Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

The Stories of Breece d'j Pancake by Breece D'j Pancake

1 review

mmcloe's review

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh my goodness he was such a brilliant writer. The comparisons to Hemingway are very common and make a lot of sense but I think Pancake's writing is often more comparable to Joyce; focused on how powerful political forces can shape local cultural ecology, centering deeply flawed characters undergoing epiphanies, and immensely playful with regional language and dialect. He also picks apart the brutal seams of white southern masculinity and, in doing so, begins to gesture towards a possibility of relations outside of thus brutality. Appalachia is a deeply complicated and beautiful region with a multitude of histories and cultures all their own. I think these stories capture some slivers of these cultures in a way that is dignified and unornamented. 

My favorite stories were:
1. Fox Hunting
2. The Mark
3. Time and Again 
4. The Salvation of Me 

I'm so so so thankful that we're left with his perfect writing, even if it's only a dozen short stories. I will be returning to this collection yearly for sure. 
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