Reviews

Cursed by Jeremy C. Shipp

kotep's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Just never got into it.  Didnt care for the dialogue that had the numbers listing what the character was going to say.  Sorry. But not for moi. 

tobesmagobes's review against another edition

5.0

This was a fantastic book but I almost gave it four stars because manic pixie dream nightmare Cicely was so freaking obnoxious. By the end I decided to just think she was a little nuts rather than trying too hard to be a real life Zooey Deschanel and it made the read much more pleasant. Everything else was perfect.

david_agranoff's review against another edition

4.0

Cursed by Jeremy C. Shipp
214 pages Trade paperback and hardcover
Raw Dog Screaming press


It's really hard to to this review without

1).making a list.
2).resorting to praise.
3).saying shit, because I promised I wouldn't make a list.

Cursed is the second novel and third fiction release of Jeremy C. Shipp who is quickly making a name for himself in two fields of dark medicine. A word surgeon with skills that cut like a knife across the genres of horror and Bizarro. A first rate surrealist who is assured enough in his craft to throw out the rules completely. It takes amazing skill to weave a horror tale the way he has without the benefit of a standard structure. That structure became standard because it works, but this is dark Bizarro after all.

The story follows Nick and Cicely whose grow to become friends after they realize that each has been cursed. Nick can't make threw a day without getting slapped. He can't fake either asking his friends to slap doesn't count. At some point somebody is gonna be mad at him and give him a smack.

Nick and Cicely set out to find the person or thing that has cursed them. Along the way you might think that Shipp is writing by the seat of his pants but I don't think he was. Cursed while written with an experimental structure, mostly in Elmore Leonard worthy dialogue with action done mostly in lists it works. Lots of little details fly by and most of them pay-off. Probably all of them pay off I'm just not sure I caught all of them.

Shipp is my favorite Bizarro writer, this book is surreal, horrific, edgy, weird, funny and unlike most Bizarro books sentimental at times. A short entertaining read, Shipp is doing some great stuff I hope you reward him for his efforts. Read this book!

shawntowner's review against another edition

4.0

A bizarre little novel filled with lists, supernatural demon things, and a man whose curse is to be slapped once every day. At times the novel seems to be trying way to hard to be weird, but it's also an engaging mix of mystery, horror, comedy. It's the type of that can't have an ending that both makes sense and is completely satisfying, so the last 15 pages or so are a little disappointing, but the ending doesn't negate all the good stuff in the other 94% of the novel.

ironcouncil's review against another edition

2.0

Creeping horror offset by the constant reality of not knowing what the hell was going on.

carol26388's review

5.0

My reactions are:

1. Laughter
2. Compassion
3. Confusion
4. Admiration


This book has been on my GR TBR list for-eveh, or at least since I joined GR. It was one of the first times I added a book despite being stymied by my ability to procure it (I was operating under a 'library-only' rule at the time). But something about it begged to be left on my list, and I finally (three years later? My, my. I'm either persistent or obsessive) was able to get it from the library. What I received had absolutely no resemblance to what I expected. Thank you, Universe. Seriously.

A quick dialogue and list-based read, by turns hysterical and tragic. Some might even add horrific by the end. Two partially broken souls meet at the supermarket and discover they are each laboring under a curse. Our narrator is doomed to be slapped every day. He knows it's true--it has already happened 12 times. His supermarket friend Cecily has a particular vision regarding a tennis ball. What follows is their attempt to discover others like them, as well as solve the questions of who and how to get rid of the curse. It also becomes a very gentle story of developing connections.

Shipp is masterful with character creation. I found myself trying to fit them all in a neat character box, and they don't go willingly. The emphasis on dialogue means that it takes interaction for character to unfold, resulting in a fragmented kaleidoscope view. Add to it their unusual personal styles-for instance, Cecily's insistence on describing ordinary events in the most surreal manner possible--and it makes for an intriguing read.

It is also an unusually structured story. Nicolas' focus on lists is a clever narrative hook, but is not always explanatory. Shipp's refusal to include more than minimal transitions means work is required on the part of the reader, as well as a willingness to forgo literary convention. For example, the book opens with a chapter titled "#12," a short two and a half page interaction between the narrator, Nicholas, and Nadia. The next chapter is titled "#13" and takes place at the supermarket between Nicolas and Cecily. No going home, no backdrop, no character infodump; just a couple of snapshots, clips from a life.

To enjoy a book, I need certain elements present, whether it be character, idea, plot or writing. This has ideas and character in spades. The search for answers to the curse leads to musings on the nature of self-perception, self-definition, mental illness, eccentricity and life, and rather lends itself to reader engagement and compassion. There's a growing sense of urgency and paranoia as the curse victims seek a way out before they are destroyed, left as mere shells of themselves. There are also bizarro moments that caused furrowed brow, so if you are in the mood for concrete, non-dream-based dramatics, look elsewhere. That was perhaps the toughest section for me and my tendency towards plot-based reading, but I find that it largely works. It would also be the major reason for a four-and-a-half star rating.

A teeny, tiny snippet from page 11, "#13" (completely non-spoilery):

"Nicolas," she says, not smiling for once. "The cart's fine, hon. I'm the defective one."

I laugh, because I always feel like laughing when I'm around Cicely. If she told me her cat died, I might laugh on accident. Then I notice the tennis ball in her right hand. I force myself to look away.

"I missed you last week," I say. I didn't mean to sound so sincere. So small.

Now she smiles. And with a smile like that, she can't be #13.

"I'm sorry I missed it," she says. "I was busy being kidnapped by little green men."

"I should have known."

"Luckily, I annoyed their scientists so much they let me go. It turns out aliens despise show tunes. 'Brigadoon' especially."

I laugh. The world is right in the supermarket again.

*******************************************
You see? Absurd, funny, vulnerable, awkward, odd... so very, very human.



Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/cursed-by-jeremy-c-shipp-or-applause-worthy-lists/ and
http://www.shelfinflicted.com/2013/07/cursed-and-recommended.html

antij's review

4.0

Fun book that played with the structure. Kind of disturbing. Cecily, though, walked the thin line between interesting and annoying. Her kookiness threatens to be too much.