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verkisto's review
4.0
January 24th of this year was a sad day. It was the day Jack Ketchum died. I didn't get caught up with his novels until a few years ago, and I found so much thoughtful and meaningful (and also brutal and violent) fiction there, I knew I would read anything he wrote. I had pre-ordered this collection in late 2017, but it took me several months to get around to reading it.
The collection opens with "Gorilla in My Room", an ultra-short story (less than one page) where Ketchum uses a gorilla living in his room as a metaphor for life. It definitely fits the thoughtful and meaningful categories of his fiction, and it hints at the brutal and violent categories, as well.
"The Western Dead" follows, and it's a story about zombies set in the old west. It's an interesting idea (Ketchum notes in his afterword that he wrote the story as part of an anthology that sought to place the origin of zombies far back in the past), and it makes me wonder why we don't see more zombie stories set in older eras. Are zombies intended to be a modern construct? Regardless, this is a characteristic Ketchum story with the concise prose and disturbing imagery.
Next is "Bully", and now we're getting into the usual Ketchum storytelling. It's about a man who stands up to his abusive father, years after having grown up out from under his shadow. This is a compelling story, made original by the way Ketchum writes it.
"Listen" is a story that covers usual territory for Ketchum - pedophilia. In this story, it's narrated by one, and he's tracking down his survivors, hoping to get them to kill him. In the usual Ketchum-revenge style, he doesn't quite get what he wants.
"Polaroids" is another ultra short, which reminds me of Richard Matheson's "The Near Departed". It packs the same kind of queasy punch, but with much more economy.
Edward Lee's introduction to the collection made me expect "Squirrely Shirley" to be funny, but the events of the story were too horrifying for me to find the humor in it. I've been coming to terms with the fact that the kind of horror I like is more subtle and suggestive than what's usually on offer in the genre, but I still like Ketchum in general. This one just didn't do much for me.
In "Group of Thirty", Ketchum imagines what it's like to finally meet the people who don't like his fiction. The main character is a thinly-veiled version of Ketchum himself, and he comes up with a good way for him to get out of it.
"Winter Child" is a prequel to Offspring, which just isn't a favorite of mine. I get that cannibals are horrifying, but when that's the whole source of the horror and the story, it loses its effect. Here, Ketchum gives us a different perspective on the theme, which helps make the story more relatable. For one thing, the story isn't just about the cannibalism.
"Cow" is another story set in the Dead River series, and this one is a sequel to The Woman. That story was good, since it showed how much more horrible regular people are from the cannibals, but Ketchum flips the script again and makes it about the cannibalism and the survival. It's engaging, but doesn't have the same effect as The Woman.
Ketchum writes a parable with "The Transformed Mouse", which is interesting, since it doesn't quite follow his usual type of story. It does make a cool point, though, and it's written in the lean style Ketchum is known for.
"The Right Thing" is another ultra-short story, about a couple getting rid of a child to keep a pet. It's an interesting take on the usual "get rid of the pet for the child" dilemma, but probably resonates more with people who actually have kids.
Ketchum returns to pedophilia with "Awake", an okay story about an aging jazz musician who rapes his daughter. He ends the story in his usual fashion, in grisly revenge.
"That Moment" is an uber-story story (story starter, really; it's two sentences) about the death of a pet. Ketchum packs a lot of punch in such few words.
"Oldies" is horrific in a different way, as it's a story told from the perspective of an Alzheimer patient. It's not graphic or gruesome, but it's an accurate look at how it is for someone suffering from dementia to deal with the rest of the world.
The collection concludes with "Seconds", a story about a woman who stops aging after her abusive husband dies. She finally meets someone who cares for her when she's over seventy years old, but still looks like she's in her early thirties, and the story goes from there. On the one hand, it's a poignant story, but on the other, her not aging seems more like a reward for the person who cares for her than one for her. It's odd, but it's a different sort of story for Ketchum, which highlights his skills with tenderness.
Most collections I read are hit-and-miss, but this one has more hits than I usually find. It helps that I like Ketchum's fiction as much as I do, but his style reflects the styles I'm used to from the horror fiction I read in the '80s. It felt like the stories I remember, and that definitely played a part into how much I liked the collection overall.
The collection opens with "Gorilla in My Room", an ultra-short story (less than one page) where Ketchum uses a gorilla living in his room as a metaphor for life. It definitely fits the thoughtful and meaningful categories of his fiction, and it hints at the brutal and violent categories, as well.
"The Western Dead" follows, and it's a story about zombies set in the old west. It's an interesting idea (Ketchum notes in his afterword that he wrote the story as part of an anthology that sought to place the origin of zombies far back in the past), and it makes me wonder why we don't see more zombie stories set in older eras. Are zombies intended to be a modern construct? Regardless, this is a characteristic Ketchum story with the concise prose and disturbing imagery.
Next is "Bully", and now we're getting into the usual Ketchum storytelling. It's about a man who stands up to his abusive father, years after having grown up out from under his shadow. This is a compelling story, made original by the way Ketchum writes it.
"Listen" is a story that covers usual territory for Ketchum - pedophilia. In this story, it's narrated by one, and he's tracking down his survivors, hoping to get them to kill him. In the usual Ketchum-revenge style, he doesn't quite get what he wants.
"Polaroids" is another ultra short, which reminds me of Richard Matheson's "The Near Departed". It packs the same kind of queasy punch, but with much more economy.
Edward Lee's introduction to the collection made me expect "Squirrely Shirley" to be funny, but the events of the story were too horrifying for me to find the humor in it. I've been coming to terms with the fact that the kind of horror I like is more subtle and suggestive than what's usually on offer in the genre, but I still like Ketchum in general. This one just didn't do much for me.
In "Group of Thirty", Ketchum imagines what it's like to finally meet the people who don't like his fiction. The main character is a thinly-veiled version of Ketchum himself, and he comes up with a good way for him to get out of it.
"Winter Child" is a prequel to Offspring, which just isn't a favorite of mine. I get that cannibals are horrifying, but when that's the whole source of the horror and the story, it loses its effect. Here, Ketchum gives us a different perspective on the theme, which helps make the story more relatable. For one thing, the story isn't just about the cannibalism.
"Cow" is another story set in the Dead River series, and this one is a sequel to The Woman. That story was good, since it showed how much more horrible regular people are from the cannibals, but Ketchum flips the script again and makes it about the cannibalism and the survival. It's engaging, but doesn't have the same effect as The Woman.
Ketchum writes a parable with "The Transformed Mouse", which is interesting, since it doesn't quite follow his usual type of story. It does make a cool point, though, and it's written in the lean style Ketchum is known for.
"The Right Thing" is another ultra-short story, about a couple getting rid of a child to keep a pet. It's an interesting take on the usual "get rid of the pet for the child" dilemma, but probably resonates more with people who actually have kids.
Ketchum returns to pedophilia with "Awake", an okay story about an aging jazz musician who rapes his daughter. He ends the story in his usual fashion, in grisly revenge.
"That Moment" is an uber-story story (story starter, really; it's two sentences) about the death of a pet. Ketchum packs a lot of punch in such few words.
"Oldies" is horrific in a different way, as it's a story told from the perspective of an Alzheimer patient. It's not graphic or gruesome, but it's an accurate look at how it is for someone suffering from dementia to deal with the rest of the world.
The collection concludes with "Seconds", a story about a woman who stops aging after her abusive husband dies. She finally meets someone who cares for her when she's over seventy years old, but still looks like she's in her early thirties, and the story goes from there. On the one hand, it's a poignant story, but on the other, her not aging seems more like a reward for the person who cares for her than one for her. It's odd, but it's a different sort of story for Ketchum, which highlights his skills with tenderness.
Most collections I read are hit-and-miss, but this one has more hits than I usually find. It helps that I like Ketchum's fiction as much as I do, but his style reflects the styles I'm used to from the horror fiction I read in the '80s. It felt like the stories I remember, and that definitely played a part into how much I liked the collection overall.
wellwortharead's review
4.0
Shortly after this book was published, we lost Jack Ketchum. I put off reading it for a while because I hated that it would be the last of his work that I would ever read, and I was not ready for it to be over. Now I wish I had started it sooner so that I could have asked him what in the world the title story was about. I didn't know him in person, but we were Facebook friends, and had I asked he would have answered because that is the kind of guy he was. He always had time for his fans, It was probably genius and whooshed right over my head? I don't know but it was a head scratcher for me. I loved the rest. My favorites were Squirrely Shirley, Group of Thirty, Winter Child, Cow, Oldies, and Seconds. Writing this review is harder than I expected it to be. The world has lost a master story teller. Thank you for the fears, the tears, the suspense and the gut wrenching horrors over the years.
jeanne25's review
4.0
The last two novels I have read were The Girl Next Door and Stranglehold, both by Jack Ketchum. I am sorry I waited until after his passing before trying his work. Both of those books, spotlighting child abuse, are very vivid, brutal and devastating. Gorilla In My Room had arrived a few days earlier. Being a fan of short stories, I hoped to see more variety in these stories. It isn’t that I don’t find Ketchum’s writing to be superb but the content of The Girl Next Door and Stranglehold was emotionally depleting. I hoped to find something less bleak in these stories.
Introduction by Edward Lee – I have only recently begun to read introductions and forwards. Stephen King is the exception and I have anticipated his words to the Constant Reader almost as much as the novel itself. I am suddenly saddened thinking of all that I have missed out on and I will be reading these introductions in the future. (I can always skip the ones that prove dull, right?) I have never read anything by Lee (to my knowledge) but his love and respect for Ketchum is quite obvious in this introduction. I enjoy seeing the person beyond the name.
There was a nice mixture of stories, including a western, a fable, a couple of love stories and of course his brutally honest stories depicting the evil in human nature. There is even a hint fiction story (25 words or less) and I love hint fiction where the author must make a very powerful statement in only a few words.
I gave 10 of the stories 4 stars: Gorilla In My Room, Bully, Listen, Group of Thirty, The Transformed Mouse, The Right Thing, Awake, That Moment, Oldies and Seconds
3 stars to: Polaroids, Squirrely Shirley, Winter Child, and Cow
2 stars: The Western Dead
Hard to say much about short stories without spoilers. Following each story is a brief afterword about that story from Ketchum himself. I can say that I really enjoyed seeing different sides of him.
Introduction by Edward Lee – I have only recently begun to read introductions and forwards. Stephen King is the exception and I have anticipated his words to the Constant Reader almost as much as the novel itself. I am suddenly saddened thinking of all that I have missed out on and I will be reading these introductions in the future. (I can always skip the ones that prove dull, right?) I have never read anything by Lee (to my knowledge) but his love and respect for Ketchum is quite obvious in this introduction. I enjoy seeing the person beyond the name.
There was a nice mixture of stories, including a western, a fable, a couple of love stories and of course his brutally honest stories depicting the evil in human nature. There is even a hint fiction story (25 words or less) and I love hint fiction where the author must make a very powerful statement in only a few words.
I gave 10 of the stories 4 stars: Gorilla In My Room, Bully, Listen, Group of Thirty, The Transformed Mouse, The Right Thing, Awake, That Moment, Oldies and Seconds
3 stars to: Polaroids, Squirrely Shirley, Winter Child, and Cow
2 stars: The Western Dead
Hard to say much about short stories without spoilers. Following each story is a brief afterword about that story from Ketchum himself. I can say that I really enjoyed seeing different sides of him.
maxstark's review against another edition
4.0
It is a very good short story collection. I hope I can write a review soon.
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