Pete's picture
Pete from Detroit is reading Red Dragon April 2, 2012 - 2:35pm

'We Live Inside You' by Jeremy Robert Johnson

Discussion has officially started!

Synopsis: We are within you, and we are growing. Watching. Waiting for your empires to fall. It won't be long now.

We are the fear of death that drives you and the terrible hunger that reshapes you in its name. We are the vengeance born from senseless slaughter and the pulsing reptile desire that negates your consciousness. We are the lie on your lips, the collapsing star in your heart, and the still-warm gun in your shaking hands. The illusion of control is all we'll allow you, and no matter what you do... \

"WE LIVE INSIDE YOU is fucking terrific. Jeremy Robert Johnson is dancing to a way different drummer. He loves language, he loves the edge, and he loves us people. These stories have range and style and wit. This is entertainment... and literature."--JACK KETCHUM, author of Off Season, The Girl Next Door, and The Woman

About the Author: Jeremy Robert Johnson is the author of WE LIVE INSIDE YOU, the cult hit ANGEL DUST APOCALYPSE, the Stoker Nominated novel SIREN PROMISED (w/Alan M. Clark), and the end-of-the-world freak-out EXTINCTION JOURNALS. His fiction has been acclaimed by Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk and has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. In 2008 he worked with The Mars Volta to tell the story behind their Grammy Winning album The Bedlam in Goliath. He also runs indie publishing house Swallowdown Press and is at work on a host of new books. For more information you can access his techno-web presence at the cleverly-named www.jeremyrobertjohnson.com.

I've been stoked to get started on this collection of stories for a while. I've been holding off because, well, I wanted to read it closer to the discussion time so it would be fresh in my mind.

Jeremy has agreed to participate, so it should be a great discussion. 

Discussion has officially started!

Some cool stuff:
Booked did an Interview and a review of the book.
Here's Jeremy Robert Johnson's website and Facebook. (Hit him up there, he's super cool and won't make fun of you - I promise!)

The book is available on Amazon HERE

Get to reading!
 

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. April 2, 2012 - 3:01pm

This guy is amazing, he contributed a story to my anthology, I will totally get this.

Pete's picture
Pete from Detroit is reading Red Dragon April 2, 2012 - 3:26pm

Yeah, even Chuck Palahniuk thinks so:

"A dazzling writer. Seriously amazing short stories- and I love short stories. Like the best of Tobias Wolff. While I read them, they made time stand still. That's great."-- CHUCK PALAHNIUK
(blurb from Angel Dust Apocalypse)

aliensoul77's picture
aliensoul77 from a cold distant star is reading the writing on the wall. April 2, 2012 - 3:33pm

Who does his covers? That art is awesome too.

PandaMask's picture
PandaMask from Los Angeles is reading More Than Human April 2, 2012 - 3:56pm

I've read some of his work, he's amazing! Very intense. The artwork is really cool.

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like April 2, 2012 - 4:41pm

I've been looking for something current to read.  I think I'll buy this

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz April 2, 2012 - 5:44pm

I just picked it up on Amazon - heads up, the website said there were only 6 left when I made the order. So if you want to get it though Amazon, act fast!

Pete's picture
Pete from Detroit is reading Red Dragon April 2, 2012 - 5:51pm

It's also available for Kindle and Nook for you digital folks.

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz April 2, 2012 - 8:33pm

Cool Pete, count me in. I love JRJ's maniacal mind.

Flaminia Ferina's picture
Flaminia Ferina from Umbria is reading stuff April 3, 2012 - 3:21am

My order is processing.

Jay.SJ's picture
Jay.SJ from London is reading Warmed and Bound April 3, 2012 - 4:05am

I have this, now will push it up my to read pile to take part. JRJ is a great guy too.

.'s picture
. April 3, 2012 - 9:11am

I've been slacking so I will buy the e-book today and crack this sucker open. Or...em...turn my kindle on.

Cassandra L.'s picture
Cassandra L. from Melbourne is reading A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole April 4, 2012 - 6:09am

Just ordered this, hopefully it arrives on time. I'm a slow-as-hell reader and I've never done the book club thing, but I need to interact more with humans so I'll give this a go. I'm intruiged.

wickedvoodoo's picture
wickedvoodoo from Mansfield, England is reading stuff. April 4, 2012 - 6:09am

I'll be taking part in this one for sure. I already have the book.

J David Osborne's picture
J David Osborne from Portland, OR April 5, 2012 - 7:01pm

It's a fucking great book.

Pete's picture
Pete from Detroit is reading Red Dragon April 6, 2012 - 5:49am

Is that your official review?

Jeremy Robert Johnson's picture
Jeremy Robert J... from Portland, OR is reading an unreasonable number of books. April 6, 2012 - 9:52am

A few quick things:

1. I'm really looking forward to this. You guys have had very smart discussions about some wonderful books and I'm truly honored to have my new collection added to that list. I hope that anyone who picks up WE LIVE INSIDE YOU enjoys the read. (Also, I know the "author included" discussions tend to have less critique, but I'm cool with a full spectrum of opinions. After 6 years of being associated with Bizarro, I've got a pretty thick hide. Plus, I already bought a bottle of whiskey, just in case.)

2. WE LIVE INSIDE YOU is still a Featured Title at Powell's, and they just placed an order, so they should be re-stocked by Saturday. They're a great bookstore, and I like to send people their way.

3. At some point today I'm posting a riddle on my Facebook page. First person to correctly answer wins a copy of every book ever published by Swallowdown Press. Trying to have fun with promotions these days, and this satisfies my inner-Gollum.

 

Pete's picture
Pete from Detroit is reading Red Dragon April 6, 2012 - 10:40am

And I've been stalking your facebook since last night... haha

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like April 6, 2012 - 11:18am

Sweet!  My copy just came in the mail. 

Jeremy Robert Johnson's picture
Jeremy Robert J... from Portland, OR is reading an unreasonable number of books. April 6, 2012 - 1:09pm

Alien- Our last two covers featured art from Alex Pardee. We have another title, coming later this year, that will hopefully also feature his work. His stuff is amazing and I feel like it really fits the aesthetic sensibility of Swallowdown Press.

His cover art for BY THE TIME WE LEAVE HERE, WE'LL BE FRIENDS is also available as a pretty sharp t-shirt.

Flaminia Ferina's picture
Flaminia Ferina from Umbria is reading stuff April 6, 2012 - 1:52pm

As usual, it's gonna take forever until my books arrive. Long gone those times when Rome was the center of the world!

Good thing there's no snow nor truckers on strike this time at least in sight. Hopefully.

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like April 8, 2012 - 12:36am

I've been reading this alongside some Poe stories and I'm having trouble imagining two more contrasting writing styles -- I think I'm enjoying both more because of it.

Carlton Mellick's picture
Carlton Mellick from Portland, OR is reading DMZ April 8, 2012 - 1:51pm

Jeremy Robert Johnson is an amazing writer. You're all going to have a great time with this book.

wickedvoodoo's picture
wickedvoodoo from Mansfield, England is reading stuff. April 9, 2012 - 4:07am

Wow, Mellick signed up too! LR is becoming a good place for bizarro types, which I think is very cool.

Stacy Kear's picture
Stacy Kear from Bucyrus, Ohio lives in New Jersey is reading The Art of War April 9, 2012 - 7:32pm

aww my first book club book :-)

 
OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz April 9, 2012 - 8:09pm

Got this in the mail over the weekend and will be starting it soon - but the cover art is well done and looks great in your hands.

Mark Olsen's picture
Mark Olsen from NJ is reading The Fan Man April 10, 2012 - 9:14am

this should be in my mailbox right now. cant wait to get home...

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz April 10, 2012 - 9:27am

Dang, time is a tickin'. I need to get my ass into Powell's. The only problem with that is the last time I went there my wife ended up filing a missing persons report.

Stacy Kear's picture
Stacy Kear from Bucyrus, Ohio lives in New Jersey is reading The Art of War April 10, 2012 - 6:48pm

@ Chester 

We have a strict time limit policy when entering any facility that hold books, agreed upon prior to the visit and non negotiable.

 

 
Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz April 12, 2012 - 1:29pm

He-He Stacy...we 'should' have something like that.

I just realized this starts May 1st. That is good, I have more time. For some reason I thought it started the 15.

Yay.

Mike Mckay's picture
Mike Mckay is reading God's Ashtray April 16, 2012 - 10:44pm

I read this when it released late last year and it was a delicious read I assure anyone who is a fan of JRJ's work will not be disappointed by this piece of art.

BTW Alex Pardee's art is fucking amazing and pretty much sum up the book.

Mike Mckay's picture
Mike Mckay is reading God's Ashtray April 16, 2012 - 10:50pm

*notices JRJ has litreactor account, heart rate increased, sweating profusely, hands twitiching while clicking 'add friend'

wickedvoodoo's picture
wickedvoodoo from Mansfield, England is reading stuff. April 17, 2012 - 12:00am

I read the first five stories last night, colour me impressed. I rememeber getting a similar feeling from ADA.

I really like JRJ's short story style. Looking forward to reading more.

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz April 30, 2012 - 2:15am

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like May 1, 2012 - 8:17am

It's May - what do we do?  Do we wait for official q&a?

(Sorry if I'm breaking protocol.)  I'll just start by saying I thought the piece on the Mars Volta was very good.  I don't care much for that band.  When a writer makes me interested in a band I already dislike, it's good.

Pete's picture
Pete from Detroit is reading Red Dragon May 1, 2012 - 8:43am

Start anyway you like!  :)

I agree about the Mars Volta write up. I was forced to look them up again just to make sure that I didn't care for them. Great story about them.

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz May 1, 2012 - 9:43am

I have about 60 pages to go, which I think I can bang out in the next couple of days. There's some stories in here that I really, really enjoyed and I look forward to the discussion.

Anyway, i wanted to stop in here just to post this link - this is the train line by my place. I just kind of thought it was funny given the timing and the subject matter of some of the short stories.  So if you notice my posts to be a little more erratic this summer and more interested in feeding and breeding, you'll know why. Just get me some Maker's and a shotgun.

http://www.universalhub.com/2012/government-would-only-spray-killed-bact...

 

wickedvoodoo's picture
wickedvoodoo from Mansfield, England is reading stuff. May 2, 2012 - 6:18am

A few of the highlights for me:

 

Laws Of Virulence. Love this story. Okay, so I already read it in Warmed and Bound but I enjoyed it second time round just as much. A killer story, that one. When he finds the tongue, urgh, superb bile-rising horror right there. This story is brilliant. Neat format too.

The Gravity Of Benham Falls. This one was nice and creepy too. Managed to put a fresh new spin on the 'haunted by a dead sibling' angle. It says in the author notes that this originally contained a sex scene but it was edited out. Hmm, I am not a big fan of 'the unnecessary sex scene' in horror stories. It usually just ends up being really corny. Damn, read Richard Laymon or whatever his name is, the Beasthouse guy. All of his stories are ruined by dumb sex scenes, to the point where I just gave up on reading his stuff. Clive Barker I am a fan of, but he too has written some shitty tacked on sex stuff that didn't add anything to his stories. Obviously I cannot speak for Jeremy's sex scripting abilities, but I for one am glad he cut the scene.

Persistence Hunting - Very interesting and not at all what I was expecting. The second perspective worked well, and it was a really well structured story. Not sure if the extended version was needed though.

The symmetrina flash stories - Quality. I am very intrigued by this writing process and have been reading more about it online. I'd like to have a go at something like that myself at some point. Seems a cool way to create a set of linked stories.

The Mars Volta piece - I love The Mars Volta's music. I had a stage a couple years back where I was a bit of a volta geek so I kinda already knew the story of the Goliath board. Cool to get such a close account of it here though. As a writer and a The Mars Volta fan, I am epically jealous of Jeremy for getting the chance to do this. My question to Jeremy, what do you think of Noctourniquet? It took a few listens but it's really growing on me now. Have been playing it a lot this past week. 

The story about the conflict with the Indians (sorry, don't have my copy with me and I forget the title). This was another corker, tension got wound up to ten. It conveyed the fear feeling nicely. A pity to hear that some people took this the wrong way though, a shame that.

 

Hmm, and okay, a critisism. The first story, the empathy bomb one. Didn't like it all that much. The flow to this one just seemed awkward compared to all the others. I think the book should have opened with one of the better stories.

 

Overall, his book rocks. I remember reading ADA and being impressed by the eclectic nature of the stories and Jeremy has done it again here. Impressive stuff.

Pete's picture
Pete from Detroit is reading Red Dragon May 2, 2012 - 6:57am

I want to add a bunch of my own comments, but I want to do them with the paperback in my hand, and I haven't been home in a couple days. Hopefully I can get a chance today.

Martin said: Laws Of Virulence. Love this story. Okay, so I already read it in Warmed and Bound but I enjoyed it second time round just as much. A killer story, that one. When he finds the tongue, urgh, superb bile-rising horror right there. This story is brilliant. Neat format too.

Easily one of my favorite stories too. I almost didn't reread it because I read it in Warmed and Bound. But I decided to because I like experience short story collections the way the author meant for them to be laid out from start to finish. I'm really glad I reread it because it wasn't tired or old the 2nd time through. I'm sure I could reread this story over and over.

Martin said: The Gravity Of Benham Falls. This one was nice and creepy too. Managed to put a fresh new spin on the 'haunted by a dead sibling' angle.

Is this the one with the waterfall? I'm guessing by the name that it is. I enjoyed that story. For some reason when I started it, I didn't think it was going to draw me in, but by the end of it, it had won me over.

Martin said: The story about the conflict with the Indians (sorry, don't have my copy with me and I forget the title). This was another corker, tension got wound up to ten. It conveyed the fear feeling nicely. A pity to hear that some people took this the wrong way though, a shame that.

There were a couple stories that reminded me of Jeremy's book Siren Promised. This was one of them. It's got this chaotic feel where nothing is in your hands and you're just along for the shitty ride. And, yeah, so so very tense.

Martin said: Hmm, and okay, a critisism. The first story, the empathy bomb one. Didn't like it all that much. The flow to this one just seemed awkward compared to all the others. I think the book should have opened with one of the better stories.

I think that might be one of my favorite stories! And usually our taste are so similar. I don't think it was upon finishing it though. I had to sit and think on that one for a while before I really liked it. But I'll be rereading that one for sure.

Mike Mckay's picture
Mike Mckay is reading God's Ashtray May 2, 2012 - 9:42am

Damn, I'm gone for 3 days and the discussion already started?

I'll post my notes on here soon...

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz May 2, 2012 - 5:54pm

These discussions go on forever though. Right Pete?

Especially one where PEEPS are involved.

Pete's picture
Pete from Detroit is reading Red Dragon May 3, 2012 - 3:47am

FOREVER!

Jeremy Robert Johnson's picture
Jeremy Robert J... from Portland, OR is reading an unreasonable number of books. May 3, 2012 - 4:30pm

Hey, LitReactors. Cool to see this ball is already rolling; I’ll do my best to read and respond as frequently as I can. I’ll be at the HP Lovecraft Film Festival next weekend promoting Cody Goodfellow’s newest Swallowdown Press title, ALL-MONSTER ACTION! (The Gravity's Rainbow of giant monster epics!), but aside from that I should at least be lurking every day. It’s an honor to have WE LIVE INSIDE YOU on this roster and I sincerely hope you guys are getting a good read out of the thing. I’m open to Q & A, too.

JYH—Poe alongside my stories? Man, that’s some beautiful work to offset my more…um… blunt force approach. I remember the first time I started reading Poe aloud, how rich it was like that. I’ve always wanted to try some kind of Poe pastiche, but I’m too afraid the thing would go purple.

And thanks for the kind words on the Volta piece. They’re a wildly divisive band, but their brand of over-the-top concept album makes for a really fun project.

Otis“Instead, the department will use spore samples irradiated with gamma rays and released overnight.” I love that this was presented as the logical and less threatening solution. Made me laugh the same way I laugh when I listen to Robert McNamara reduce war atrocity to mathematics or a game of Risk….

Pete—“Nothing is in your hands and you're just along for the shitty ride.” I think you just named my next collection, pal. Thanks! And yeah, I’m around here for more than this month, so I’ll do my best to stay engaged with the thread if anybody wants to keep it active. Though FOREVER is a mighty long time.

Chester—Quite understandably, my wife threw away my neon green peep from the Shatner vs Cthulhu event. I guess I shouldn’t have left it on the kitchen table. Perhaps I should have put a post-it note on it that just said, “I have plans for this.” Did you retain your peep?

Martin/wickedvoodoo—First, thanks for all your kind words about the book. I'm really glad you got some kicks out of it.

I haven’t listened to Noctourniquet yet. I’m saving it for a very long drive I have at the end of the month. Since my 19 month old son is usually in the car I rarely get to really crank the speakers, but a road trip is my favorite way to get to know an album. I’m excited, and so far I’ve only heard from one person who didn’t think it was one of their better albums. Frances the Mute remains my favorite, though Bedlam and Deloused are right up there, for me.

“Obviously I cannot speak for Jeremy's sex scripting abilities, but I for one am glad he cut the scene.”

Trust me, it was a necessary cut. I think I could do a better/more subtle take on the sex scene now, but the original version was clunky prose porn and didn’t serve the story. It was a straight up shin-busting momentum killer. I was young and I was going for edgy, though I was hoping for more Barker than Laymon.

Re: symmetrinas, I hope you give the form a go. I really can’t say enough good about how much fun it is or how much a writer can learn from a fixed form like that. And you come out of the deal with new skills and a big batch of stories (though Bruce and I sold ours to Cemetery Dance as a package, they could definitely be divided up too). I applied the editing approach I’d acquired from doing symmetrina work to the whole of WE LIVE INSIDE YOU, just went through and chopped about 10,000 words from the total manuscript. I imagine that if I revisited ANGEL DUST APOCALYPSE I could cut even more than that.

Re: the first story selection, that was something I really struggled with. I probably put too much effort and analysis into story order (especially for someone who reads other people’s collections out of order), but I try to keep repetition to a minimum and keep certain themes and, well, parasite stories from becoming overbearing. But the first story is such a huge thing, it’s the welcoming mat, sets the tone, says here’s what the author is up to, etc.

So in this case I went with “The Oarsman” because it had been relatively well received on its prior publication and it was short and fast and it had enough weird elements that it wasn’t going to be a shock to the system for fans of ADA. It had a little bit of strange imagery, an odd concept, a kind of dark sci-fi slant, and I think the last two sentences are pretty solid even by my own (self-loathing/hyper-critical) standards.

And “When Susurrus Stirs” was up second because I have a lot of readers from the Bizarro and horror audiences, and that’s about the gooiest, weirdest thing I’ve ever written. So I wanted to set those folks at ease so I could (maybe) get away with a telling them a long, second-person crime story in “Persistence Hunting.”

But now I’m thinking I might have been able to get away with “Persistence Hunting” as the opener. It’s been the obvious reader favorite (with “A Flood of Harriers” just behind, so far), SGJ’s been teaching it in his Master Fiction class, it was on a Best Recent Short Stories list at HTMLgiant, and Ellen Datlow just gave it an Honorable Mention for Best Horror of the Year. So it was probably a solid first foot forward. Or I could have opened with “States of Glass” or a series of poems I’ve written for Ernest Borgnine titled "My Time, Your Hair." Just to really fuck with reader expectations.

It’s tough to tell before you release the book, even after all the (possibly pointless) machinations, how the readers will receive it. Lots of guessing and hoping, and maybe you got some of it right. And then it’s out the door and on its own.

*edited for additional bloating of already overlong post

Chester Pane's picture
Chester Pane from Portland, Oregon is reading The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz May 3, 2012 - 4:59pm

Ahhh, you must have bought that fifth of whiskey!

Dang, your peep got toasted?

So I still have mine and it still smiles like that girl--what was her name? Minty Rosa? Can't recall. 

I had put it in my office right next to this computer I am currently typing this on. This is also where my cat Lamborghini Countach likes to strut. 

So this morning I see he has it in his mouth like a mouse.

I caught him before he ate it though. 

I will be doing the traveling peep show if I can keep it alive long enough. Sure, I could buy a new one, but then it wouldn't have that girl's magic pocket smell on it.

Lovecraft Festival eh?

jyh's picture
jyh from VA is reading whatever he feels like May 3, 2012 - 5:09pm

@JRJ - Apart from the obvious cultural and stylistic differences between your writing and Poe's, I also noticed the difference in time devoted to exposition.  You seem to (in the fiction pieces) use about as little as necessary, whereas Poe may spend the entire second half of a story explaining in full detail what happened in the first.  Is this a conscious decision on your part, or is it how you write by instinct?  (I haven't read your other stuff, so this question may be too general.)

Flaminia Ferina's picture
Flaminia Ferina from Umbria is reading stuff May 4, 2012 - 5:40am

Hi Jeremy, I'm stopping by to tell you: I LOVE the first paragraph of WLIY!!! It's tight and powerful, sets the mood and scenario perfectly. Alluring.

What I really want to say is: I'm glad you'll stick around for a while, cause I'm not sure I'll be able to read your whole book before next autumn. Nothing personal, it's just my first spring back here in Italy after six years in the Netherlands, I sort of must become familiar again with all this bees and flowers and future fathers of my children everywhere around and, gosh, WLIY was delivered to me just few days ago when all this mess broke loose!

First paragraph is killer though. I tell you safe, think I read it 70 or 75 times, then always there's something nature sends in to distract me. And sun! So much sun!

So I came to the conclusion We Live Inside You is a winter book. No distractions in winter. Maybe all books are winter books right now. Or if I lived in northern, rainy places.

Btw, I hope I will be able to progress and read a couple paragraphs more during May, so I can get back with questions for you like all my colleagues here, cause I'm sure this is going to be a very interesting place to be for people who are not devastated by a spring high. So, thank you for being here in any case, Jeremy.

 

Oh hi to all my LitReactor friends! In case you were wondering, now you know. I'm fine, still at large and kicking. It's just a weird season for me (funny, you bet). Love you.

Pete's picture
Pete from Detroit is reading Red Dragon May 7, 2012 - 2:08pm

Damn, I was slammed with homework all weekend.

I'm going to try and get to posting more within the next few days. The easiest way is if I would just remember to bring the book to work... I keep forgetting!

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz May 8, 2012 - 6:35am

I really enjoyed the collection - there were a lot of fun reads and a few of them were a punch in the face. I need that from time to time. Myself, I really liked the layout and pacing of the collection. It took me a little bit to get acclimated in the Oarsmen but the last two sentences were so goddamn good and had me grinning ear to ear. It set the tone perfectly. It was kind of a nice primer piece. Rolling into When Sussurus Stirs the collection reminds you of the artwork on front, and exactly why you picked up the book in the first place. I typically don't read this type of fiction. I enjoy it, I just rarely read it. I'm glad.

I think the story I leave this collection thinking the most about is Trigger Variation - I thought this was the most powerful story. The way the plot develops and the tension builds is really well done. I didn't see the ending coming (and I guess I won't comment in case someone hasn't read it) but it hit pretty damn hard. It's a simple story of the distance between father & son but the window dressing around it is a well played, exciting read. Great stuff.

The Musty Cow's Teat of Death had my head spinning and I still haven't wrapped my head around it - but I mention it because it's a title that I wish I had wrote.

I gotta go back to work but I'll be checking in later to comment on a few other stories I really enjoyed (such as Cathedral Mother)

Pete's picture
Pete from Detroit is reading Red Dragon May 9, 2012 - 6:54am

Jeremy said: I think you just named my next collection, pal. Thanks! And yeah, I’m around here for more than this month, so I’ll do my best to stay engaged with the thread if anybody wants to keep it active. Though FOREVER is a mighty long time.

Sweet! Now there has to be another collection soon! But you're also putting the finishing touches on a novel right now too right? I think I heard / read that somewhere...

---

So I remembered to grab my copy of the book when I left for work today. I have a few things I'd like to post.

I said it before, but I loved the first story. I thought it starts the collection with a bang. It's fast and strong story-telling.

I told Jeremy in a facebook message once before how much parasites intrigue me. So of course I thought "When Sussurrus Stirs" was great. I imagine that fungus that makes ants climb trees and hang from them on a larger scale. I've always thought a about something similar happening to humans would be cool. Now I just want to see it on a larger scale!

Though "Persistance Hunting" seems to be one of the most popular stories in the collection, it wasn't my favorite. I mean, it's a really good story. And the end is great. But there's so many good stories in the collection to compare it to.

"The Witness at Dawn" - really creepy. Also really short. Jeremy packs a lot into this one. It could probably be expanded into a novella, which is funny because the story is probably only 2 full pages long.

There's this story I read a long time ago by Gordon Lish, it's the only one I remember from this collection of his that I read. I mostly hated the collection. But there was a story that was a letter from J.D. Salinger's father to J.D. comparing him to Philip Roth. I liked that story for some reason. The story "Consumerism" reminds me of that story, but I like it a lot more. And it has such a great ending. I think this might be one of my favorite stories in the book.

For being a book centered around the parasite theme, this book really has a lot to say about family issues. "Trigger Variation" ends up questioning family loyalty, I guess. I loved how it slowly added more and more details. Told you more without giving too much away. I'm surprised nobody has compared this one to Fight Club. I mean, totally different story, but some of the messages are the same, I think. And maybe it's just about wanting to fit in.

Like I said before a few of the stories reminded me of Siren Promised for some reason and "The Gravity of Benham Falls" was one of them. It's a really similar writing style, voice, and the dark tone, the color, it's all similar. I liked it a lot. Not much else to say.

Another one of my top 3 stories in the book - "Cathedral Mother." I loved this story. And in short story collections, I usually don't like longer stories. I usually like them to be a few pages. I think this one was one of the longer stories. But, it still grabbed me. No surprise though. It was one of the ones with an actual parasite infecting someone.

"The Brilliant Idea" was another one of my favorite stories. And there's not much to say about it because it's less than a page long. But I thought it was funny.

"Simple Equations" reminded me of By The Time We Leave Here, We'll Be Friends. And I know the only reason that it reminds me of that book is the time and setting. Story-wise, nothing alike. But for some reason I have a soft spot for weird stories told in that time frame and setting. I wish I knew of more weird stories of then. I mean, it was a facsinating time. The shit that was getting accomplished because of fear. Obviously, it was a tragedy, but also a great example of what humans are capable of.

"Laws of Virulence" might just be my favorite story in the collection. I had already read it in Warmed and Bound and almost skipped over it in this collection. But then I remembered how much I liked it in Warmed and Bound and decided to read it again. I'm glad I did.

Anybody who has ever lost somebody should have some connection with "States of Glass." I think it has every stage of loss written into it. All blended seamlessly together and told in a nice narrative. The internal monologue is heartbreaking in this one.

"Mercy" really reminded me of the cartoon Courage the Cowardly Dog. This in particular:

"The Musty Cow's Teat of Death" - I can't say I understood this story at all. I found myself skimming over it because it was just really slowing me down. But, I tried reading it out loud and it really sounds nice. But still, I don't get it.

I think that's enough for now. Almost something on every story! haha

 

OtisTheBulldog's picture
OtisTheBulldog from Somerville, MA is reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz May 9, 2012 - 10:19am

I also thought States of Glass was really well done and had a strong emotional wallop. The narrator's voice is completely credible as someone who wants to deny the loss and is slowly starting to accept it and finally just wanting to feel anything else other than grief and finally just giving in to it. It's a really strong piece. 

It's funny - without really knowing much about the author and having this book called We Live Inside You - I wouldn't have expected to find a story like this in there. Goes to prove the age old cliche - you can't judge a book by it's cover (and what a great fucking cover it is!)

Pete's picture
Pete from Detroit is reading Red Dragon May 9, 2012 - 10:39am

Just a reminder too, anybody who hasn't checked out the booked podcast interview and review - both of those episodes are really good.