A review by jochno
Sevastopol by Emilio Fraia

2.0

Formed of three distinct but linked stories I found the narrators all painfully detached. The writing is fairly well formed and definitely intellectual in its aspirations but cold, almost sterile. In fact these three stories read like a triptic of magazine articles that would be published in a creative writing zine by a Masters or PhD literature student. What it lacks however is any real ability to get stuck into its subject matter in a creative manner - infirmity, severence, fleeting encounters, loneliness. We are confronted with three introductions but after a slow walk towards a plot we are always left on the threshold. It was to put it quite mildly, dull and full of navel gazing. That being said there is the odd beautiful passage in there which is worth your time.