When you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose. (To quote Bob Dylan, as I’m wont to do more often than not. This time with good reason. Bob Dylan makes an appearance – albeit briefly – in the pages of Frank Bill’s masterful short story collection.) This sentiment applies to nearly all of Frank Bill’sContinue reading “Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bill”
Tag Archives: Short Stories
The Small Assassin by Ray Bradbury
I’ll let you in on a secret. Despite my library loving, independent book store supporting rhetoric, I still shop on Amazon (a lot). I have the best of intentions, but I am constrained by both reason and finance. Reason being why would I pay $34 for a hardcover when I could pay $14? And finance…isContinue reading “The Small Assassin by Ray Bradbury”
Dirty Love by Andre Dubus III
To quote John Irving*: “Human beings are remarkable – at what we can learn to live with. If we couldn’t get strong from what we lose, and what we miss, and what we want and can’t have, then we couldn’t ever get strong enough, could we?” The crux of Andre Dubus III’s Dirty Love** isContinue reading “Dirty Love by Andre Dubus III”
Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro
Let’s talk about sex. Again. I read ‘Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage*’ by Alice Munro for two reasons. The first and easiest to explain is that it’s included on the list of books women should read before they are 30. The second, more complicated reason is that I find sex absolutely fascinating from a psychologicalContinue reading “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro”
The Mist by Stephen King
Last Monday (September 9th), I had to meet someone three blocks away from my house. There was blue sky overhead and it was stifling hot. As I don’t like to drive, I decided to walk. This was both a good and bad decision*. About a block and a half into my walk (maybe five minutes)Continue reading “The Mist by Stephen King”
Love, Lies, and the Internet: The Hypothetical Girl by Elizabeth Cohen
What initially attracted me to ‘The Hypothetical Girl’ was the title. Or, at the very least, I find the sentiment behind the title appealing. Despite being in the latter half of my twenties, I have no idea ‘who I am’. I’m okay with this, as I don’t believe anyone is one thing. What I struggleContinue reading “Love, Lies, and the Internet: The Hypothetical Girl by Elizabeth Cohen”
Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock
sor·row (n.) /ˈsärō/ A feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others. Appearances are deceiving; the world can be a beautiful place in that way. Despite my rather innocuous physicality and mild disposition (or perhaps because of…?), my mind is a far darker place than my tinyContinue reading “Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock”
Morality by Stephen King
What are you willing to do for money? I am willing to work (two jobs) seven days a week and forgo many things that make me happy. I’m even willing to do a few things that make me unhappy – like speaking in public to large groups. What do I forgo? The last movie IContinue reading “Morality by Stephen King”
Godforsaken Idaho by Shawn Vestal
It is possible that Dorothy Parker once said ‘The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity’. Dorothy Parker was a wise woman. She also said, rather correctly, ‘I like to have a martini, two at the very most. After three I’m under the table, after four I’m under my host.’ Indeed.Continue reading “Godforsaken Idaho by Shawn Vestal”
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver
According to a few other and myself, with What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Raymond Carver has written one of the best short story collection of the twentieth century. Given the number of writers he has influenced and how frequently the title is parodied, I gather I am not the only one who thinks so (evenContinue reading “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver”
flannel and folklore 