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night_owl's review against another edition
4.0
Great compilation altogether, even if the "insomniac" connection is a bit tenuous between the individual pieces and the content covers a broad range, starting with Ames' Gonzo-inspired non-fiction piece about the famous Lennox/Tyson fight in Memphis (the rest are fiction). Some of the stories are dark and depressing, some are light-hearted and funny, but they all involve a certain type of person who maybe doesn't quite fit into mainstream culture the way they seem on the surface. Good short stories can drop you into a fully realized world without wasting a lot of time setting it up, and they leave you wanting more. Most of the stories here are successful in both aspects, but none more that *It's Not Black; It's Always Darker Than That* by "Lucy Thomas" (apparently this is a nom de plume for a famous author from San Francisco, according to the end notes), which really asks more questions than it answers in it's brief page(s).
Monica Drake's *Gymkhana* in particular stood out for me, and actually had some lines that were so good I had to put the book down to ruminate over them for a while before continuing. I recently read her *Clown Girl* and she has suddenly become one of my favorite contemporary writers. *Gymkhana* is strong enough I could see an entire coming-of-age-amidst-drugs-and-sex-at-a-upscale-university film germinating from those brief pages, better than any of Brett Easton Ellis best attempts.
Marshall Moore's *The Right Way To Eat A Bagel* was another that had a cinematic appeal to me, and I think it would be a great single-act play or short film. One scene, one setting, two characters (plus a waitress), one common thing shared between them. It's no *My Dinner With Andre*, but it makes a conversation over drinks at a diner into a interesting philosophical discourse.
*Stalker's Paradise* by Richard Rushfield reveals a vivid and interesting "underworld" culture that reminded me of Project Mayhem (*Fight Club*) or the Party Crashers (*Rant*) from Chuck Palahniuk in the way he opens up a door onto a massive underground culture or shared interests that do not line up with what is considered proper society or law & order.
Aimee Bender's *Night Trilogy* is a bizarre snapshot that is almost as much free-verse poem as short story.
Michelle Tea's *Fourteenth Street* was another interesting snapshot, but this time of butch lesbians trying to find a balance between fighting gentrification and experimenting with drugs and love across age boundaries.
Dan Kennedy's *Tonight The Muse Is In a Popular Suburban Steakhouse Franchise* was a really funny take on a writer's hubris and quest for inspiration. I can't help but wonder just exactly how self-aware Kennedy is in this tale of delusions of grandeur.
There was really only one story I did not like, Heidi Julavits' *The MacMillan Hair*, and it was the only one I didn't finish, which was a bit of an abstract and confusing mess.
Monica Drake's *Gymkhana* in particular stood out for me, and actually had some lines that were so good I had to put the book down to ruminate over them for a while before continuing. I recently read her *Clown Girl* and she has suddenly become one of my favorite contemporary writers. *Gymkhana* is strong enough I could see an entire coming-of-age-amidst-drugs-and-sex-at-a-upscale-university film germinating from those brief pages, better than any of Brett Easton Ellis best attempts.
Marshall Moore's *The Right Way To Eat A Bagel* was another that had a cinematic appeal to me, and I think it would be a great single-act play or short film. One scene, one setting, two characters (plus a waitress), one common thing shared between them. It's no *My Dinner With Andre*, but it makes a conversation over drinks at a diner into a interesting philosophical discourse.
*Stalker's Paradise* by Richard Rushfield reveals a vivid and interesting "underworld" culture that reminded me of Project Mayhem (*Fight Club*) or the Party Crashers (*Rant*) from Chuck Palahniuk in the way he opens up a door onto a massive underground culture or shared interests that do not line up with what is considered proper society or law & order.
Aimee Bender's *Night Trilogy* is a bizarre snapshot that is almost as much free-verse poem as short story.
Michelle Tea's *Fourteenth Street* was another interesting snapshot, but this time of butch lesbians trying to find a balance between fighting gentrification and experimenting with drugs and love across age boundaries.
Dan Kennedy's *Tonight The Muse Is In a Popular Suburban Steakhouse Franchise* was a really funny take on a writer's hubris and quest for inspiration. I can't help but wonder just exactly how self-aware Kennedy is in this tale of delusions of grandeur.
There was really only one story I did not like, Heidi Julavits' *The MacMillan Hair*, and it was the only one I didn't finish, which was a bit of an abstract and confusing mess.
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