cautionary tale in the be-careful-what-you-seek variety when a too good to be true weekend fling turns into something far darker....more
A whiny-grouchy sixty-eight year old and retired Bascombe returns to the Jersey Shore post hurricane Sandy. I was four pages into this review when I rA whiny-grouchy sixty-eight year old and retired Bascombe returns to the Jersey Shore post hurricane Sandy. I was four pages into this review when I realized I was actually writing an essay on Bascombe and the stages of grief. Later. Short version is that these four novellas take on grief in a variety of forms and yes, its stages. In an afterward written for the paperback edition Ford discusses why more Frank and why write novellas. A nice bit of inside writing. We since have a new Bascombe novel, Be Mine, so no, this wasn't the end of Frank. I appreciated this much more on the second and third reads, but I was studying it by then. A lot of great set pieces in these novellas....more
The story is 48 pages. Followed by 56 pages of annotations. An only somewhat tongue-in-cheek reading plan is to read it straight through and then go WThe story is 48 pages. Followed by 56 pages of annotations. An only somewhat tongue-in-cheek reading plan is to read it straight through and then go WTF? Read it again, this time flipping back and forth between the story and the annotations and go WTF? A more ambitious, but also perhaps an easier approach, is to photocopy the annotation pages, number the annotations, then read the story again and highlight the passages that have an annotation (don't forget to number the highlighted passages so they are sync'd with the annotations; seriously, you don't want to have to do this again). Not saying this method vacates the WTF, probably only changes it to FU Beckett. Maybe it helps to know that this was intended as a final story for the More Pricks Than Kicks collection, however, Beckett had killed off Belacqua in an earlier story, so he's dead in this one. Can't remember, did Harold Bloom have Joyce as Beckett's anxious influence?...more
Begins with this hook: "So Shanna got a new job at the movie theater, we thought we'd play a prank on her, and now most of us are dead, and I'm reallyBegins with this hook: "So Shanna got a new job at the movie theater, we thought we'd play a prank on her, and now most of us are dead, and I'm really starting to feel kind of guilty about it all." Resistance is futile after such a beginning. A group of teenage friends have a long history of playing pranks with a mannequin they'd found and now they have one great prank planned. To say more about the plot is to give too much away. Although this is quite like those horror movies featuring a group of teenage friends being murdered (think Scream), beautiful surprises await....more
Lukewarm on this one. Excellent writing, but the reportorial style just didn't get me excited.Lukewarm on this one. Excellent writing, but the reportorial style just didn't get me excited....more
Full of some riveting horror descriptions, but I didn't find the narrative structure that oscillated back and forth between present and past compellinFull of some riveting horror descriptions, but I didn't find the narrative structure that oscillated back and forth between present and past compelling. Think it would have been better structured as a frame so that we could inhabit each situation for an extended time and then let them reflect on each other. Excellent writing....more
I've enjoyed Amy Hempel's writing ever since Reasons To Live so was excited to read this new collection. Have to say that the shorter pieces, the flasI've enjoyed Amy Hempel's writing ever since Reasons To Live so was excited to read this new collection. Have to say that the shorter pieces, the flash fiction, just did not resonate. Clever, yes. Playful, yes. Kind of empty, though. Surprising to some, I'm sure, were the maximalist longer pieces: The short story "A Full-Service Shelter" and the novella "Cloudland." Hempel wades into these and dives deep and I think these atypical stories are the strongest....more
Still prefer these four to his longer novels. In the afterward King notes that he wrote each of these after finishing a novel. The afterward laments tStill prefer these four to his longer novels. In the afterward King notes that he wrote each of these after finishing a novel. The afterward laments the fate of the novella, but strictly speaking only two of these are actually novella length. "Apt Pupil" is around 75,000 words and "The Body" is also over 60,000 words, both in the word-range for Gold Medal paperbacks. The other two are in the 25,000 and 40,000, which is the novella death zone King refers too....more
Draws you right in with its compelling premise: 10 people locked in a walk-in freezer during a mass killing attempt at a grocery store. Fast-paced andDraws you right in with its compelling premise: 10 people locked in a walk-in freezer during a mass killing attempt at a grocery store. Fast-paced and chock full of action. The dialog gets corny at times and the POV is a bit wonky, but this is a nasty quick and fun read....more
Had this on my shelf for years, finally got around to reading it. Whatever happened to Murdaland? Great journal, too bad it didn't continue. This one Had this on my shelf for years, finally got around to reading it. Whatever happened to Murdaland? Great journal, too bad it didn't continue. This one has a great novella by Scott Phillips and a story I hadn't seen before by Vicki Hendricks. Also an excerpt from Don Carpenter's classic novel Hard Rain Falling, which makes me want to go read that one again. ...more
Burke mixes scenes of dysfunctional family drama with vivid and extended dream sequences. It's the horror of reality rather than the supernatural and Burke mixes scenes of dysfunctional family drama with vivid and extended dream sequences. It's the horror of reality rather than the supernatural and that makes it all the more harrowing. The ending is a devastating surprise. A bit long in places or this would have been a five-star....more
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