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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
I had read some of these stories elsewhere but reading them together it was clear they belonged in this beautiful collection. Dalla Rosa has a gloriously deadpan delivery and his stories are sharp and clever and funny but perfectly balanced with just the right amount of sincerity and heart. My favourite stories revolved around terrible jobs and demonic cats. The prose is crisp and clipped and only ever working to reveal truths about these characters and work, sex and love. Think early George Saunders. Beautiful. Surprising. Alive.
Expertly crafted short stories that I admired but at times left me a little cold.
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
dark
reflective
i liked maybe one or two of the stories, the rest were not great
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After I read “An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life”, I stopped and thought about each of the short stories that Paul Dalla Rosa delivered. Even though each story was different, and centred around totally different people, places and circumstances, they all offered insight into anguished minds. You experience detachment, and splendidly embarrassing falls from grace. Vulnerability and shame live side by side of each other. Some of the stories and escapades seem like first world problems, but in the eyes of the characters, worlds are imploding.
The inner workings of the minds of the characters in each story were garishly intense and rousing. My two favourites were the observations and experiences of a high end fashion store manager in ‘Comme’: aspirational and dissatisfied with life all at the same time; and ‘Contact’: a woman’s job in a call centre seems full of tedium, self pity and lacking in connection.
Some of the characters seemed so aspirational, yet were so blindly flawed and pretentious in their journeys to achieve this. Stuck in a moment they just could not get out of, many were bleak about what was fulfilling their lives and this was the strength of the writing in this book. Just as you thought there might have been a bright corner ahead, it was just a corner that they seemed to be drawn to. No way out, and for some, that corner was a comfort. Truly an abstract read – give it a go! Thank you Allen and Unwin for the gifted copy.
The inner workings of the minds of the characters in each story were garishly intense and rousing. My two favourites were the observations and experiences of a high end fashion store manager in ‘Comme’: aspirational and dissatisfied with life all at the same time; and ‘Contact’: a woman’s job in a call centre seems full of tedium, self pity and lacking in connection.
Some of the characters seemed so aspirational, yet were so blindly flawed and pretentious in their journeys to achieve this. Stuck in a moment they just could not get out of, many were bleak about what was fulfilling their lives and this was the strength of the writing in this book. Just as you thought there might have been a bright corner ahead, it was just a corner that they seemed to be drawn to. No way out, and for some, that corner was a comfort. Truly an abstract read – give it a go! Thank you Allen and Unwin for the gifted copy.
An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life is the debut short story collection of Melbourne writer Paul Dalla Rosa. I do love a short story collection and so jumped at the chance to pick this one up.
The ten stories that make up the collection are different but linked by the same tone of writing as well as the same feeling of hopelessness, loneliness and regret that each of the narrators exude. Dalla Rosa has quite a deadpan, flat delivery and each story focuses on the unhappy lives of people with awful jobs or no money. They are mostly queer stories, quite dark and at times oddly funny. Though in some there is more an element of sadness and ennui like in Short Stack when Pancake Saloon employee Sam lives out his days avoiding debt collectors, stuffing up at work and pouring money into watching ShyGuy18’s webcam. One of the funnier ones was Charlie in High Definition, where Emma and Dan’s cat turns psychotic and attacks their flatmate resulting in an online appointment with a cat behavioural specialist!
Overall I really enjoyed reading these weird though mildly depressing stories. I’ll be watching to see what the author does next.
Thank you to @allenandunwin for my #gifted copy.
The ten stories that make up the collection are different but linked by the same tone of writing as well as the same feeling of hopelessness, loneliness and regret that each of the narrators exude. Dalla Rosa has quite a deadpan, flat delivery and each story focuses on the unhappy lives of people with awful jobs or no money. They are mostly queer stories, quite dark and at times oddly funny. Though in some there is more an element of sadness and ennui like in Short Stack when Pancake Saloon employee Sam lives out his days avoiding debt collectors, stuffing up at work and pouring money into watching ShyGuy18’s webcam. One of the funnier ones was Charlie in High Definition, where Emma and Dan’s cat turns psychotic and attacks their flatmate resulting in an online appointment with a cat behavioural specialist!
Overall I really enjoyed reading these weird though mildly depressing stories. I’ll be watching to see what the author does next.
Thank you to @allenandunwin for my #gifted copy.