Sunday, June 16, 2019
A Personal Journey to Seek One's Identity: A Review of Robin Greene's "The Shelf Life of Fire" (Durham, NC: Light Messages, 2019)
"Raw". "Vivid." "At times disturbing." These descriptions describe Robin Greene's latest novel, The Shelf Life of Fire. It is a personal journey of a woman who receives a phone call notifying her that her brother is dying of cancer. The brother was irresponsible and self-centered, and he hurt his family in deep and far-reaching ways. This call throws the woman into a depression in which she questions her identity and whether there is any point to her life or to life in general. It is an existential journey, but one that is concrete, raw, and emotionally wrenching (at times) to read, for the author writes about excruciatingly painful events. The tension is present within the main character's self from the start of the novel onward, but there is still room for a surprise near the end. The woman is caught between the poles of self-destruction and self-acceptance. The novel explores the journey that ends with one of these options. It is well worth the effort for the reader to take that journey with the main character and see it through to the end.
Friday, June 7, 2019
A Short Review of You Don't Scare Me, by John Farris
A Short Review of You Don't Scare Me, by John Farris (New York: Forge Books, 2007)
John Farris is one of my favorite horror writers, and this book was not a disappointment. True, as some reviewers noted, the characters could have been more realistically developed, but the story is fascinating--Southern horror with a twist. An evil man, a murderer and rapist, haunts a girl from the grave. She gained the "gift" (or curse) of gaining unsolicited communications from the underworld due to a near-drowning. With the help of her boyfriend, she tries to defeat the evil man before he destroys her and her beau.
One reviewer said this was a Lovecraftean story, and in some ways it is--but I will let the reader determine that for herself to avoid spoilers. I would say that the book did not bring scares in the sense of a jump scare at a horror movie; instead, it presents a sense of unease. This book is not for every horror fan, but for those who enjoy Southern horror, redneck horror, a bit of contemporary physics, a bit of Lovecraft, and a lot of unease, they will probably like this book.
John Farris is one of my favorite horror writers, and this book was not a disappointment. True, as some reviewers noted, the characters could have been more realistically developed, but the story is fascinating--Southern horror with a twist. An evil man, a murderer and rapist, haunts a girl from the grave. She gained the "gift" (or curse) of gaining unsolicited communications from the underworld due to a near-drowning. With the help of her boyfriend, she tries to defeat the evil man before he destroys her and her beau.
One reviewer said this was a Lovecraftean story, and in some ways it is--but I will let the reader determine that for herself to avoid spoilers. I would say that the book did not bring scares in the sense of a jump scare at a horror movie; instead, it presents a sense of unease. This book is not for every horror fan, but for those who enjoy Southern horror, redneck horror, a bit of contemporary physics, a bit of Lovecraft, and a lot of unease, they will probably like this book.
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