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A review by rodrovich
Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas by Fernando A. Flores
3.0
This is a front-heavy collection of fictional stories inspired from the punk scene in South Texas. Front-heavy in the sense that I generally liked the stories on the first half and didn't end up caring as much for the rest of them - they were just okay.
The central themes revolve around the experience of being migrants to a new place, discovering ways of expression, and of course, the explosive and short-lived punk spirit that gets so vividly reincarnated through different people and described throughout each story. The realistic backdrop makes the stories read like alternative historical fiction.
My three favorite pieces were:
Pinbag - This story embodies the short-lived punk experience with character portraits that read like they took 20 pages to develop but Flores does it in a span of 8 pages - incredible.
Bread8 - It’s a compelling tale of the youthful tenacity of punks vs. the establishment politician, and the way it ended was powerful - I don’t want to spoil it but it moved me.
The Performances of Liliana Krauze - a tight, focused narrative following a woman who has trouble expressing art in her own way, and in another way, it’s a journey of self-realization and self-actualization. Her final performance at the bookstore was fulfilling, Flores’ description of ambient field recordings is compelling, to say the least.
7/10
The central themes revolve around the experience of being migrants to a new place, discovering ways of expression, and of course, the explosive and short-lived punk spirit that gets so vividly reincarnated through different people and described throughout each story. The realistic backdrop makes the stories read like alternative historical fiction.
My three favorite pieces were:
Pinbag - This story embodies the short-lived punk experience with character portraits that read like they took 20 pages to develop but Flores does it in a span of 8 pages - incredible.
Bread8 - It’s a compelling tale of the youthful tenacity of punks vs. the establishment politician, and the way it ended was powerful - I don’t want to spoil it but it moved me.
The Performances of Liliana Krauze - a tight, focused narrative following a woman who has trouble expressing art in her own way, and in another way, it’s a journey of self-realization and self-actualization. Her final performance at the bookstore was fulfilling, Flores’ description of ambient field recordings is compelling, to say the least.
7/10