Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind: Blog Story Participants: The Second Time Around

Picks of the Week

Harry Dolan: Bad Things Happen
BAD THINGS HAPPEN is a nifty debut, cleverly told and unfurled from the very first line: "The shovel has to meet certain requirements" on through meeting "the man who calls himself David Loogan." There are reasons for concealment, just as there are reasons the editor of a mystery magazine bearing little resemblance to EQMM or AHMM might bring him into the fold, thus catalyzing a series of murderous events. The twists come quickly and the dialogue is sharp and if it falls apart slightly at the end, no matter - I want to read much more from Dolan from now on.
Ian MacKenzie: City of Strangers: A Novel
MacKenzie's debut novel reminded me a lot of Paul Auster's NEW YORK TRILOGY, whether it was intended or not, in terms of his choice of words, the thrust of the narrative and the existential nature of the main character (whose first name, incidentally, is Paul) caught up in a snowballing sequence of strange and violent events in and around New York City. MacKenzie straddles the line between thriller and internal examination of a man's failings, and his ability to do so establishes him as a young writer of serious talent and future.
Megan Abbott: Bury Me Deep
In a word: amazing. In more words: Megan Abbott, who has never delivered anything less than an excellent novel, exceeds expectations and takes a very bold and very necessary step forward both in the quality of the prose, the development of her characters and especially in portraying how obsession seeps into the very soul of people, transforming them into their worst nightmares all too easily. Just read this book. And then tell many others to do so as well.
Ninni Holmqvist: The Unit
Understandably, echoes of THE HANDMAID'S TALE are hard to ignore in this dystopic examination of a society where fertility is so high a priority that older, single, marginal women are shut away in secret locales to live out the rest of their lives in seemingly perfect harmony - at least, until the "donations" begin. But Holmqvist's marvelous book doesn't browbeat her thesis into the reader and smartly expands her ideas to look at the plight of all marginalized folk, women and men alike, and how the promise of comforts can be the most horrifying of all. Prepare to be disturbed, but prepare further to think about the ramifications.
Paula Froelich: Mercury in Retrograde
This is possibly the most perfect novel for today's economically challenged times. Why? Because it has plenty of glitz and glamor and blind items, as befitting a narrative by the deputy editor of Page Six, but Froelich isn't arch or snarky or acid-tongued in the slightest. Her trio of protagonists land in all manner of embarrassing situations but they aren't played for mean-spirited laughs. The New York here is something of a fantasy-land, but not so far off the mark that it's completely unbelievable. Most of all it's clear Froelich remains sincere and optimistic about her chosen city, and has retained her sense of fun. So no need to check your brain at the door, but sometimes it just needs to chill out and relax.

June 15, 2005

As the stories roll in, the links will go live next to each participant's name:

Alina Adams: "Hitting the Fan"

Ray Banks: "Outbid"

Gwenda Bond: "Unflappable"

Aldo Calcagno: "What Happens in Vegas"

Bill Crider: "Raining Willie"

Paul Guyot: "Bobcat"

Jennifer Jordan: "The Secret Police Auction Executive Balls"

Rochelle Krich: "Why Peggy Didn't Get Married"

Christin Kuretich: "The End"

Pat Lambe: "Initiation"

Stuart MacBride: "Lot 346"

David J. Montgomery: "The Suitcase"

Bob Mueller: "The Sad Girl"

Scott Neumeyer: "Now You Can See"

Graham Powell: "The Leap"

Megan Powell: "Soft Soap"

Bryon Quertermous: "Schmuck with an Underwood"

John Rickards: "The Horror in the Sands"

Gerald So: "Every Man for Himself"

Duane Swierczynski: "Seeing God"

Robert Tinsley: "Familiars"

Steven Torres: "Viktor Petrenko, Have You No Mercy?"

Sarah Weinman: "A Jumpin' Night in the Garden of Eden"

Dave White: "Deliver Us from Evil"

Dave Zeltserman: "The Canary"

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Comments

Rochelle not posting I can understand - she's a west coasty, and she is much too elegant a human to drop to our level...

But where the hell is Montgomery???

If he can't even make this deadline, I know I will kick his chalky butt on the novel!

Posted by: Guyot | June 15, 2005 at 10:39 AM

It's there now... technical difficulties... F'in Bill Gates. (You should have sympathy, now that you've gone to the Mac side.)

Posted by: David J. Montgomery | June 15, 2005 at 11:29 AM

Hi!

I found these stories (and your blog) just know, and just wanted to say I enjoyed reading them.

Thanks!

Posted by: Garden Gates | May 09, 2007 at 12:11 PM

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June 15, 2005

Blog Story Participants: The Second Time Around

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