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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
A short, quick, easy, but immersive collection of short stories. Not what I would typically read but I certainly enjoyed it. Harper has a unique voice that suits the subject matter well, and in some ways I was reminded of Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy.
dark
mysterious
fast-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
After becoming utterly obsessed with Jordan Harper after reading The Last King of California, I had to buy all of his books to go back and read in order. This is the only one I couldn't get at a bookstore (had to resort to Ebay) so sadly he won't get my money for this one, but he definitely got a read :)
I was excited to see how one would compress the crime genre into 5-15 page stories, and for the most part Harper really delivered. This was his first work of published fiction (outside of the TV world) and while I think some of the pieces here miss the mark a tad, you can really tell that he was developing his voice.
Some standout stories are the titular "Love and Other Wounds" (also the shortest, at I think two and a half pages), "Agua Dulce," "Lucy in the Pit," "I Wish They Never Named Him Mad Dog," "Red Hair and Black Leather," and my favorite: "Playing Dead." These ones had me laughing, geeking, cringing, and overall amazed. Also, shoutout to "Your Finest Moment" which I think is the first fiction I've read in 2nd person. Very cool.
I'll definitely come back to a lot of these as I go, and I'm excited to see how "Beautiful Trash" served as the initial inspiration for Everybody Knows. But first, next up: She Rides Shotgun.
I was excited to see how one would compress the crime genre into 5-15 page stories, and for the most part Harper really delivered. This was his first work of published fiction (outside of the TV world) and while I think some of the pieces here miss the mark a tad, you can really tell that he was developing his voice.
Some standout stories are the titular "Love and Other Wounds" (also the shortest, at I think two and a half pages), "Agua Dulce," "Lucy in the Pit," "I Wish They Never Named Him Mad Dog," "Red Hair and Black Leather," and my favorite: "Playing Dead." These ones had me laughing, geeking, cringing, and overall amazed. Also, shoutout to "Your Finest Moment" which I think is the first fiction I've read in 2nd person. Very cool.
I'll definitely come back to a lot of these as I go, and I'm excited to see how "Beautiful Trash" served as the initial inspiration for Everybody Knows. But first, next up: She Rides Shotgun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Fatphobia, Racial slurs
Outstanding anthology!
Collection of short stories reminiscent of Jedidiah Ayres, Frank Bill, Donald Ray Pollock.
Intense and amusing with frequent outbursts of violence and your run-of-the-mill mayhem.
Highest Recommendation!
Collection of short stories reminiscent of Jedidiah Ayres, Frank Bill, Donald Ray Pollock.
Intense and amusing with frequent outbursts of violence and your run-of-the-mill mayhem.
Highest Recommendation!
dark
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Excellent and violent. Mostly told through first person or third person limited view, this is a series of viscera-covered and bullet riddled stories that were nearly all exciting or at least interesting. Generally small time crooks, local drug muscle, and violent crime newbies. Fun isn’t the right word, given the mayhem, but that’s kinda what I had. As if Elmore Leonard decided to go full Red-band in small doses.
There’s some fun interconnected story play as well, where one character shows up as a secondary character in another story.
It did get a little one-note in style and story progression, but it ain’t a long collection so absolutely worth your time (if you like your neo-noir crime stories spattered with blood).
There’s some fun interconnected story play as well, where one character shows up as a secondary character in another story.
It did get a little one-note in style and story progression, but it ain’t a long collection so absolutely worth your time (if you like your neo-noir crime stories spattered with blood).
$1 thrift store find.
I appreciate how the worlds overlap in some stories. I’m conflicted on the writing style. Though there’s a strong tone, a lot of his narrators seem too fabricated, over emphasized and fake. You can tell this guy writes for TV, even though he spells it teevee in all his stories for some reason. There’s a general corniness to the language and content that makes it hard for me to take these seriously.
Agua Dolce - 3
Prove it All Night - 4
Lucy in the Pit - 2
I wish they never named him mad dog - 1
Playing Dead - 3
Red hair and black leather - 2
Plan C - 1
Beautiful Trash - 2
Love and other wounds - 3
Like riding a moped - 2
Ad Hominem attack, or I refute it thus - 3
Heart check- 2
Always thirsty - 2
Your finest moment - 1 (really hated the choice to use second person pov specifically for this story)
Johnny cash is dead - 1 (given the ending, this should have been written in present tense rather than past)
dark
tense
fast-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
Normally manages to walk the tightrope between over-written and well-written, which is a difficult one to manage. The bulk of the stories are excellent, the exceptions being the two written in 2nd person. Don't write in 2nd person unless it's a Choose Your Own Adventure. I'd read more by this author.