Reviews

Naked Pueblo by Mark Jude Poirier

asiapoppy1's review

5.0

I bought a second hand copy of this book on a whim - the cowboy hats on the cover of course got to me, the blurb on the back detailing ‘trailer-park dwellers, barflies, crystal-reading gurus, pig farmers, disaffected teenagers and dispirited retirees’ sold me all the way for the humble price of $3. Sad to see that Poirier is a lesser known author as I found is writing to be outstanding and will certainly be looking out for more of his works. This collection of short stories was like looking through the looking-glass and peering into the fucked up, perverse fever dreams of small town Midwest America. To me it read like a better Palo Alto (short stories by James Franco). With characters that almost certainly could’ve been plucked from a David Lynch set, this books does so well to express the absurdity we have learned to accept. Loved it! New fav for sure❤️❤️

cwgrieves's review

4.0

Really enjoyed this, although it was a little frustrating. Beautifully written and a very quick read, but it felt like I was reading snippets of a novel, especially in cases where the same characters showed up in different stories. It was as though I got chapters 1, 3 and 15 of one book, 2, 6 and 8 of another and a few unrelated stories that may have fit either book, but without the connecting chapters, you couldn't tell.

That being said, I will definitely read more Mark Poirier in the future.

mr_emmet's review

4.0

I really enjoyed reading this book. The short stories are each carefully crafted and really interesting. The characters were full and funny with shrewd observations on life. The 4 stars are because althouh enjoyable the book didn't totally blow me away as a 5star review would imply