tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329193532024-03-23T13:53:03.277-04:00Shelf MonkeyThe increasingly off-topic blog of Corey Redekop, acclaimed author of <i>Shelf Monkey</i>, winner of the <a href="http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1231&urltitle=Announcing%202008%20Independent%20Publisher%20Book%20Awards%20Results">Gold Medal for Best Popular Fiction Novel</a> at the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards.Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.comBlogger333125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-46160142265291331402012-10-30T16:24:00.002-04:002012-10-30T16:35:22.313-04:00So, that's that then.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsco_F_RnZrHo1i-ZiHi_UFHWNtbbzu0TJwpUwLfwttYCw1bpmuUe76qsussy1y5LZCh0p85Rmkayx0s9kM3SOFL-uLNwh_MoBGMb4H_Yb1SANGhR34G3ZWx2tMSfx-VOCKl8d/s1600/Closed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsco_F_RnZrHo1i-ZiHi_UFHWNtbbzu0TJwpUwLfwttYCw1bpmuUe76qsussy1y5LZCh0p85Rmkayx0s9kM3SOFL-uLNwh_MoBGMb4H_Yb1SANGhR34G3ZWx2tMSfx-VOCKl8d/s1600/Closed.jpg" /></a></div>
And with nary a bang nor whimper, I draw the <i>Shelf Monkey </i>experiment to an ignoble close.<br />
<br />
I've enjoyed this blog. Starting it as a way to promote my novel, <i>Shelf Monkey</i> quickly became a safe place for me, a venue for books reviews and things that annoy me (sometimes both at the same time).<br />
<br />
But eventually, all blogs die, and I think this one, while it may sputter onward for a while, is done. I've been writing reviews less and less, and with my second novel<i> <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Husk-Novel-Corey-Redekop/dp/1770410325/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351628871&sr=8-2" target="_blank">Husk</a></i> now out and about, I find myself with precious little time and/or energy to devote to writing projects of the non-paying variety. I want to write more, and publish more, and something has got to give.<br />
<br />
I'll drop by occasionally, when the mood hits. I owe some people reviews, and I'm too polite to ignore them. I'll miss getting free books, but as it stands, I've got enough material to be reading well into the next decade.<br />
<br />
I'll still keep irregularly blogging at my website <a href="http://www.coreyredekop.ca/">www.coreyredekop.ca</a>, to keep people up to date on my whereabouts and whyabouts and howabouts. I may expand it to include quick little shout-outs to books and people I admire, but the reviews will be, on the whole, much shorter and less time-consuming. I hope you'll drop by, I always enjoy company. Just wipe your feet first.<br />
<br />
So, thanks for the memories, Interweb. It's not you, it's me.Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-12960870752142082242012-09-29T09:19:00.001-04:002012-09-29T09:21:15.306-04:00Boo-yah, baby!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Well, I gotta say, while I'm sure the rug will soon be yanked out from under me, I'm really enjoying the reviews for <i>Husk </i>thus far.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've already listed a few (<a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.ca/2012/09/some-early-reviews-of-husk.html" target="_blank">here</a>), but there's a few more I'd like to draw your attention to:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">First, the venerable American publication <i>BookList</i> (which <i>many</i> libraries and such consult for ideas on orders), gave me <a href="http://www.booklistonline.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pid=5591231&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1" target="_blank">this sterling nugget of awesome</a>:</span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style22">Redekop follows up his 2007 debut, the very funky <i>Shelf Monkey</i>, with the story of Sheldon Funk, a struggling actor, who wakes up during his own autopsy. Undead but still functional, Funk looks for a way to keep himself out of the wrong people’s hands, land a plum acting job, and (eventually) weather the storm of zombie superstardom before decomposition inevitably gets the best of him. Featuring Funk’s ambitious agent and an unsavory doctor who finds gruesomely clever ways to keep Sheldon’s body from falling apart too quickly, the story is a lesson in practical zombieing: what to do when you become a member of the walking dead, how to pass yourself off as (relatively) normal, how to learn to speak and walk again, and how to deal with your new meatcentric dietary requirements. Very funny and full of nifty surprises, the story has a big heart, too, presenting Sheldon as an ordinary fella trying to come to terms with his extraordinary new situation. The ending is appropriate and packs a serious emotional wallop. Highly recommendable—perhaps to more than zombie geeks.</span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style22">And now, on the eve of actual publication (October 1!), <i>The Toronto Star</i>, which had already labelled <i>Husk</i> as one of their <a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/1248176--our-reviewers-pick-the-best-fall-reads" target="_blank">Top 20 Fall Reads of 2012</a>, weighs in with <a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/1262831--husk-by-corey-redekop-review" target="_blank">a full review</a> that completely and utterly gets me:</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style22"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There's a point near the end of <i>Husk</i> where the narrator, long dead and without much of a body left to drag around, decides to embrace his "pop culture heritage" and start acting more like a traditional zombie...That heritage isn't essential to enjoying Corey Redekop’s book, his second novel, but some background helps...Redekop tosses so much into this zombie stew that instead of wearing out his premise quickly it almost seems as though he needs a bigger pot. By the time we get to the end, which involves a reclusive billionaire's bid for immortality and an apocalypse that stirs together pages torn from Philip K. Dick and H. P. Lovecraft, one feels there's no more ground to cover. Zombiedom's entire pop culture heritage has been thrown against the wall in bleeding chunks, where much of it sticks.</span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style22">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Feeling pretty warm in the belly right now. Hmmmm. Warm.</span></span></span></span>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-26356575622478406192012-09-12T15:48:00.003-04:002012-09-12T15:48:52.038-04:00Monkey droppings - The Blondes - Just a trim, please. Wait, put down that knife!The monkey decides to lighten up his doldrums and make himself feel pretty.<br />
<br />
And how shall he do this? With highlights. Lots and lots of highlights. And a perm!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5s5yB_JM-ZjrpOKIZWzn5LvYeXD3tOLsOat8_z9KhXyoA1BDTCWn0Ya-icX-GRnbhwvW11LyPAXk-W2RlUVwaSTz5KkKxAg11jeY3ehurACXcjns7p2iGiDiBZUIXHKHBa5D/s1600/pretty-monkey1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5s5yB_JM-ZjrpOKIZWzn5LvYeXD3tOLsOat8_z9KhXyoA1BDTCWn0Ya-icX-GRnbhwvW11LyPAXk-W2RlUVwaSTz5KkKxAg11jeY3ehurACXcjns7p2iGiDiBZUIXHKHBa5D/s200/pretty-monkey1.jpg" width="200" /></a>Ever seen a monkey with a perm? Not good. Like one of those elderly C-list stars who've had <i>way </i>too much plastic surgery yet somehow feel they're presentable enough to parade down Rodeo Drive looking to buy purses that cost more than you make in a year.<br />
<br />
You know the ones I mean.<br />
<br />
I don't know...I don't think the highlights worked.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEhZ9KzBYzdk-s3HNRlQTiOWkHHr1023KTFzRvwuSMzjf4Uhegb5LlNCBu-hgc7QAE06giXf-xiVt8Xk_xbik1D9zyjKuY17QzsIClT7PsPvbprOVtE06YssF5YOnKd1vmkFt/s1600/blondes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEhZ9KzBYzdk-s3HNRlQTiOWkHHr1023KTFzRvwuSMzjf4Uhegb5LlNCBu-hgc7QAE06giXf-xiVt8Xk_xbik1D9zyjKuY17QzsIClT7PsPvbprOVtE06YssF5YOnKd1vmkFt/s320/blondes.jpg" title="The Blondes, by Emily Schultz (2012, House of Anansi Press)" width="209" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.randomhouse.ca/books/209848/the-blondes-by-emily-schultz" target="_blank">The Blondes</a> </i>(Random House, 2012)<br />
<a href="http://emilyschultz.com/" target="_blank">Emily Schultz</a><br />
<br />
Personally, I've always preferred brunettes, or redheads. Just a matter of personal preference. But if the events in Emily Schultz's <i>The Blondes</i> ever come true, I'm going to be very happy I didn't fall hard for a dame with golden locks.<br />
<br />
Because <i>Blondes</i> is every fashionista's worst nightmare come true. A mysterious virus begins infecting women with blonde hair (even those who've gained blondedom through dyeing), turning them into violent mindless people who attack at random, and kill without a second thought. Kind of like a zombie novel with split ends. Ba-zing!<br />
<br />
Schultz being Schultz, however <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 100%;"><i>—</i></span> which means, being the author of <i>Joyland </i>and <i>Heaven is Small</i>, that she is a damned talented individual<i> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 100%;"><i>— </i></span></i>there is far greater depth to <i>The Blondes</i> than the surface would indicate (see what I did there?). As much a satire of society's obsession with looks as it is a <i>Outbreak-</i>like contagion thriller, Schultz expertly entwines a speculative fiction premise with social commentary, making <i>Blondes</i> akin to <i>Dawn of the Dreadfully Good Looking</i>. Ka-pow!<br />
<br />
I'll stop punning now.<br />
<br />
Our hero, Hazel Hayes, is a young grad student working on a thesis on the media obsession and transformations of standards of female beauty. She is also new to New York, newly pregnant with the child of her (married) thesis advisor, and understandably freaked out a little. Her bad luck, then, to be at what appears to be ground zero of the new epidemic, soon dubbed "the blonde fury" by media wags. When a woman randomly attacks a young girl, Hazel tries to help, but find that her fellow citizens aren't the type to rush to anyone's aid:<br />
<blockquote>
Then cellphones came out into palms, and people punched into them, some reticently, some frantically. The punching continued for what seemed like forever, but no one lifted a device to an ear. Lack of reception. A couple of the high school kids didn't even bother trying to phone; instead, they held up their devices and calmly filmed.</blockquote>
Such inaction is a major plot device here, the idea that the 'other' (government, the CDC, etc) knows best, so we shouldn't get involved. Leave it to the professionals. Which the world does, and Hazel soon discovers herself in a world of rampant security, hysterical paranoia, and increased insanity (the idea that men will pay scads of money to have sex with infected blondes being one of the more memorable/disturbing).<br />
<br />
Corollary to this epidemic scenario is Hazel's own crisis of begin pregnant, alone, and when the borders increase security, suddenly cut off from family. Being a redhead, she is close enough to blonde to be a cause for suspicion, and while I do not wish to give away spoilers, suffice to say that North America goes down a very dark path indeed, one that has all-too-obvious parallels to historical and present events.<br />
<br />
Yet being as Hazel's work is in female body image, the bulk of the subtext is a concise examination of women as they are, as they are seen, and as they regard themselves. Hazel begins her tale with the phrase, "Women have stupid dreams," and from there Schultz unearths an entire world in thrall to appearance rather than substance. Baldness becomes chic, and wigs become <span class="st"><i>de rigueur</i>. Interestingly, while Hazel goes on about the myriad of ways women look to attack each other (not physically like the infected, more of a passive-aggressive taunt-her-into-an-eating-disorder sort of way), it's her friendships with women that allow her to make it through to the (hopefully) other side. In a world without hope, Schultz finds the key to survival, and it is others.</span><br />
<br />
<i>Blondes</i> gives us not only a fine novel, but a fine author completely coming into her own. Schultz deserves all the accolades she gets.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="st">VERDICT: <i>MONKEY LOVES </i></span></b>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-68175900592244875692012-09-03T15:52:00.001-04:002012-09-03T18:16:50.282-04:00Some early reviews of HUSK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The book is still warm from the printers, and bookshelf appearances are weeks away. Nevertheless, <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Husk</i> has already garnered a few remarkably positive reviews (I say <i>remarkably </i>because I have some issues with self-loathing which cloud my judgement on such things).</div>
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</div>
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<br /></div>
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From <i>Quill & Quire</i>:</div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>“Despite all the violence and jokes about viscera, what gradually emerges is a tender portrait of a profoundly lonely man who finds love and acceptance only after his body has betrayed him . . . an enormously funny book that has real emotional heft underneath all the blood.”</li>
</ul>
<br />
Now <i>that's </i>a review, no? I slept very well after reading this, quite content with my place in the cosmos. Then, as the days crept by, my good vibes began to curdle in the lime juice of my low self-esteem. "Must have been a fluke," I thought.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Then, the Toronto Star saw fit to include my crazy ramblings as one of their <a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/1248176--our-reviewers-pick-the-best-fall-reads" target="_blank" title="">Top 20 Reads of the Fall</a>. Please check out the list, it's very likely the only time you'll ever see 'Corey Redekop' on the same honoured list as Alice Munro, Rawi Hage, Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie, and Orhan Pamuk.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And then, there's these wonderful blurbs that'll appear on the final cover, accolades from some of my favourite authors who were <i>way</i> too kind in their praise.</div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li>“A superb blood-splattered comedy. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll puke!” — Andrew Kaufman, author of <i>All My Friends Are Superheroes</i> and <i>The Waterproof Bible </i></li>
<li>“A wild vicious romp through pop culture, Husk rips the heart out of the rotting zombie genre and shoves it down your throat. Infection never hurt so good.” — Peter Darbyshire, author of <i>The Warhol Gang</i> and <i>Please</i></li>
<li>“Camus meets Palahniuk in a darkly comic, but surprisingly light-hearted, mind-meld in Corey Redekop’s Husk. Sure, the protagonist is a zombie, but this is 2012, and as Redekop rightly observes, we’re all zombies now.” — Andrew Pyper, author of <i>The Killing Circle</i> and <i>The Guardians</i></li>
</ul>
<div>
I gotta say, I'm feelin' pretty fine right now. I'm sure it'll pass, so I'm going to do my best to enjoy the moment.</div>
<br />
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Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-7576504920737730972012-08-24T13:06:00.003-04:002012-09-18T18:37:18.049-04:00Monkey droppings - Ninja Versus Pirate Featuring Zombies: you read that correctly.Today, the shelf monkey asks: "Who would win in a fight: zombies, pirates, or ninja?"<br />
<br />
The answer? We all do.<br />
<br />
The second answer? The monkey. <i>No one beats the monkey</i>.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcvbfmkyA5c1fW_S5ilJLz9Zfnxln9zOOgpygIJQZVsGBxYMZ4qqhZ6JxoxbnlSgp-VJWbqIHC4LH2UAZozHyrBWUbu0JzsRNYEdaXwY7_szPAwbiU3y74D_51ADFDRXwd9Uo/s1600/ninja_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcvbfmkyA5c1fW_S5ilJLz9Zfnxln9zOOgpygIJQZVsGBxYMZ4qqhZ6JxoxbnlSgp-VJWbqIHC4LH2UAZozHyrBWUbu0JzsRNYEdaXwY7_szPAwbiU3y74D_51ADFDRXwd9Uo/s320/ninja_cover.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<h3>
<a href="http://chizinepub.com/books/ninja-vs-pirate.php" target="_blank"><i>Ninja Versus Pirate Featuring Zombies</i></a> (2012, <a href="http://chizinepub.com/index.php" target="_blank">ChiZine</a>)</h3>
<h3>
James Marshall</h3>
<blockquote>
I look away from the TV and back to the road. I'm drunk-driving for safety, but to double up on safety, I'm driving a bulldozer. It isn't one of those puny little bulldozers you see toppling trees sometimes. No. It's an enormous <i>mining </i>bulldozer. It's the kind of bulldozer you'd use to push down a mountain. I find that when I get into an accident while driving a gigantic bulldozer, it doesn't really bother me. And huge bulldozers are also excellent for zombie outbreaks because there are always a bunch of abandoned cars and pickup trucks in your way. The driver's area of my bulldozer is encased in (pock-marked) bullet- and sound-proof glass, overlaid by a chain-link cage that locks in order to protect occupants (me) from the undead and the few living people who escape the Zombie Acceptance Test and fend for themselves in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.</blockquote>
I've made quite a fuss over ChiZine Press the last little while. The Canadian publisher has <a href="http://chizinepub.com/authors/index.php" target="_blank">introduced me to the works of</a> David Nickle, Gemma Files, Robert J. Wiersema, Tim Lebbon, Gord Zajac, Claude Lalumière, Tom Piccirilli, Craig Davidson, Simon Logan, Nicholas Kaufmann, Douglas Smith, and Michael Rowe. Combined, these authors make up most of the top books I've read over the past three years. The worst I've ever said about a ChiZine release is, "That was pretty darn good."<br />
<br />
So I'm habitually inclined to trust the judgment of its editors when it comes to delivering fascinating genre fiction. I've got Gemma Files' third Hexslinger book on deck, as well as <i>The Steel Seraglio</i> and <i>In the Mean Time</i>.<br />
<br />
But even if you take ChiZine out of the equation, quite frankly there was <i>no way</i> I was not going to be interested in a book titled <i>Ninja Versus Pirate Featuring Zombies </i>(hereinafter <i>NVPFZ</i>)<i>.</i> It's got three of my favourite pop culture things right in the title: zombies, ninja, and versus (you put <i>versus</i> in a title, you're guaranteed my attention; I'm looking at you, <i>Godzilla versus Mothra</i>).<br />
<br />
Whatever I was expecting, however — battles of enormous bloodshed, adventure on the high seas, stealth kills in the shadows, some amalgam of all three — I did not get it in <i>NVPFZ. </i>What I got was a good old-fashioned spin-your-head-around-twice mindfu@#. Even now, weeks later, I'm not precisely sure what to make of it; I only know that I had a rollicking good time.<br />
<br />
Ostensibly, <i>NVPFZ </i>is the tale of Guy Boy Man, a character whose name now goes on my list of favourite literary names, a list including Billy Pilgrim, Major Major Major Major, and Hiro Protagonist. Guy Boy Man is an exceedingly rich sixteen-year-old who sees himself as a pirate (although he wears the Pope's hat), trying to survive what appears to be a hellscape of a school populated by zombies with the help of his best friend Sweetie Honey, an African-American ninja. In addition to battling said zombies and his arch-nemesis The Principal with the help of a cadre of extremely attractive women, Guy Boy Man has fallen for a precocious pink-haired girl names Baby Doll15. Alas, he cannot proclaim his love for her, for if he does, he shall lose his trillions of dollars; so say the centaur from Fairyland who bequeathed him the money, a tidy sum which <i>may</i> have caused the collapse of the American financial system.<br />
<br />
Yeah, this is <i>weird</i>. <i>Quirky</i>. <i>Chaotic. </i>Borderline <i>nonsensical</i>.<br />
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It's
also extremely loveable, if you can get past the sometimes-unbearable
precociousness of Guy Boy Man's narrative voice. He's a pretty unlikable hero:
petty, manic, narcissistic; at one point he uses disabled children to protect
himself from a horde of troubled zombie teens. He plays the tough guy, complete
with hardboiled quips, yet cannot properly handle a gun in a firefight. Yet
James Marshall's book wouldn't work without it; the voice is precisely why the
book maintains any sort of narrative thrust. Guy Boy Man never stops talking, creating a story that's almost ideal for this ADD generation. He's also one of the most unreliable of
unreliable narrators I've come across; just how much is real and how much is
the fevered imagination of a deranged adolescent mind. Guy Boy Man is a prototypical disenfranchised teenager, raging against everything and anything, and warping his view of thw world on a minute-by-minute basis to make it better conform to his nebulous ideology. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">NVPFZ </i>plays fast and loose with the rules of its own reality,
becoming a psychotropic mindscape where you cannot be surprised when a unicorn
starts killing your soldiers, or a bevy of exotically beautiful Eastern
European girls turns out to be genetically modified assassins. It's par for the
course in Guy Boy Man's universe, and you either dig it or you don't. </div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt;">
Marshall
promises that this is only book one in the How to End Human Suffering Series,
with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zombie Versus Fairy Featuring
Albinos </i>soon to come. I just don't know where else this story can go, but I have confidence Marshall will bring his A game.</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><i>Verdict</i>: Monkey really enjoyed, once he screwed his brain back in</b></div>
Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-51047284672113009762012-08-18T14:29:00.002-04:002012-08-18T14:29:35.790-04:00Husk - The pictures! They're coming...ALIVE!In addition to being a stunningly successful author in my own mind, did you know I'm also a talented screenwriter/director?<br />
<br />
Yet what I have in obvious greatness, I lack in resources. So instead of an AVID editing suite (oh, those were the days!), I have iMovie software on my laptop. Instead of John Williams to compose a score, I have Creative Commons.<br />
<br />
BUT...I have a secret weapon at my disposal. Or rather, <i>seven</i> secret weapons; a volleyball team's (plus one alternate) worth of nieces and nephews who are willing to work for...well, not <i>peanuts</i>, one has an allergy. But they work for far below scale, needing only words and hugs to get the job done right.<br />
<br />
And so, without further rambling preamble, I present for your entertainment the next best thing to owing my book itself (out October 1, check your nearest independent bookseller for your orders) -<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.coreyredekop.ca/bibliography/husk/" target="_blank"><i>Husk</i></a>: <i>The Book Trailer!</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Please enjoy!</span></div>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0Aww3ARfyxk" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
Thank you, nieces DeGroot and niece and nephews Redekop, your weeks of toil have not gone in vain. Expect a nice new lolly in your stockings come xmas.<br />
<br />
If you've enjoyed this trailer, you may do two things to repay me: 1) purchase the book, and 2) share it with friends via the usual social networks (Twitter, Facebook, blogs, MySpace [does that still exist?]). Please do <i>not</i> share via the unusual social networks. Those places are creepy!Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-88593769656882450302012-08-11T15:19:00.001-04:002012-08-11T15:19:30.856-04:00Time for the publicity juggernaut to start up againWell, it's been awhile, but after much, much, <i>much</i> laziness on my part (catching up on <i>Lost</i> turned out to be a real timesuck), I have finally got the second novel done somewhat to my liking. Which is fairly lucky, since it comes out in less than two months.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSypz9SfVP5eb9saDfYiPQqgP6fIXcQJAB-NtZPPszhbp7pWU8Nf_IJkW_LA_f0Oj4YdZpTntcPOZ3CKAuA3bwU5tXe5axPJmOLz4opmdtTFeMeLwMPijNdGnuBa9ZRleWkuPx/s1600/Husk-02A-663x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSypz9SfVP5eb9saDfYiPQqgP6fIXcQJAB-NtZPPszhbp7pWU8Nf_IJkW_LA_f0Oj4YdZpTntcPOZ3CKAuA3bwU5tXe5axPJmOLz4opmdtTFeMeLwMPijNdGnuBa9ZRleWkuPx/s320/Husk-02A-663x1024.jpg" title="Husk" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Husk</i> final cover, designed by David Gee</b></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yes, <a href="http://www.coreyredekop.ca/bibliography/husk/" target="_blank"><i>Husk</i></a> (click the link for description) is on its way to terrorize bookstores with its ridiculous tale of a zombie with glimmers of morality. Meaning that yes, he <i>does</i> eat a fair amount of people (a zombie novel without cannibalism is like a vegetarian who still eats fish; completely wrongheaded on the concept), but at least he feels conflicted about it.<br />
<br />
I've decided to branch out and start an official author page, which you can find <a href="http://www.coreyredekop.ca/" target="_blank">here</a>. Already I've posted a few entries on <a href="http://www.coreyredekop.ca/2012/07/31/why-zombies-dude-why-not-giant-slugs-or-sexy-vampires/" target="_blank">my thoughts concerning zombies</a>, and I'll continue to focus most of my energies on keeping the site filled with current information. Expect it to fill quite rapidly with reviews and events, and I'll be using it to promote further writings and projects down the road. I've also begun a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HUSKzombie" target="_blank">public Facebook page</a> for the novel, which I do hope you'll all check out and join (with the possibility of a free copy up for grabs to all members). I'll keep up my reviews here from time to time, but very likely in a reduced capacity for the foreseeable future.<br />
<br />
Already, the buzz is building. <i>Husk</i> has been noted as a hot Fall release by <a href="http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/2012/07/30/fall-preview-2012-canadian-novels/" target="_blank"><i>Quill & Quire</i></a>, and Russell Smith gave it a muted mention in one of his <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/a-fall-publishing-list-to-set-book-club-hearts-aflutter/article4470219/" target="_blank"><i>Globe and Mail </i>columns</a> (the title's not there, but I'm fairly certain I'm the only CanLit author with a zombie novel on the horizon, unless Alice Munro has decided to finally publish her long-awaited <i>Lives of Undead Girls and Decomposing Women</i>). I've also been lucky enough to cajole remarkable blurbs from some of my favourite authors (<a href="http://www.andrewpyper.com/" target="_blank">Andrew Pyper</a>, <a href="http://www.severalmomentslater.com/severalmomentslater.com/Welcome.html" target="_blank">Andrew Kaufman</a>, and <a href="http://www.peterdarbyshire.com/" target="_blank">Peter Darbyshire</a>, a trio that proves CanLit ain't all about prairie winters and hardscrabble lives), which you can find on <a href="http://www.coreyredekop.ca/bibliography/husk/reviews/" target="_blank">my author website</a>.<br />
<br />
I've been contacting bloggers and websites with a bent for the horrifically unusual or the unusually horrific to get some early review coverage. If you know of any that get a fairly wide readership, don't hesitate to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HUSKzombie" target="_blank">contact me</a> with the details. I've also been working on the launch in my current habitat in Fredericton, NB, and will get those details finalized ASAP.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBKz6dGoWR_eJwwUQdCl61NQw9s03Fw_riFD-6ExMrk32SdOpNu21BiZVJiFUD8XH9pOImeYdZEXE0HYf0DIWPUKEZ1M_d9Ldq9tbReEdsZ9lGR8wwp3F0qbAbSPt7dSrc_8c/s1600/ALBZ_Websize1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyBKz6dGoWR_eJwwUQdCl61NQw9s03Fw_riFD-6ExMrk32SdOpNu21BiZVJiFUD8XH9pOImeYdZEXE0HYf0DIWPUKEZ1M_d9Ldq9tbReEdsZ9lGR8wwp3F0qbAbSPt7dSrc_8c/s400/ALBZ_Websize1.jpg" title="A Little Bit Zombie" width="268" /></a></div>
Best of all, I've been accepted to two prestigious Canadian literary festivals for autumn 2012. In late September, I'll be travelling to Manitoba to participate in two events at the Thin Air Winnipeg International Writers Festival. One will be in Winnipeg proper (date and time TBA), and the other (on the evening of Sept. 21) will be a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/274535819314016/" target="_blank">special event in Brandon, MB</a>, where I'll be having a reading of <i>Husk </i>followed by the local premiere of the new Canadian horror comedy <a href="http://evanstheatre.ca/news/movies/a-little-bit-zombie" target="_blank"><i>A Little Bit Zombie</i></a>. This film was actually financed in large part through <a href="http://www.crowdsourcing.org/document/trailer-debut-festival-news-for-a-little-bit-zombie/9964" target="_blank">crowdsourcing</a>, and has garnered a fair amount of good reviews as it travels the festival circuit. Needless to say, I'm quite stoked about pairing up my novel with this by-all-accounts very silly and very gory little slice of Canucksploitation. Should be a great evening, and a great overall time back in the prairies.<br />
<br />
The highlight for me, however, is having two events (TBA) at the <a href="http://www.readings.org/?q=biographies/corey_redekop" target="_blank">International Festival of Authors</a> in Toronto, ON, near the end of October. I don't yet know who is on the bill with me (I'm not so deluded as to think I have a huge amount of drawing power), but just getting in the festival is a huge career highlight for me. Looking at the <a href="http://www.readings.org/?q=ifoa" target="_blank">full list of participants</a>, I can only assume I'll be paired up with Michael Chabon, Rohinton Mistry, and Gordon Pinsent. Only makes sense.<br />
<br />
Finally, next week I shall be unveiling the spanking new book trailer, created and edited by yours truly, with invaluable help from a gaggle of nieces and a murder of nephews. I shall place it up on this site eventually, but I shall showcase it first on my author website and the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HUSKzombie" target="_blank"><i>Husk</i> Facebook page</a>. If you like the trailer, please distribute it on your own pages, tweets, and blogs accordingly.<br />
<br />
It has been quite a ride for me so far, and there's still two months until I see it sitting atop the shelves. I hope you'll all enjoy my strange little monster, and perhaps we'll get a chance to meet when I'm on the road.Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-55807605664771256062012-07-06T21:10:00.000-04:002012-07-06T21:12:09.115-04:00An octopod of reviews for your pleasure<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Oh, woe is me, I am late again with reviews. So lax. So lazy. I humbly beseech thee, prithee, forgive me.</div>
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I have been rather busy, actually, what with the job, the second novel coming out, the book trailers I am working on, etc. But tonight, I am all yours, with one caveat; I have an abundance of novels already read this year, and simply cannot give the time I normally would to each title (worthy though many of them may be). So, here now, a whole slew of novels, each reviewed in three to four devastatingly incisive sentences.</div>
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/The-Last-Hunt-Cliff-Burns/dp/0969485352" name="Last Hunt" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Last Hunt</a> </i>- <a href="http://cliffjburns.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Cliff Burns</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKh2WQfSLqEDEmmS_8cbgj7bLakPqT9yZuoLDlHK8l28Cy_tmL3idaVihQywl0foLME8YkFvy0wfr0EXOvS9uM_YieI7k-IXtCeLS6mnA-TNSJIs8L_r9peImyx646zZylMOao/s1600/The+Last+Hunt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKh2WQfSLqEDEmmS_8cbgj7bLakPqT9yZuoLDlHK8l28Cy_tmL3idaVihQywl0foLME8YkFvy0wfr0EXOvS9uM_YieI7k-IXtCeLS6mnA-TNSJIs8L_r9peImyx646zZylMOao/s200/The+Last+Hunt.jpg" width="146" /></a></div>
<ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<li><span id="goog_1432891630"></span><span id="goog_1432891631"></span>I'm not a big fan of western novels (my knowledge of such limited to Larry McMurtry's <i>Lonesome Dove</i> quartet [yay!] and Chuck Norris' <i>The Justice Riders </i>[retching noise]). But I <i>am </i>a fan of Cliff Burns, here straying from his usual sci-fi/cyberpunk/fantasy-noir settings to attempt a serious old-fashioned horse opera. He doesn't reinvent the genre <i>a la </i>Patrick DeWitt (ah, I <i>knew </i>there was another western I've read), but <i>The Last Hunt</i> is a solid oater, with clean, spare prose, conflicted heroes, interesting characters and caricatures, and hefty dollops of gunplay. I'd say it's sure to please fans of Louis L'Amour, but I'm guessing at that.</li>
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Complete-Lockpick-Pornography-Joey-Comeau/dp/1770410694" name="Lockpick" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Complete Lockpick Pornography</a> </i>- <a href="http://cargocollective.com/joeycomeau/" target="_blank">Joey Comeau</a></div>
<ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUIk9pt3Ca-MZm-l0fwyldu-aBf7QK9VqJzsxBaN9FBjZhq-d-gcdrPPiPM2dHxvIliaVzFXob2zyrHxnU4ljySJZ1Nduo9Rk84ZDn0NC1RDVSKx7hO_4ILcJBD2RiTMq_xqc/s1600/Lockpick+Pornography.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUIk9pt3Ca-MZm-l0fwyldu-aBf7QK9VqJzsxBaN9FBjZhq-d-gcdrPPiPM2dHxvIliaVzFXob2zyrHxnU4ljySJZ1Nduo9Rk84ZDn0NC1RDVSKx7hO_4ILcJBD2RiTMq_xqc/s200/Lockpick+Pornography.jpg" width="126" /></a>
<li>Comeau has become a favourite of late (check out his brilliantly strange <i>One Bloody Thing After Another</i>), and <i>Lockpick Pornography </i>continues along the same lines, delivering a pair of weird, odd, funny, and very original takes on homosexuality, relationships, thefts, public sex, abuse, vigilantism, kidnappings, and more. I wouldn't call the two novellas burdened with plot; these are shaggy, rambling tales that charm the reader even as their wincing at some of the graphic descriptions (the title <i>does</i> contain the word pornography, so I don't know what else I was expecting). As Comeau's protagonists amble through a world they aren't really a part of, we grow to understand the effortless alienation that the LGBT community faces, and the strong sense of humour that can help people survive such bigotry. It's also remarkably sweet-natured and giving.</li>
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Bedtime-Story-Robert-J-Wiersema/dp/0679313761/" name="Bedtime" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bedtime Story</a> </i>- Robert J. Wiersema</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPD1zHYuASaClkBmqKtd37SxHrfAw_MjjEvZKwX2ERO75WQjVBYGcjfZw3zMHNfLXcZlgSjV6S2B12Y13wgGtj_cedcy0__ueZhyphenhyphenezMEoOXSIE60atOsJoRXk6SBP7Qk5TTex/s1600/Betime+Stort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPD1zHYuASaClkBmqKtd37SxHrfAw_MjjEvZKwX2ERO75WQjVBYGcjfZw3zMHNfLXcZlgSjV6S2B12Y13wgGtj_cedcy0__ueZhyphenhyphenezMEoOXSIE60atOsJoRXk6SBP7Qk5TTex/s200/Betime+Stort.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
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<li>Wiersema has always had a hint of the magical in his stories up until now, but <i>Bedtime Story </i>pushes him into epic new territory. A story about a boy trapped in a fantasy novel and the father seeking clues to free him, it treads a fine line between realism and the fantastic that would trip up lesser novelists. Weirsema keeps his story straight and his style clear, capturing the feel of Tolkien-like epics on one hand while delivering an affecting portrait of grief and loss on the other. Pair this one up with Lev Grossman's <i>The Magicians</i>.</li>
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Katja-Punk-Band-Simon-Logan/dp/0981297870" name="Katja" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Katja from the Punk Band</a> </i>- Simon Logan</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFI1Uz1_FtwTHAVG1TPj3pZfyEesrKM8IdE5cLUVMEd_RJ6BL8KDBa5xRMwswGiHpGx35y2Abxnt7GNeV7L7nsZjiwZ4lRnW9fYehsOJR22H87E5kHuJJYz200gOXfDsvCfNb/s1600/Katja.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFI1Uz1_FtwTHAVG1TPj3pZfyEesrKM8IdE5cLUVMEd_RJ6BL8KDBa5xRMwswGiHpGx35y2Abxnt7GNeV7L7nsZjiwZ4lRnW9fYehsOJR22H87E5kHuJJYz200gOXfDsvCfNb/s200/Katja.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
<ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<li>You want weird? <i>Katja</i> is Elmore Leonard via William Gibson, a fast-paced cyberpunk thriller that commands attention with great dialogue, twisted characters, and a fine sense of place. Set on an unnamed urban island and following a woman delivering an unnamed vial of something, Logan traipses back and forth through time and POVs, keeping the reader off-balance and filling in the blanks later with a precision that would do Christopher Nolan proud. This is a grimy, gritty, terribly unpleasant world, and I'd go back in a second.</li>
</ul>
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Voluptuous-Pleasure-Truth-About-Writing/dp/1927040035/" name="Voluptuous" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Voluptuous Pleasure: The Truth About the Writing Life</a> </i>- Marianne Apostolides</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Voiioqzt-zJc210q5DSZNfHqbo6g0aJtt7nqJstlGj34SEvR_mOo9sKeBp6kecub4Bg7EWypgk8gU9j-4v6sc8_EioP2qQdw9EeMQeSYg3okqYSAD3AZp9VRD1uGTz2IbD8H/s1600/Voluptuous.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Voiioqzt-zJc210q5DSZNfHqbo6g0aJtt7nqJstlGj34SEvR_mOo9sKeBp6kecub4Bg7EWypgk8gU9j-4v6sc8_EioP2qQdw9EeMQeSYg3okqYSAD3AZp9VRD1uGTz2IbD8H/s200/Voluptuous.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<li>This unusual set of nonfiction stories is ostensibly drawn from the author's real life, yet Apostolides twists each tale to blur the lines, leaving the reader wondering what, if anything, is real. What <i>is</i> real is her gorgeous writing style, her command of detail, and her daring take on the flexibility of memory. Presenting stories of her father, her relationships, and a fascinating visit to a brothel, Apostolides is fearless in revealing herself and masterful in ability. If you want stories that leave you sated yet wanting more, <i>Voluptuous Pleasure</i> fits the bill.</li>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Pirate-Therapy-Other-Cures-Rayner/dp/098666278X/" name="Pirate" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Pirate Therapy and Other Cures</i></a> - Mark A. Rayner</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCiiU2YJVB8xaVSh82REx8FXz_8Lk-KOdX3kiKcVLXPj1VP0HP5-MoqRyar1eiHjadb043p4QtdHn-o9MRZ2xj7NCItLxWyeOG-geMlv0vEdb1vf_VhancDqWINgvq3xJRoIV/s1600/Pirate+Therapy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdCiiU2YJVB8xaVSh82REx8FXz_8Lk-KOdX3kiKcVLXPj1VP0HP5-MoqRyar1eiHjadb043p4QtdHn-o9MRZ2xj7NCItLxWyeOG-geMlv0vEdb1vf_VhancDqWINgvq3xJRoIV/s200/Pirate+Therapy.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<li>In a collection of short stories, essays, and flash fiction, Rayner fits himself snugly into the eternally off-kilter worlds of Monty Python, The Goon Squad, and Douglas Adams. In Rayner's warped imagination, Jesus contends with dinosaurs, Batman reveals a bout of insecurity, an alien overlord mans an advice column, and Anne of Green Gables eventually destroys the world. If one story doesn't tickle your fancy, the next one will. As with Monty Python's television series, I advise reading only a few stories at a time, as the non-stop punnery can be overwhelming, and taking pauses to savour Rayner's sardonic wit is a pleasure.</li>
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<i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Plain-Sight-Mike-Knowles/dp/1550229486/" name="Plain" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">In Plain Sight</a> </i>- Mike Knowles</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy16-yTB1x7chcCo1RHjzJWRr5rh0-YOdd6HRQB3CqJaaQqTtsUFgsHWTqwNxyMz9CjTIBT0id0DdZvDTFNs2IQXto7uXf0KECWOvbjCex1_YJ-YwFkhK9aMBTzqLQxUTBSTQe/s1600/In+Plain+Sight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy16-yTB1x7chcCo1RHjzJWRr5rh0-YOdd6HRQB3CqJaaQqTtsUFgsHWTqwNxyMz9CjTIBT0id0DdZvDTFNs2IQXto7uXf0KECWOvbjCex1_YJ-YwFkhK9aMBTzqLQxUTBSTQe/s200/In+Plain+Sight.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<li>Sometimes, with crime novels in particular, you can tell when an author is 'faking' it, i.e. the author really doesn't have a clue about the realities of crime. Knowles has no such problem, and his increasingly dark and violent tales of former mob enforcer Wilson reek of someone who knows the game; if Knowles is faking it, he's better than I realized. Almost unremittingly bleak, utterly nasty, yet compulsively readable, Knowles' Wilson series is a dive into the depths of humanity's own hell. <i>In Plain Sight</i> is as harsh as sandpaper (think Andrew Vachss before his Burke series descended into self-parody), and unless you're the sort that enjoys gruesome vengeance against irredeemable people (and I am), stay clear away.</li>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Osama-Novel-Lavie-Tidhar/dp/1781080755/" name="Osama" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Osama</i></a> - Lavie Tidhar</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQVgxxUQZf196hwgB4GZ8PJ36zchcU5Z9TgserZYycYqVJWEyT3r0RovOQE2m4-a2r1llP7TFngPlYVtYUud5RuUef9kGNNVbwi-hxLoxJOf8Gf7NWQHFAxx33Dww3dfWcXtS/s1600/Osama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQVgxxUQZf196hwgB4GZ8PJ36zchcU5Z9TgserZYycYqVJWEyT3r0RovOQE2m4-a2r1llP7TFngPlYVtYUud5RuUef9kGNNVbwi-hxLoxJOf8Gf7NWQHFAxx33Dww3dfWcXtS/s200/Osama.jpg" width="156" /></a></div>
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<li><i>Osama </i>qualifies as one of the greatest mindjobs I've come across, a metaphysical detective story that loops in and around itself like a mobius strip. Set in an alternate reality where global terrorism does not exist, <i>Osama </i>follows a private detective hired to find an obscure pulp author who writes of a vigilante named Osama bin Laden. What follows, in one of the best meta-fiction narratives I've read since Paul Auster's <i>City of Glass</i>, is an atmospheric descent into multiple realities that fractures the sanity of the detective as he confronts the realities of war and chaos. I really enjoy Tidhar's <i>Bookman</i> series of steampunk novels, but I was truly unprepared for the genius of this.</li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And there you have it, <i>eight </i>reviews to sate your appetite. Get though all of them, and win a t-shirt! </span><br />
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Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-62171495570556298962012-06-12T18:33:00.001-04:002012-06-12T18:36:31.787-04:00My newest author crush: David NickleThere's a sign on the gate: <br />
<br />
<h4>
You must be this intelligent to enter.</h4>
<br />
So says the monkey, your highly-trained carnie for this carousel of dreams.<br />
<br />
____________________________<br />
<br />
<br />
I can't tell you what a relief it is to be confronted with a "horror" author whom I cannot say reminds me of Stephen King. This is nothing against King, mind you; his style is deeply effective, and there is a reason he has earned so many imitators, consciously or not.<br />
<br />
How often, however, can you reach into that well before you cry "Enough!"? It's inevitable that all authors will resemble some other writer in overall style, with the unarguable exception of Kurt Vonnegut, and King's style is just simple enough to tempt new authors who cannot see the masterful effort that underlies the words. So when a novelist comes along that is the first in a long while to evoke pleasure of writers past while at the same time breaking though new territory, I take notice. Nick DiChario brought me <a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.ca/2007/02/small-and-remarkable-life-review.html" target="_blank">new Theodore Sturgeon stories</a> long after the old master had passes away. Gemma Files has <a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.ca/2011/05/monkey-droppings-book-of-tongues-by.html" target="_blank">channelled Clive Barker</a> in her stunning horror westerns. And now, Canadian author David Nickle has gifted me with new <a href="http://www.dansimmons.com/" target="_blank">Dan Simmons</a> (not that Simmons is done himself).<br />
<br />
Not that Simmons is done, he's still going strong, publishing at least one novel every year. Simmons is a maestro of practically every category of fiction, an author at ease in horror (<i>Summer of Night, Song of Kali</i>), historical fiction (<i>Drood</i>, <i>The Terror</i>), crime (<i>Hard Freeze</i>), and science fiction (the immortal <i>Hyperion</i>, among many others). He dances through genres like no one since <a href="http://www.joerlansdale.com/" target="_blank">Joe R. Lansdale</a> (still going as well), and he continually brings a new perspective to every genre he touches.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJL9NBtyVQpc0fHy-a7qpGMZRU4UecVVxQSNVvcG5-n8Q4bMeOI0pSm3L-NELCZ_5e5u-_d_rgw3Tbnop5CYKg1-3znc_CY1e2JVZTGESEocop_gzVov6dUEV58KfAJEFji_z/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJL9NBtyVQpc0fHy-a7qpGMZRU4UecVVxQSNVvcG5-n8Q4bMeOI0pSm3L-NELCZ_5e5u-_d_rgw3Tbnop5CYKg1-3znc_CY1e2JVZTGESEocop_gzVov6dUEV58KfAJEFji_z/s200/images.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
So, too, does <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/davidnickle/mainpage" target="_blank">David Nickle</a>, busting through the gate with two (2!) novels from Chizine (best genre publisher working today) that have completely floored me with their verve, originality, and utter command of story. I admit to not having yet read his short story collection <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/davidnickle/monstrousaffections" target="_blank"><i>Monstrous Affections</i></a>, but I have no doubt it will continue Nickle's streak. His novel <i>Eutopia </i>is a gloriously original American historical horror, and his follow-up <i>Rasputin's Bastards</i> is a bold and disturbing Russian epic spy thriller that takes drastically disparate elements (there are echoes of James Bond, John le Carré, China Mieville, and Simmons' <i>Carrion Comfort</i>) and mashes them together in a fantastical narrative that crosses POVs and dimensions with an assurance that is staggering.<br />
<br />
Have I got your attention yet? Good. Because David Nickle is <i>that</i> good.<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Please note: </b>the following comes mostly from memory, as I don't have the books on me at present. So, no quotations. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/davidnickle/eutopia-2" target="_blank"><i>Eutopia</i></a> (subtitled <i>A Novel of Terrible Optimism</i>) is ostensibly a historical drama, set in a small isolated mill town in Idaho in 1911. The town, Eliada, is idyllic, with no bars, no vice, and no outward strife. It is, indeed, an experiment in social control, led by a powerful businessman who dreams of his own Utopia. But as must happen in such tales as these, deep evil lies in the woods beyond, evil in unsettlingly lovecraftian forms, evil that recalls the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm at their most grimmest.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFGsh7Z2_O3zAQHzjIKYqstYl27WnNFhfuSjEDnsdleJ7PZo5s3opynA1lVJ2rsc9_nlyJ8GWqNlroQDpSlQH3z9htT4mDK-5HiwU48MKYgejDOfJdafnn05LwFTwudiDnph_/s1600/eutopia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFGsh7Z2_O3zAQHzjIKYqstYl27WnNFhfuSjEDnsdleJ7PZo5s3opynA1lVJ2rsc9_nlyJ8GWqNlroQDpSlQH3z9htT4mDK-5HiwU48MKYgejDOfJdafnn05LwFTwudiDnph_/s200/eutopia.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
Into this simmering tempest Nickle throws a young man who has mysteriously survived a plague, and a black doctor who knows all too well how flawed Eliada really is. As they hurry to understand what is really happening beneath the idyll (shades of David Lynch), Nickle elegantly weaves themes of faith versus science, man versus man, and nature versus all, and no fair telling who wins, if you can call it winning.<br />
<br />
As Nickle pulls the strings of his dizzying array of characters, his plot leaps from period western to redneck horror to magic realism, all without stumbling or missing a beat. This is dark, weird fiction that follows a logic all its own, pulling out all the stops in raising the creepy quotient, yet cementing the bizarre goings-on in characters who pull you along.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLwSsbmDD_zm-7IyXpcnlGDm3hjKUWxt1gGqlA6FB6EfIGyt1U0mBFWDw-Q0VUwz8kUSaPK5HthvMUYVzJZlEeS3XDY-v6Gt7gr9kg1YNjt3-sLKRxghDniUghoXljt7jmcZ2/s1600/n397370.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrLwSsbmDD_zm-7IyXpcnlGDm3hjKUWxt1gGqlA6FB6EfIGyt1U0mBFWDw-Q0VUwz8kUSaPK5HthvMUYVzJZlEeS3XDY-v6Gt7gr9kg1YNjt3-sLKRxghDniUghoXljt7jmcZ2/s200/n397370.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
<a href="http://rasputinsbastards.com/" target="_blank"><i>Rasputin's Bastards</i></a> is an almost complete about-face (again, shades of Simmons). Nickle now delves into Cold War espionage territory, this time in a tale replete with guns, adventure, and of course, telepathic Russian spies bred in a secret facility. Sent underground after the war ended, the telepaths use their vast powers for their own means, while their young progeny find themselves being diverted against their will to an unusual location.<br />
<br />
<i>Rasputin</i>, like <i>Eutopia</i>, is not a novel easy summarized. Nickle seems to delight in keeping the reader off-balance, easily achieved when half the novel is set in various fantastic mindscapes that continually weave in and out of conscious reality, creating a novel wherein the reader is perpetually on edge and unsure exactly where any single point of the narrative is set. If you are looking for an easy read a la James Patterson, stay far away: if you find China Mieville's expert world-building to be enthralling stuff, you'll have quite a time here.<br />
<br />
And there are some squid present, in case you get bored.<br />
<br />
Look, by now you can tell what kind of books these are, and whether you're interested. Genre fiction will always suffer the sniffs of snobs (lest you think otherwise, I'm a snob too, can't be bothered with romance, and Tolkienesque ogre opuses leave me cold [plus, did you read that Patterson snub in the previous paragraph?]). Nickle isn't writing for the cheap seats; he's unapologetic about writing for the front row, the elites, the ones who "get it."<br />
<br />
Get it? Like Simmons, you can't rush headlong in to Nickle's work, you need a base to draw experiences from. Read your King, bone up on your Shelley, devour your Barker and Lovecraft and Poe and Bloch and Howard.<br />
<br />
Then, move on up, and know that you've earned your right to take a ride.<br />
<br />
<h3>
So sayeth the monkey. </h3>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-6625482446407978282012-06-05T16:46:00.001-04:002012-06-05T16:47:26.354-04:00The monkey also watches films. Way too many films.Again and again, I find myself wanting to update the blog with <i>something</i>, but work, home projects, writing, strife abroad, it all combines to completely exhaust me.<br />
<br />
So, in an effort to catch up, I thought I'd direct your attention to the lovely critical cinema website <a href="http://www.flickattack.com/" target="_blank">Flick Attack</a> (its motto: hitting you with one random movie a day...whether you like it or not) where yours truly blows off some steam in snack-sized chunklets of movie reviews.<br />
<br />
Here, then, are some excerpts from my blisteringly unfocused rants and raves for your reading pleasure, if not your viewing:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2012/05/jonah-hex-2010/" target="_blank"><i>Jonah Hex </i>(2010)</a><br />
<ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyk1LiO5cgFAkeTdE_n8qgn8OrjkleRzMYMMIlcbstqd_wzBV71qAA6ZYC5iGAV93kkjwFH9JwBoQA5pxk2gDjQ6_TxDEWqwXdXSbD8brL-ZxWzs2bxSx7qrqFODtsIUrsYz5i/s1600/elmstreet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyk1LiO5cgFAkeTdE_n8qgn8OrjkleRzMYMMIlcbstqd_wzBV71qAA6ZYC5iGAV93kkjwFH9JwBoQA5pxk2gDjQ6_TxDEWqwXdXSbD8brL-ZxWzs2bxSx7qrqFODtsIUrsYz5i/s200/elmstreet.jpg" width="130" /></a>
<li>What should have been a pulpy Western mesh of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002GSXKNI/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>Blade</i></a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003ASLJRW/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>Pale Rider</i></a> is a flat-out disaster, actually making <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005F265GQ/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>Wild Wild West</i></a> seem not so bad in retrospect (that armored spider <i>was</i> pretty cool).</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2012/05/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-1984/" target="_blank"><i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i> (1984)</a><br />
<ul>
<li>I am unconvinced that Wes Craven is a great horror director. I’m not honestly sure he’s even a good one.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2012/04/the-thing-2011/" target="_blank"><i>The Thing </i>(2011)</a><br />
<ul>
<li>It’s obvious that the people behind <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0067QPVD2/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>The Thing</i></a>
remake studied John Carpenter’s gruesome masterpiece before they began
their prequel. But studying ain’t the same as mastering; while <i>Thing</i> 2011 plays the same notes as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001CW7ZWG/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>Thing</i></a> 1982, there’s barely any music to be heard.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2012/04/macgruber-2010/" target="_blank"><i>MacGruber</i> (2010)</a><br />
<ul>
<li><i>MacGruber</i> is a textbook example of the smart-stupid, the type of
stupid only very smart people can create. Thank God that Adam Sandler and
Dennis Dugan never got their paws anywhere near this one. </li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmNV8pAN97j9AbsfoCEj_rEqtt5XuFZMYIRM88nr4Lm7cBxke9t-cwaDaQx9HJQ8LYNqKwc3XM8ESc5fGdVWvaT3XNLMNfOlingt7KcyLl2hSRuPxi-apL3obbjknLaE6j6jy/s1600/princedarkness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmNV8pAN97j9AbsfoCEj_rEqtt5XuFZMYIRM88nr4Lm7cBxke9t-cwaDaQx9HJQ8LYNqKwc3XM8ESc5fGdVWvaT3XNLMNfOlingt7KcyLl2hSRuPxi-apL3obbjknLaE6j6jy/s1600/princedarkness.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2012/03/prince-of-darkness-1987/" target="_blank"><i>Prince of Darkness </i>(1987)</a><br />
<ul>
<li>Right smack in the middle, a religious tome reveals that Jesus Christ
was an extra-terrestrial who tried to warn humans about the dangers
inherent in the liquid, and <i>no one bats an eye.</i> That is some cold analytic shit happening right there.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2012/02/dolan%E2%80%99s-cadillac-2009/" target="_blank"><i>Dolan's Cadillac </i>(2009)</a><br />
<ul>
<li>In the no man’s land of direct-to-video fare, you get Slater, the poor
man’s Jack Nicholson, hardly an untalented actor but hopelessly miscast
in portraying such devastating evil.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2012/02/drive-angry-2011/" target="_blank"><i>Drive Angry </i>(2011)</a><br />
<ul>
<li>Here’s what I want in a movie titled <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004EPYZOY/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>Drive Angry</i></a>: anger, and driving. When Nicolas Cage is your hero, I’d think the anger would have been covered, but in a role that demands <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00062IVM6/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>Wild at Heart</i></a> Cage, or even <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000RZGIOA/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>Face/Off</i></a> Cage, he gives us <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001J710XY/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>Bangkok Dangerous</i></a> Cage. </li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWH7iAsFRsGOtTBkx7d20iZ9BKLxux4P4wfcy2rrAQ2rqfvBcsb-RFMyW8k6c5EtkQlBccYyS_7glGzF9KbSmrbQWVVoQDwDoNZI7lfQSPUoA83MK2xMN_U04N5zikXPnPrLp/s1600/dune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWH7iAsFRsGOtTBkx7d20iZ9BKLxux4P4wfcy2rrAQ2rqfvBcsb-RFMyW8k6c5EtkQlBccYyS_7glGzF9KbSmrbQWVVoQDwDoNZI7lfQSPUoA83MK2xMN_U04N5zikXPnPrLp/s1600/dune.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2012/01/dune-1984/" target="_blank"><i>Dune </i>(1984)</a><br />
<ul>
<li>Here is why I love <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00371QQ0M/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>Dune</i></a>:
It doesn’t work. Not as a drama. Not as a space opera. Not as a war
movie. By the basic tenets of comprehensible storytelling, it’s
ridiculous. Its overall failure is legendary. But taken as a whole, it’s
a twisted dream, rife with spectacularly unique imagery and a baroque, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003CRM6QO/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>Flash Gordon</i></a>-like design that never fails to draw me in, even while I’m picking it apart.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2012/01/hobo-with-a-shotgun-2011/" target="_blank"><i>Hobo With a Shotgun </i>(2011)</a><br />
<ul>
<li>There isn’t one area on the human body that isn’t brutalized in <i>Hobo</i>’s 86 minutes; there isn’t one obscenity in the English language unmuttered; there isn’t one depravity unseen. But you also get a surprising amount of flair.</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwx_mTZ1MZbueVHopl65B06uG4VlCIv3WYbwgMM2CkBy2skHsi5qhueapUx3vNfetkIAmw5vzpvcXnKi7-gD3GM-6zUolP0oMhXfVIpaVB0Y8kzHyO_wNcaR7wJ95x8aqaLCWa/s1600/hardware.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwx_mTZ1MZbueVHopl65B06uG4VlCIv3WYbwgMM2CkBy2skHsi5qhueapUx3vNfetkIAmw5vzpvcXnKi7-gD3GM-6zUolP0oMhXfVIpaVB0Y8kzHyO_wNcaR7wJ95x8aqaLCWa/s1600/hardware.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2011/12/point-blank-1998/" target="_blank"><i>Point Blank</i> (1998)</a><br />
<ul>
<li>What follows are scenes of action so inept, they are tailor-made for
YouTube clips. And, yes, the filmmakers honestly expect us to believe
that the slab of greased ham that is Rourke is <i>backflipping</i> his way out of Danny Trejo’s line of fire.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2011/11/hardware-1990/" target="_blank"><i>Hardware </i>(1990)</a><br />
<ul>
<li><i>Hardware</i> is seemingly designed solely for genre snobs
who can glimpse genuine artistry poking out from between the seams.
Part spaghetti Western, part <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000F9RB9Y/hitchmagazine-20" target="new"><i>Terminator</i></a>
and part slasher, if you dig the style, you’ll likely groove to the
nihilistic audacity. If not, you’ll find it a heap of gory nonsense.</li>
</ul>
So, yeah, my movie tastes and literary tastes are <i>wildly </i>divergent. And yes, I praise <i>Dune </i>for being incoherent, and condemn <i>Point Blank</i> for being incoherent. But such is the strange schizophrenic nature of my existence.Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-71368175331532954692012-05-08T17:20:00.000-04:002012-05-08T17:21:48.603-04:00Tiny Monkey reviews - Red Means Run by Brad Smith<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
</h3>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6600739802234357493">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaXhnJVOcsfctrVcZj5yxgDkjkSjE38PR-7GRcWgpZzhV4mvQFGNFQHE0CqT_SnCi9lGx6gMyhMvfTF38FwJGPBRDMgvXy37qyce7VaZ4gOYazj97hKny89Dkd50r4YyKD6pJ/s1600/Tiny-Monkey.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaXhnJVOcsfctrVcZj5yxgDkjkSjE38PR-7GRcWgpZzhV4mvQFGNFQHE0CqT_SnCi9lGx6gMyhMvfTF38FwJGPBRDMgvXy37qyce7VaZ4gOYazj97hKny89Dkd50r4YyKD6pJ/s200/Tiny-Monkey.jpg" width="200" /></a></span><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Red Means Run </i></span>(Simon and Schuster, 2012)</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black;">by </span><a href="http://www.bradsmithbooks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Brad Smith</span></a></b></div>
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<b>Description (<a href="http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Red-Means-Run/Brad-Smith/9781451673999" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">from the publisher</a>)</b></div>
<blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Mickey Dupree is one of the most successful criminal attorneys in
upstate New York. The upside of being Mickey: he has never lost a
capital murder case. The downside: Mickey has a lot of enemies, and one
of them has just driven the shaft of a golf club through his heart,
leaving him dead in a sand trap at his exclusive country club. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
The
cops, led by a gung ho but dim-witted detective named Joe Brady, focus
their attentions on Virgil Cain. Just two weeks earlier, Virgil told a
crowded bar that “somebody ought to blow Mickey’s head off,” after the
slippery lawyer earned an acquittal for Alan Comstock, the man accused
of murdering Virgil’s wife. Comstock, a legendary record producer, gun
nut, and certifiable lunatic, has returned to his estate, where he lives
with his wife, the long-suffering Jane. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Virgil is convinced that
the fix is in when Brady immediately throws him into jail with no
investigation. So Virgil escapes from custody, determined to find
Mickey’s killer himself. His only ally is the smart and sexy Claire
Marchand, a detective who is at least willing to consider that Virgil
may be telling the truth. Now it’s up to Virgil to prove his innocence,
and to do that he needs to find the killer. Before the killer finds him.
</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Su62-7B1fKm4Mw7aGpIKn1WIWS1BKoB-RmQbZHAgoM5Ze6Vb-72vCa6KK5xEnEGujJ96HVDyLc8l9o_pvex0MTdNAijSX7UHgAm8LelOZ7E3ak23A6TMmzSUAtOBCZEuLVoT/s1600/Tiny%252BMonkey.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Su62-7B1fKm4Mw7aGpIKn1WIWS1BKoB-RmQbZHAgoM5Ze6Vb-72vCa6KK5xEnEGujJ96HVDyLc8l9o_pvex0MTdNAijSX7UHgAm8LelOZ7E3ak23A6TMmzSUAtOBCZEuLVoT/s200/Tiny%252BMonkey.jpg" width="80" /></a></div>
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<u><b>What the Tiny Monkey thinks </b></u></div>
<br />
I think it's still too early to proclaim Brad Smith as Canada's answer to <a href="http://www.elmoreleonard.com/" target="_blank">Elmore Leonard</a>; after all, Smith has written only six books, and Leonard has umpteen-million novels and stories behind him. But based on <i>Red Means Run</i>, combined with his past output, it's clear that Smith knows his way around the genre, and has a hell of a lot of fun navigating the terrain.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbtDN9Dt8GDwt6zYCyt8VOqyKTgBMLkAIexd_HbAVjVskTt4N32Ybk70zg8B2Y-jVM-CyA6PWeDDOPU4iYvyINHhL-TyoDE2UOJIHp3mIygmQqaYVyEvD0ZHRKCf8qYtpJml-/s1600/Red+Means+Run.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSbtDN9Dt8GDwt6zYCyt8VOqyKTgBMLkAIexd_HbAVjVskTt4N32Ybk70zg8B2Y-jVM-CyA6PWeDDOPU4iYvyINHhL-TyoDE2UOJIHp3mIygmQqaYVyEvD0ZHRKCf8qYtpJml-/s1600/Red+Means+Run.jpg" /></a></div>
As with Leonard (and the best crime practitioners such as <a href="http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/georgepelecanos/" target="_blank">George Pelecanos</a> and <a href="http://www.joerlansdale.com/" target="_blank">Joe R. Lansdale</a> [a genius who straddles genres with ease, and whose <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/50105-hap-collins-and-leonard-pine" target="_blank">Hap Collins and Leonard Pine</a> series is required reading]), Smith understands that a mystery/thriller is really only as good as its characters. From his debut <i>One-Eyed Jacks</i>, Smith has excelled at crafting entertaining low-lifes and underbelly dwellers, and <i>Red Means Run</i> finds him in fine form. Virgil is the crafty sort of protagonist that best propel outlandish plot lines, a fundamentally honest, wryly funny man who is well-nigh incapable of just sitting by and waiting for results. Claire is also nicely nuanced, and while the sexual tension between her and Virgil is never in doubt (on a side note, the cop/criminal sex trope is really played out for me), Smith keeps the banter light even as the plot bobs and weaves its way through murder and mayhem. There's nothing particularly innovative in Smith's approach, but he has the goods to move the story like a motherfu@#er. <i>Red Means Run</i> is pure pleasure to read.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><u><i style="color: purple;"><b>TINY MONKEY REALLY LIKES</b></i></u></span></span>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-59090526238862646482012-04-08T15:28:00.002-04:002012-04-08T15:31:02.588-04:00The Last Hiccup - The First Rave<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
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Before I begin a post of unabashed enthusiasm on <a href="http://www.christophermeades.com/index.html" target="_blank">Christopher Meades</a>' weirdly wonderful new novel <a href="http://www.christophermeades.com/thelasthiccup.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>The Last Hiccup</i></a>, a note of caution:</div>
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Through careful research and self-imposed paranoid fear-mongering, I have determined that Chris, having never met him physically, is undoubtedly one of the following:</div>
<ul style="font-family: inherit;">
<li>my doppelganger;</li>
<li>my long-lost twin, the one I thought I devoured <i>in utero</i>;</li>
<li>a pod person bent on destroying me. </li>
</ul>
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Why this belief, Corey, oh master of hyperbole? Take a look, and you tell <i>me</i> I'm freaking out over nothing:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig4hyphenhyphenEGwfItziUU7ZsotPN_4tE-avaJI8rGQS88mgEjO9HUWgJg60l4J517hUhG7ha6USQ56gNjIRwSGRDV8X7aRpGSTsJ5-l53J4f-CkqbSIeXNS1Qqsont9qaZs5-7EFpLX5/s1600/758661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Corey Redekop - Christopher Meades doppelganger?" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig4hyphenhyphenEGwfItziUU7ZsotPN_4tE-avaJI8rGQS88mgEjO9HUWgJg60l4J517hUhG7ha6USQ56gNjIRwSGRDV8X7aRpGSTsJ5-l53J4f-CkqbSIeXNS1Qqsont9qaZs5-7EFpLX5/s1600/758661.jpg" title="Corey Redekop - Christopher Meades doppelganger?" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWNT1puUBjXANkHn0jzP0jD6PslQkkeY7vItWc4NHE4v1pX3schBK-y1yT2Oose965zYpO8inJDL-CDB01RFRGKS3s0xaolhEp1pYr-Qhrt22vq9rgd9FU58SZ9ghfZK5bh6I/s1600/cmeades_photo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Christopher Meades - Corey Redekop doppelganger?" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWNT1puUBjXANkHn0jzP0jD6PslQkkeY7vItWc4NHE4v1pX3schBK-y1yT2Oose965zYpO8inJDL-CDB01RFRGKS3s0xaolhEp1pYr-Qhrt22vq9rgd9FU58SZ9ghfZK5bh6I/s1600/cmeades_photo3.jpg" title="Christopher Meades - Corey Redekop doppelganger?" /></a></div>
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All together now;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Meet Corey, who's done most everything, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
From practice law to plane jumping. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But Chris has only stayed the course, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
He's never even seen a horse. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
What a crazy pair! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
'Cuz they're authors, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Identical authors and you'll find, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
They dress alike, they walk alike, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
At times they even write alike: </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You can lose your mind, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When authors are two of a kind.</div>
<br />
Spooky, no? Maybe it's a coincidence, but I'm afraid to go to sleep at night. Should we meet I have no doubt the universe will cease to exist, or at least suffer a splitting headache.<br />
<br />
On the plus side, should I ever die, we have a spare.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgho8N-SCTPJiO3erW7DZngtBYcrfDCO8Ap24JTksL_WlnuFoD98-HNU-Gcd7cPC5zYHKO3-cLegiFFodG_TYAjYaw0g-VCDrkEvYI4nr4cF6Ahpf1oyKdt3Mg2uwhjLBjWmEIl/s1600/9781770902268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="The Last Hiccup" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgho8N-SCTPJiO3erW7DZngtBYcrfDCO8Ap24JTksL_WlnuFoD98-HNU-Gcd7cPC5zYHKO3-cLegiFFodG_TYAjYaw0g-VCDrkEvYI4nr4cF6Ahpf1oyKdt3Mg2uwhjLBjWmEIl/s320/9781770902268.jpg" title="The Last Hiccup" width="207" /></a></div>
But I come here to praise Chris, not to fear him. I was a fan of his debut novel <i>The Three
Fates of Henrik Nordmark</i>, an unceasingly silly chase novel that gave me no end of pleasure.<i> </i>So when approached, I gladly agreed to blurb his novel (a professional first!), for his sophomore effort <i>The Last Hiccup</i> is everything I look for in a novel; funny, weird, vaguely historical, barely linear, ambiguous, and saturated with synchronous diaphragmatic flutter. Having suffered from a lengthy bout of the devil's esophageal convulsions myself (seven days, no fooling), perhaps I'm inclined to sympathize with Vladimir, the young Russian boy who starts hiccuping at age eight and continues to do so for decades.<br />
<br />
If the novel were simply that, twenty-plus years of hiccuping, I think I'd have tired of it. Meades, however, takes the Kurt Vonnegut route of torturing the protagonist, placing his hero in early 20th century Russia and submitting him to horrendous ordeal after horrendous ordeal. In short order, Vladimir, a strangely self-possessed little boy, is abandoned by his mother, experimented on by a mad doctor, and sent to live in the mountains with a strange and silent monk. And I haven't even begun to factor World War I into Meades' melange.<br />
<br />
I do love a story that never takes me where I expect, and <i>Hiccup</i> certainly fills that bill. It's also extremely clever, dark, surreal, and unexpectedly poignant. I certainly hope Chris continues to push himself into the unexpected, for I sense there are fathoms of fantastic weirdness in him just aching to be discovered.<br />
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<br />
<b>[NOTE] </b>Should there ever be interest in mine and Chris' life story, perhaps as a Patty Duke-like family comedy with hijinks galore, I hereby submit the following unknown Canadian actor for consideration:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5aTcNKY4kDYSgmISxHzYG3CiT0dQctN164qFEiXPmjeZgOs0LAo7l_UJQkSyd2QCPcW-W0LynEbJrLpF99sSI5UMtaenwb2C30rNjzGIpHpvYGlwqAOtZLHAIyHvAD5NAi20/s1600/gosling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Corey Redekop + Chris Meades + Ryan Gosling = Box Office Dynamite!" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju5aTcNKY4kDYSgmISxHzYG3CiT0dQctN164qFEiXPmjeZgOs0LAo7l_UJQkSyd2QCPcW-W0LynEbJrLpF99sSI5UMtaenwb2C30rNjzGIpHpvYGlwqAOtZLHAIyHvAD5NAi20/s1600/gosling.jpg" title="Corey Redekop + Chris Meades + Ryan Gosling = Box Office Dynamite!" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
'Cuz they're triplets!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Identical triplets, and you'll find,</div>
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They act alike, they brood alike,</div>
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Sometimes they're even subdued alike...</div>
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</div>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-83871779045589194102012-04-05T17:00:00.000-04:002012-05-08T16:46:08.083-04:00Tiny Monkey Reviews - Triggers by Robert J. Sawyer<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaXhnJVOcsfctrVcZj5yxgDkjkSjE38PR-7GRcWgpZzhV4mvQFGNFQHE0CqT_SnCi9lGx6gMyhMvfTF38FwJGPBRDMgvXy37qyce7VaZ4gOYazj97hKny89Dkd50r4YyKD6pJ/s1600/Tiny-Monkey.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaXhnJVOcsfctrVcZj5yxgDkjkSjE38PR-7GRcWgpZzhV4mvQFGNFQHE0CqT_SnCi9lGx6gMyhMvfTF38FwJGPBRDMgvXy37qyce7VaZ4gOYazj97hKny89Dkd50r4YyKD6pJ/s200/Tiny-Monkey.jpg" width="200" /></a></span><b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Triggers </i></span>(Penguin, 2012)</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black;">by </span><a href="http://www.sfwriter.com/" target="_blank">Robert J. Sawyer</a></b></div>
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<b>Description (<a href="http://www.penguin.ca/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780670065769,00.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">from the publisher</a>)</b></div>
<blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<b>A new mind-bending novel from Canada’s leading futurist</b><br />
<br />
On the eve of a secret military operation, an assassin’s bullet strikes U.S. President Seth Jerrison. He is rushed to hospital, where surgeons struggle to save his life. At the same hospital, Canadian researcher Dr. Ranjip Singh is experimenting with a device that can erase traumatic memories. Then a terrorist bomb detonates. In the operating room, the president suffers cardiac arrest. He has a near-death experience—but the memories that flash through Jerrison’s mind are not his memories.<br />
<br />
It quickly becomes clear that the electromagnetic pulse generated by the bomb amplified and scrambled Dr. Singh’s equipment, allowing a random group of people to access one another’s minds. And now one of those people has access to the president’s memories—including classified information regarding an upcoming military mission, which, if revealed, could cost countless lives. But the task of determining who has switched memories with whom is a daunting one, particularly when some of the people involved have reasons to lie ...</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Su62-7B1fKm4Mw7aGpIKn1WIWS1BKoB-RmQbZHAgoM5Ze6Vb-72vCa6KK5xEnEGujJ96HVDyLc8l9o_pvex0MTdNAijSX7UHgAm8LelOZ7E3ak23A6TMmzSUAtOBCZEuLVoT/s1600/Tiny%252BMonkey.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Su62-7B1fKm4Mw7aGpIKn1WIWS1BKoB-RmQbZHAgoM5Ze6Vb-72vCa6KK5xEnEGujJ96HVDyLc8l9o_pvex0MTdNAijSX7UHgAm8LelOZ7E3ak23A6TMmzSUAtOBCZEuLVoT/s200/Tiny%252BMonkey.jpg" width="80" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcYTSz8KzrE6gSljSOJ4SV6lQin1XBk1Iy77LW2QTYXL17tpKlY6IYRbB9q7jjsRaOV3J1G7pROXQTLnM18CBYaiIRCL1eV-KzTnniJWpw7_SpnDjylU960NqNZ0M70OfEnU7/s1600/naturalorder-125.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><u><b>What the Tiny Monkey thinks </b></u></div>
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I have to put some cards on the table up front: not only do I <i>know</i> Rob Sawyer, not only do I <i>like</i> Rob Sawyer, not only do I bring up the fact that I know and like Rob Sawyer at every opportunity; on top of that, one of the characters in <i>Triggers</i>, Eric Redekop, shares my last name. No mere coincidence this, as Rob confirmed via Facebook that he thought my last name was "cool." This FB message has thereby been printed out and framed, verifiable proof that <i>someone</i> likes the damnable moniker. And this also means that, likely for the first time ever, a Mennonite headlines a sci-fi novel, with the possible exception of Robert A. Heinlein's <i>The Froeses of Mars</i>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNjhIe0t6ZUgF_mnAz0IfMh-O2ztqsqYA1ncnXe5TN1aGtBMRpCvHUhWh9Sq9N1-0CxavgpglJl225k_uHTFft9sZomol3R_6gd1wuMcaeVCcDU0ngVFKSPcDaDKMDdz9dafQ/s1600/Triggers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNjhIe0t6ZUgF_mnAz0IfMh-O2ztqsqYA1ncnXe5TN1aGtBMRpCvHUhWh9Sq9N1-0CxavgpglJl225k_uHTFft9sZomol3R_6gd1wuMcaeVCcDU0ngVFKSPcDaDKMDdz9dafQ/s200/Triggers.jpg" width="133" /></a>So take this review with salt and imitation buttered popcorn, if you must; <i>Triggers </i>is a lot of fun. Sawyer has never been the greatest of prose stylists, but his enthusiasm for his topics, his hearty dollops of research, and his genuine upbeat attitude (an increasing rarity in science fiction) make the best of his work a pleasure to read (particularly his short stories: I cannot recommend <a href="http://www.sfwriter.com/exit.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Iterations</i></a> or <a href="http://www.sfwriter.com/exit.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Identity Theft</i></a> highly enough). <i>Triggers</i>, like most of Sawyer's work, sets its narrative around an immensely intriguing hook, and his plot machinations concerning selective telepathic powers keep the pages flying by. It isn't the deepest of reads, and part of me wishes he went further with his ultimate finale, when the plot ventures into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Sturgeon" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Theodore Sturgeon</a> territory (I won't be divulging this ending here, however; unlike a certain reviewer in the <i>Globe and Mail</i>, I try not to give away the ending whether or not I liked the book). I am unsure whether <i>Triggers</i> qualifies as Sawyer's most fanciful work, as the science behind his scenario sounds fairly wonky to the layperson in me, but that hardly counts as a disqualification. <i>Triggers</i> is fast and fun, with just enough inherent plausibility to the shenanigans to keep me glued to my seat.<br />
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<u><i style="color: purple;"><b>TINY MONKEY REALLY LIKES</b></i></u></span>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-66007398022343574932012-03-13T18:45:00.001-04:002012-03-13T18:45:54.224-04:00Tiny monkey - Natural Order by Brian Francis<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
<a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2012/02/tiny-monkey-dead-kid-detective-agency.html"><i></i></a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaXhnJVOcsfctrVcZj5yxgDkjkSjE38PR-7GRcWgpZzhV4mvQFGNFQHE0CqT_SnCi9lGx6gMyhMvfTF38FwJGPBRDMgvXy37qyce7VaZ4gOYazj97hKny89Dkd50r4YyKD6pJ/s1600/Tiny-Monkey.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaXhnJVOcsfctrVcZj5yxgDkjkSjE38PR-7GRcWgpZzhV4mvQFGNFQHE0CqT_SnCi9lGx6gMyhMvfTF38FwJGPBRDMgvXy37qyce7VaZ4gOYazj97hKny89Dkd50r4YyKD6pJ/s200/Tiny-Monkey.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><i>Natural Order </i>(Random House, 2011)</b></div>
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<b>by Brian Francis</b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b>Description (<a href="http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385671538" target="_blank">from the publisher</a>)</b></div>
<blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Joyce Sparks has lived the whole of her 86 years in the small community
of Balsden, Ontario. “There isn’t anything on earth you can’t find your
own backyard,” her mother used to say, and Joyce has structured her life
accordingly. Today, she occupies a bed in what she knows will be her
final home, a shared room at Chestnut Park Nursing Home where she
contemplates the bland streetscape through her window and tries not to
be too gruff with the nurses. <br /><br />This is not at all how Joyce
expected her life to turn out. As a girl, she’d allowed herself to
imagine a future of adventure in the arms of her friend Freddy Pender,
whose chin bore a Kirk Douglas cleft and who danced the cha-cha
divinely. Though troubled by the whispered assertions of her sister and
friends that he was “fruity,” Joyce adored Freddy for all that was
un-Balsden in his flamboyant ways. Years later, Joyce married Charlie, a kind and reserved man who
could hardly be less like Freddy. They married with little fanfare and
she bore one son, John. Though she did love Charlie, Joyce often caught
herself thinking about Freddy, buying Hollywood gossip magazines in
hopes of catching a glimpse of his face. Meanwhile, she was growing
increasingly alarmed about John’s preference for dolls and kitchen sets. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Today, as her life ebbs
away at Chestnut Park, Joyce ponders the terrible choices she made as a
mother and wife and doubts that she can be forgiven, or that she
deserves to be. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Voiced by an unforgettable and heartbreakingly flawed narrator, <i>Natural Order</i>
is a masterpiece of empathy, a wry and tender depiction of the
end-of-life remembrances and reconciliations that one might undertake
when there is nothing more to lose, and no time to waste.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Su62-7B1fKm4Mw7aGpIKn1WIWS1BKoB-RmQbZHAgoM5Ze6Vb-72vCa6KK5xEnEGujJ96HVDyLc8l9o_pvex0MTdNAijSX7UHgAm8LelOZ7E3ak23A6TMmzSUAtOBCZEuLVoT/s1600/Tiny%252BMonkey.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Su62-7B1fKm4Mw7aGpIKn1WIWS1BKoB-RmQbZHAgoM5Ze6Vb-72vCa6KK5xEnEGujJ96HVDyLc8l9o_pvex0MTdNAijSX7UHgAm8LelOZ7E3ak23A6TMmzSUAtOBCZEuLVoT/s200/Tiny%252BMonkey.jpg" width="80" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcYTSz8KzrE6gSljSOJ4SV6lQin1XBk1Iy77LW2QTYXL17tpKlY6IYRbB9q7jjsRaOV3J1G7pROXQTLnM18CBYaiIRCL1eV-KzTnniJWpw7_SpnDjylU960NqNZ0M70OfEnU7/s1600/naturalorder-125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixcYTSz8KzrE6gSljSOJ4SV6lQin1XBk1Iy77LW2QTYXL17tpKlY6IYRbB9q7jjsRaOV3J1G7pROXQTLnM18CBYaiIRCL1eV-KzTnniJWpw7_SpnDjylU960NqNZ0M70OfEnU7/s200/naturalorder-125.jpg" width="134" /></a><u><b>What the Tiny Monkey thinks </b></u></div>
<br />I usually approach novels set up as "remembrances of things past" with high caution. There's a certain sameness to the form I find off-putting, as the elderly protagonist looks back at the mistakes in life and either a) bemoans cruel fate, or b) comes to terms with the vagaries of existence. Perhaps it's because I was forced (yes, <i>forced</i>!) to read Margaret Laurence's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stone_Angel" target="_blank"><i>The Stone Angel</i></a> in school (<i>twice!</i>) well before I was primed to appreciate it that I dislike the subgenre so fervently. I've never gone back to Laurence's book, and despite its sterling reputation, I stand by my teenage opinion that it's about an old woman who was mean to everyone, and then died, and I was glad of it. (Next week; my issues with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice" target="_blank"><i>Pride and Prejudice</i></a>: hidden feminist classic, or claptrap as boring as a sack of doilies?)<br />
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Nevertheless, I dive into the pages of Brian Francis' follow-up to his best-seller <a href="http://www.ecwpress.com/book/fruit-novel-about-boy-and-his-nipples" target="_blank"><i>Fruit</i></a>, and find myself quickly and completely under his spell. <i>Natural Order</i> is not a game-changer, but it is a subtle portrait of a woman who could not help herself but try to do what she thought was right even when the outcome was hurtful. Joyce is not a selfish person in most respects, but her selfish refusal to see what her son actually is leads to family dysfunction and eventual unhappiness. Francis may stumble occasionally with some plot contrivances, but his overall sense of the character is riveting, and his refusal to go maudlin is to be congratulated. I truly enjoyed <i>Fruit</i>, but <i>Natural Order </i>is of a new level altogether, far more layered and affecting, the blossoming of a truly fine author.<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span><u><i style="color: purple;"><b>TINY MONKEY REALLY LIKES</b></i></u></span></span>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-16692151222438047802012-02-26T12:55:00.001-05:002012-02-26T12:55:52.701-05:00Tiny monkey - The Dead Kid Detective Agency<div class="post-header">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaXhnJVOcsfctrVcZj5yxgDkjkSjE38PR-7GRcWgpZzhV4mvQFGNFQHE0CqT_SnCi9lGx6gMyhMvfTF38FwJGPBRDMgvXy37qyce7VaZ4gOYazj97hKny89Dkd50r4YyKD6pJ/s1600/Tiny-Monkey.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaXhnJVOcsfctrVcZj5yxgDkjkSjE38PR-7GRcWgpZzhV4mvQFGNFQHE0CqT_SnCi9lGx6gMyhMvfTF38FwJGPBRDMgvXy37qyce7VaZ4gOYazj97hKny89Dkd50r4YyKD6pJ/s200/Tiny-Monkey.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><i><a href="http://www.ecwpress.com/deadkid" target="_blank">The Dead Kid Detective Agency</a> </i>(ECW Press, 2011)</b></div>
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<b>by <a href="http://www.idontlikemundays.com/" target="_blank">Evan Munday</a></b></div>
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<b>Description (<a href="http://www.ecwpress.com/deadkid" target="_blank">from the publisher</a>)</b></div>
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Thirteen-year-old October Schwartz is new in town, short on friends, and the child of a clinically depressed science teacher. Naturally, she spends most of her time in the <span data-scayt_word="Sticksville" data-scaytid="1">Sticksville</span> Cemetery, which just happens to border her backyard. And that backyard just happens to be the home of five dead teenagers, each from a different era of the past: there’s the dead United Empire Loyalist! The dead escaped slave who made her way north via the Underground Railroad! The dead quintuplet!<br />
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Soon, October befriends the five dead kids. Together — using October’s smarts and the dead kids’ abilities to walk through walls and get around undetected and stuff — they form The Dead Kid Detective Agency, committed to solving <span data-scayt_word="Sticksville’s" data-scaytid="3">Sticksville’s</span> most mysterious mysteries. October’s like Nancy Drew, if she’d hung out with corpses.<br />
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When <span data-scayt_word="Sticksville" data-scaytid="2">Sticksville</span> Central High School’s beloved French teacher dies in a suspicious car accident, it provides the agency with its first bona fide case. Soon October and her five dead friends find themselves in the midst of a nefarious murder plot, thick with car chases, cafeteria fights, sociopathic math teachers, real estate appointments, and a wacky adventure that might uncover the truth about a bomb that exploded almost 40 years ago.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Su62-7B1fKm4Mw7aGpIKn1WIWS1BKoB-RmQbZHAgoM5Ze6Vb-72vCa6KK5xEnEGujJ96HVDyLc8l9o_pvex0MTdNAijSX7UHgAm8LelOZ7E3ak23A6TMmzSUAtOBCZEuLVoT/s1600/Tiny%252BMonkey.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Su62-7B1fKm4Mw7aGpIKn1WIWS1BKoB-RmQbZHAgoM5Ze6Vb-72vCa6KK5xEnEGujJ96HVDyLc8l9o_pvex0MTdNAijSX7UHgAm8LelOZ7E3ak23A6TMmzSUAtOBCZEuLVoT/s200/Tiny%252BMonkey.jpg" width="80" /></a></div>
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<u><b>What the Tiny Monkey thinks </b></u></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnI4DkLC0ZJUx-SLvYqLFgbJJCGRl75zxzm55_Wfa5vls4I1ZBoM7QdYDdflOicEwsVKUWHt657i7J3GFObtzAex2AQoF_OrPq01k-JBwXpmND8JWgCMfqnIk7uBF0FZiB9bE/s1600/9781550229714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnI4DkLC0ZJUx-SLvYqLFgbJJCGRl75zxzm55_Wfa5vls4I1ZBoM7QdYDdflOicEwsVKUWHt657i7J3GFObtzAex2AQoF_OrPq01k-JBwXpmND8JWgCMfqnIk7uBF0FZiB9bE/s200/9781550229714.jpg" width="114" /></a>Look, I ain't a kid no mores, see? I don't whitewash fences for nickels and a smile, I don't mow lawns 'cuz my Dad sez it ain't gonna cut itself, I don't go to school to gets me some of that fancy book-learning. But I do, on occasion, read YA. Perhaps its the latent librarian in me, but sometimes it's refreshing to read for a different age bracket. Like adult fiction, the quality varies, from the sublime highs of <i>The Golden Compass</i> to the doltish lows of <i>Twilight</i>. Author and illustrator (and genius publicist for <a href="http://www.chbooks.com/home" target="_blank">Coach House Press</a>) Evan Munday aims for the highs, and although <i>The Dead Kid Detective Agency</i> does not transcend the genre, it is an enjoyably sardonic adventure with an appealing lead and a surprising trek into a violent chapter in Canadian history. October (wonderful name) is a primo heroine, resourceful, slightly demented, and unafraid of ghosts, murderers, or, worse than both, stuck-up teenage girls (is <i>anything</i> more terrifying than a fifteen-year-old girl with a sense of entitlement?). Her home life is remarkably unvarnished; I can't recall any similar books where a parent is clinically depressed and another has simply run off in the night. It's the realism of these details which help ground the more fantastical elements, and if the plot occasionally careens off the rails, Munday's dry sarcasm and weird asides keep the narrative hopping. His style reminds me of Sean Cullen's Monty Pythonesque writing voice in the <a href="http://www.hamishx.com/" target="_blank"><i>Hamish X</i></a> series (check it out!), but Munday has a firmer grasp of character, and is less prone to leaving the plot altogether for the sake of an admittedly funny witticism. There is certainly enough in Sticksville to keep the series going, as Munday promises, and I hope October will get a few more chances to shine.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u><i style="color: purple;"><b>TINY MONKEY REALLY LIKES</b></i></u></span>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-27521071990484835922012-02-12T13:50:00.001-05:002012-02-12T13:57:37.026-05:00Favourite monkey #2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Ba8BMzwpHzL4yljSWnQZ3nhHV4p5gRA1v6VVN6g8hY45XAiL-k41MJWE_goMMgSQyxErFaxp03TT7897jQrt13HWde2CikB-ZZ8x2uXGAYOaRd09fsG3zlTJtsIN7H6oPKRX/s1600/FAVOURITE-MONKEY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Ba8BMzwpHzL4yljSWnQZ3nhHV4p5gRA1v6VVN6g8hY45XAiL-k41MJWE_goMMgSQyxErFaxp03TT7897jQrt13HWde2CikB-ZZ8x2uXGAYOaRd09fsG3zlTJtsIN7H6oPKRX/s320/FAVOURITE-MONKEY.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul style="font-family: inherit;">
<li>wherein the shelf monkey continues to peruse his vast library for those works of fiction that have tickled his funny bone, goosed his cochlea, frightened his liver, or in some way achieved some sort of response from some area of his anatomy.</li>
<li><i>i.e. </i>the monkey's favourite books this far in his short life. </li>
<li>and what excites the monkey today? A good old-fashioned mind-job.</li>
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Today's intriguing instalment:<i><b> </b></i></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Androids_Dream_of_Electric_Sheep%3F" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?</i></b></span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_K._Dick" target="_blank">Philip K. Dick</a></b></span><br />
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"The whole experience of empathy is a swindle."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwM8aa2l3NIzBah5sRDd1BxNjV7Bdz4sVDRZXJFlyjH9K0N0KjCQ2FtvCdRwekcyQPYrZP6Y4uS-3_0phyHseH7Ki6L8qNgse3mw82uH6RqxkjE1fAzTh0Uj161mEt1870mG5/s1600/PKD_DO_ANDROIDS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqwM8aa2l3NIzBah5sRDd1BxNjV7Bdz4sVDRZXJFlyjH9K0N0KjCQ2FtvCdRwekcyQPYrZP6Y4uS-3_0phyHseH7Ki6L8qNgse3mw82uH6RqxkjE1fAzTh0Uj161mEt1870mG5/s200/PKD_DO_ANDROIDS.jpg" width="123" /></a><b>Plot synopsis (from the <a href="http://www.philipkdick.com/works_novels_androids.html" target="_blank">Official Philip K. Dick website</a>):<span id="goog_870357444"></span><span id="goog_870357445"></span></b><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
By 2021, the World War had killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature, and for people who couldn't afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses, birds, cats, sheep. . . They even built humans.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Emigrees to Mars received androids so sophisticated it was impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak, the government banned them from Earth. But when androids didn't want to be identified, they just blended in.</blockquote>
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Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job was to find rogue androids, and to retire them. But cornered, androids tended to fight back, with deadly results.</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWIYq3IgJAgqryQYQKcWusckTdrComRlmKfLMV1zeGrKJ3t7-v6eAGi75ceps6Ujc8siXNVoRKVOPPxv9zwV2utzrcOES_EZ3MbXjCi_8G94HxgYoqXaNN36dQ6a1ub6ulcXsy/s1600/blade5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWIYq3IgJAgqryQYQKcWusckTdrComRlmKfLMV1zeGrKJ3t7-v6eAGi75ceps6Ujc8siXNVoRKVOPPxv9zwV2utzrcOES_EZ3MbXjCi_8G94HxgYoqXaNN36dQ6a1ub6ulcXsy/s200/blade5.jpg" width="120" /></a><b>When did the shelf monkey first read this?</b> I read <i>Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?</i> (hereinafter <i>DADES?</i>) when I was twelve, the year that the book was commonly known under its cinematic adaptation title <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083658/" target="_blank"><i>Blade Runner</i></a>. Being a huge Harrison Ford fan at the time <span class="st">— still am, although I wish he would take some chances, hook up with Tarantino or Soderbergh, c'mon, man, try <i>something</i> </span><span class="st">— but being unable to watch the R-rated film due to a mixture of my age and my parents' just crazy unwillingness to sneak me in to the theatre, I had to make do with the book.</span><br />
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<b>What were the first impressions? </b><i>DADES?</i> hit me like a tonne of proverbial bricks. My sci-fi knowledge up to that point was confined to the adventures of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift" target="_blank">Tom Swift</a> and John Christopher's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tripods" target="_blank">Tripod trilogy</a>. Being introduced so young to the thematic complexities of P.K. Dick probably warped me.<br />
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<b>How many times has the shelf monkey read this? </b>Estimation? Somewheres in the teens. Possibly even twenty.<br />
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<b>Has it withstood the perils of time and maturity? </b>In the name of Mercer, yes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLTE0wUgsC4G-4LkaYXuocnv4VH063fzuhwewaff5R3x4sI7rKtQOhVQab1P7504oJotP3FVt1apVP2XlDI3MXBfcGdiSjdjCqh_flJ0IfdZIM_Uk5IYSzqxqQYseNUOqdbuS/s1600/androids4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLTE0wUgsC4G-4LkaYXuocnv4VH063fzuhwewaff5R3x4sI7rKtQOhVQab1P7504oJotP3FVt1apVP2XlDI3MXBfcGdiSjdjCqh_flJ0IfdZIM_Uk5IYSzqxqQYseNUOqdbuS/s200/androids4.jpg" width="124" /></a><b>New thoughts: </b>Is it at all strange to claim a work that raises immense levels of despair and existential angst in the reader as a favourite? It feels wrong somehow. 'Favourites' should induce joy and wonderment, not dread, fear, and self-loathing. Nevertheless, there you have it. <i>Id est, quid id est</i>.<br />
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<i>DADES?</i> is one of those novels that reveals more and more every time you read it, exposing new pleasures and forgotten plot points. The movie version keeps pushing the novel to the side in my head, and while it is a superb film, it really isn't the novel. Aside from a few themes and character names, it's barely recognizable from its literary origins.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoP3f4uUjHRgG6YlmMFTq0bL1-WogIeN1KiTwM4d3g-ekjzC3FobAfQHXhHnJaQg7UlKKUVgUerPCZemS7i3qHUblMaY6pol6nQmJNBemT8eP9yjeFrplvoZvx8mNjugMCaAwX/s1600/android1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoP3f4uUjHRgG6YlmMFTq0bL1-WogIeN1KiTwM4d3g-ekjzC3FobAfQHXhHnJaQg7UlKKUVgUerPCZemS7i3qHUblMaY6pol6nQmJNBemT8eP9yjeFrplvoZvx8mNjugMCaAwX/s200/android1.jpg" width="120" /></a>Like the movie, <i>DADES? </i>concerns identity, and the increasing loss of it in society. In this instance, a society wherein most of the able-bodied people have fled the planet after World War Terminus, and the citizens who remain are slowly succumbing to the radioactive dust which coats the planet. It is a world where entropy rules, one where every person and thing is turning to the wondrously awful concept of "kipple:"<br />
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"Kipple is useless objects, like junk mail or match folders after you use the last match, or gum wrappers or yesterday's homeopape. When nobody's around, kipple reproduces itself. For instance, if you leave any kipple around your apartment, when you wake up the next morning there's twice as much of it. It always gets more and more."</blockquote>
While the world yields itself to its kipplization, its citizenry makes do with a variety of mood-altering conveniences. There's the Penfield mood organ <span class="st">— a clear comment on the increasing use of medicines to alleviate states of emotional being </span><span class="st">— a device wherein the user may dial an appropriate mood to get through the day. Rick Deckard gets through the day by dialing for "a creative and fresh attitude towards his job," and he is horrified when he discovers his wife Iran has dialed herself a six-hour self-accusatory depression. As she explains, explaining one of the novel's leading themes:</span><br />
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"I was in a 382 mood; I had just dialed it. So although I heard the emptiness [in the surrounding apartments] intellectually, I couldn't feel it. My first reaction consisted of being grateful that we could afford a Penfield mood organ. But then I realized how unhealthy it was, sensing the absence of life, not just in this building but everywhere, and not reacting <span class="st">— don't you see? I guess you don't. But that used to be considered a sign of mental illness: then called it 'absence of appropriate affect.' So I left the TV sound off and I sat down at my mood organ and I experimented. And I finally found a setting for despair. So I put it on my schedule for twice a month; I think that's a reasonable amount of time to feel hopeless about everything, about staying here on Earth after everybody who's smart has emigrated, don't you think?"</span></blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzaVwG1Hs-AqiV78pwGi-5op3aSsJxWXznPzql41LSZPAX_Q3Tl8glDxtnye6qIj8ZDnHABgwKtrOhM9mKxWE0DDvj46ZuTnjD_yhC8ccwAwGGIcsMdBojsqJlQLdVJiTGD8Ht/s1600/dolg.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzaVwG1Hs-AqiV78pwGi-5op3aSsJxWXznPzql41LSZPAX_Q3Tl8glDxtnye6qIj8ZDnHABgwKtrOhM9mKxWE0DDvj46ZuTnjD_yhC8ccwAwGGIcsMdBojsqJlQLdVJiTGD8Ht/s200/dolg.gif" width="126" /></a><span class="st">As Deckard works to hunt down and kill the androids that have infiltrated Earth, he undergoes an existential crisis as he begins to empathize with them. In this future, empathy is in short supply, which is a main reason for the rise of Mercerism, a religion that uses a virtual reality linkup with the user to increase their empathy through a metaphorical trek up an endless mountain alongside a very old man. As you trek, stones are hurled from unseen enemies, often leaving the Mercerite bruised and cut, allowing them to become more in tune with the feelings of other. The lack of empathy is a major reason why humanity is seemingly on its last legs, with officials claiming that "Mercerism reduced crime by making citizens more concerned about the plight of their neighbors." This is also why it is considered the height of one's existence to own at least one true animal (most animals being extinct, and people making do with electronic facsimiles). I have in my literary life had few emotional responses as strong as my pity toward Deckard as he uses his bounty money to purchase a real goat; the joy he has, the utter belief that this will make him a better person, is as pathetic and heart-rending a moment as any I've read.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6KgOsxNzHPG7BosLtXrsPvhQtFYhUoBZuP-UgfWt7wU3-yZKw_iFpFyKaAhtYGq2ktYK_IOqYWAbo4o_7b9ctbUH5sDUkW7ZYRTw-sAbx7pyT95Im77Yo4VYbjYeZ5RhHvGKa/s1600/dadoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6KgOsxNzHPG7BosLtXrsPvhQtFYhUoBZuP-UgfWt7wU3-yZKw_iFpFyKaAhtYGq2ktYK_IOqYWAbo4o_7b9ctbUH5sDUkW7ZYRTw-sAbx7pyT95Im77Yo4VYbjYeZ5RhHvGKa/s200/dadoes.jpg" width="133" /></a><span class="st">The empathy shortage is also a reason why androids fit in so well. Deckard's investigation leads him to a bizarre subworld of his city where is seems androids have taken over the neighbourhoods, with their own police force. As his quest continues he becomes increasingly depressed, unable to determine the real difference between man and machine.</span><br />
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<span class="st"><i>DADES?</i> is not perfect; there are some plot points that still don't make sense to me, especially Deckard's sudden realization that the Russian policeman he is sitting with is an android. Deckard also obsesses over how hard these new androids will be to track and kill, yet they appear remarkably easy prey.</span><br />
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<span class="st">For me, such moments do not matter. <i>DADES? </i>gets to me like few novels ever have; perhaps it is a flaw in my mindset, an error in my programming, but sometimes I just need to feel <i>bad</i>. Like Iran, sometimes I need to remind myself of the misery of the world, to force myself to accept feelings I don't enjoy. Some may achieve this by reading Kafka, or the plays of Chekov. For me, <i>Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? </i>is the cure for my happiness.</span><br />
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<b>Verdict: <i>still a favourite monkey </i></b>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-52697235208075695332012-02-04T13:53:00.000-05:002012-02-04T13:53:27.907-05:00Monkey droppings - Pontypool Changes Everything by Tony BurgessToday, the monkey puts on his spelunking gear and slowly lowers himself into the depths of another's psychosis.<br />
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Going really deep into this one. I can see stalactites hanging from the roof of his ego. And there's bat guano <i>everywhere</i>.<br />
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<span class="st"><b><i>Pontypool Changes Everything</i> </b>(<a href="http://ecwpress.com/book/pontypool-changes-everything" target="_blank">ECW Press, 1998</a>: <a href="http://chizinepub.com/books/pontypool-changes-everything.php" target="_blank">Chizine, 2010</a>)</span><br />
<span class="st"><b>by Tony Burgess</b><br />
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<span class="st">At a breakfast table in Caesarea a couple sits across from each other. Their mouths are open and liver coloured. She tries to lick her bottom lip but misses, catching her tongue in the slippery well of skin at the base of her gums. The tongue pushes to a point in this pocket until the O of her lips reaches its limit and the tongue springs out, releasing a full pouch of liquid down her chin. Her husband mimics this, but he extends his tongue directly through the O, clearing its edges, missing the point.</span></blockquote>
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<span class="st">Like all the other zombies, the only expression that these two can achieve is one of supernatural failure. Like gargoyles, they frown in exhausted masks of hopelessness. Her eyes rise into the bridge of her nose and tunnel up beneath her brow; the lashes have fallen into the tails of goldfish that fan across her cheeks. His eyes are the same, but for heavier lower lids that scoop out like wading pools, vividly red and beating with vulnerable membrane.</span></blockquote>
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<span class="st">I know Tony Burgess. I <i>like</i> Tony Burgess. He's a good guy, easy to approach. Affable, even.<br />
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But I'd never want to be trapped inside his mind.<br />
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Burgess is one of the preeminent Canadian masters of literary horror, that vague subset of the horror genre where the story is told just too damn well to be relegated to (he writes with a sniff of derision) mere "horror." <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Koontz" target="_blank">Dean Koontz</a> has never even seen literary horror from his perch (nor do I believe he knows of its existence). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King" target="_blank">Stephen King</a> stops by on occasion (although it's been a while). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Barker" target="_blank">Clive Barker</a> visits frequently. Burgess has his own gazebo on the lawn, where he sits sipping absinthe from a silver cup.</span><br />
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<span class="st">Burgess's specialty is dropping insanity into the most mundane of surroundings. Basing many of his works in smalltown Ontario, Burgess excels at delving into that madness that peeks out the corners of everybody's eyes. In </span><a href="http://chizinepub.com/books/people-live-still-cashtown-corners.php" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">People Live Still in Cashtown Corners</span></a>, its the gas jockey who decides that arbitrary murder is the best way to go. In <a href="http://www.anvilpress.com/Books/ravenna-gets" target="_blank"><i>Ravenna Gets</i></a>, the populace of Ravenna decides <i>en masse</i> to destroy the populace of nearby Collingwood. In <a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/tiny-monkey-droppings-idaho-winter-by.html" target="_blank"><i>Idaho Winter</i></a> (his first YA book), a young boy goes on a rampage after learning he's a character in a book.<br />
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<i>Pontypool Changes Everything</i> (hereinafter <i>PCE</i>) is ostensibly a zombie novel, yet relegating it to that qualification does it as much a disservice as assuming <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby_Dick" target="_blank"><i>Moby Dick</i></a> to be a book about whaling,<i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Lunch" target="_blank">Naked Lunch</a> </i>to be about drugs, and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird" target="_blank">To Kill a Mockingbird</a> </i>to be about racism. The labels are superficially correct, but completely missing the point. <br />
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The plot of <i>PCE </i>defies easy summation; like David Lynch's <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166924/" target="_blank"><i>Mulholland Drive</i></a><span class="st"> — and if there are any two artists whose combined talents would result in the freakiest , most disturbing story ever put to film, it's these two </span><span class="st">—</span> <i>PCE </i>weaves through reality and fantasy without distinction between the two, physically pushing at the reader's concepts of linear narrative as dreamlike imagery takes hold. Make no mistake, reading Tony Burgess takes effort, an effort many people will be unwilling to take (wimps). Leave them to their safe little zones, their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentley_Little" target="_blank">Bentley Littles</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Cook_%28American_novelist%29" target="_blank">Robin Cooks</a>; yeah, I'm not a fan. There is no safe ground in Burgessland. Everything shifts, and if you think you're safe and steady, the world is about to drop out from beneath you. His words are slivers beneath your fingertips, burrowing in and refusing to budge.<br />
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Burgess's zombies are not the now-standard grabby and bitey undead of innumerable b-grade movies (although, to be fair, they <i>do </i>grab and bite on occasion). To start, the virus is not transmitted by blood, or saliva, or radiation, but through language:<br />
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The virus had hid silently for decades up in the roofs of adjectives, its little paws growing sensitive, first to the modifications performed there: then, sensing something more concrete pulling at a distance, the virus jumped into paradigms. It was unable to reach the interior working of the paradigm, however, due to its own disappearance near the core. The viruses bit wildly at the exterior shimmer of the paradigms, jamming selection with pointed double fangs. A terrible squealing ripped beneath the surface of the paradigms as they were destroyed. The shattered structure automatically redistributed its contents along syntagma, smuggling vertical mobiles across horizontal ropes. What was in the air had to travel as ground and the virus sauntered right into these new spaces, taking them over. Radical spaces evolved to compensate. Negative space became a fortune telling device. Positive space arched its back painfully, now pocked horribly by the frenzied migration of vehicles into the ground. </blockquote>
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The plague first manifests itself in the infected person as a type of déjà vu, with an accompanying aphasia. Everything that happened presented itself as already happened. This infinitely complicated things. For as soon as the person adjusted, understanding that this was merely a symptom of the plague, his or her understanding slipped backward into the already happened. Each realization had to be doubled against itself into becoming understood next: an impossible therapy to maintain. The present tense was a slippery slope to anyone in remission. The "now" became a deepening lesion, and from it rose the smell of this new sickness.</blockquote>
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There are two sections to <i>PCE</i>: in the first, "Autobiography," we follow a man who may or may not become a zombie himself stumble through the beginnings of a plague, intent on rescuing the newborn son he's never met. His reality mingles with detached flights of hallucination, and by the end, I'm not even sure there was a son. The second section, "Novel," tells the story of the zombie plague itself, and how it begins to affect the people of Ontario.<br />
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On September 7 strange new edicts are passed in the Ontario legislature with more hand-washing than wringing. and by late afternoon the instructions are handed over to heavily armed teams. They are directed to exercise maximum force immediately. To combat contagion all form of communication is banned. Speaking, listening, reading, even sign language are punishable at the brute discretion of Ontario's own licensed assassins. Citizens are instructed to stay at home and communicate only through nods or shakes of the head.</blockquote>
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This is only a brief summary, as, like Lynch at his most mind-bending, Burgess resists a traditional narrative structure in favour of scenes that insinuate themselves into your medulla, and images that by turns fascinate and horrify. Other characters flit about, their importance to the story nebulous at best. One character may or may not be a ghost, or demon, or angel. Two children flee their parents and hide in an abandoned cabin, whereupon they commence to live an existence that would surely get the book summarily banned should those with weak temperaments and even weaker grasps of art versus reality ever read the book (not much chance there).<br />
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Sometimes, it's hard to even justify what you are reading as anything more than being weird for weird's sake (not that there's anything wrong with that). Yet even if <i>PCE</i> were to be thoughtlessly shoved into the '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarro_fiction" target="_blank">bizarro</a>' genre of literature <span class="st">— a serious literary genre that combines satire and absurdism with non-traditional narratives and crazy-weird plot devices: while it has a fan in sci-fi/fantasy grand master <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock" target="_blank">Michael Moorcock</a>, whose acclaimed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock#Jerry_Cornelius" target="_blank">Jerry Cornelius</a> series could be classified as bizarro, the genre is usually populated with titles such as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ass-Goblins-Auschwitz-Cameron-Pierce/dp/1933929936/" target="_blank"><i>The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz</i></a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gigantic-Death-Worm-Vince-Kramer/dp/1621050041/" target="_blank"><i>Gigantic Death Worm</i></a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Squid-Pulp-Blues-Jordan-Krall/dp/1933929685" target="_blank"><i>Squidpulp Blues</i></a>, and <a href="http://www.unicornknifefight.com/" target="_blank"><i>Unicorn Knife Fight</i></a></span><span class="st"> </span><span class="st">— it would still stand head and shoulders above its peers. Burgess is a fine writer, and his prose oozes menace while following an inner logic that virtually demands repeated readings.</span><br />
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Burgess is never going to be to everyone's taste; like I said, he demands some work on the part of the reader, like most artists do. If your taste leans toward a relatively undemanding horror where vampires sparkle and werewolves solve crimes, stay away; if you've replayed <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116922/" target="_blank"><i>Lost Highway</i></a> more time than you can count, wondering how Bill Pullman transmogrified into Balthazar Getty, you'll undoubtedly love <i>Pontypool</i>.<br />
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<b>Verdict: <i>The Monkey Loves, Although His Head Hurts a Bit</i></b><br />
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<b>P.S. </b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0567680/" target="_blank">Bruce McDonald</a>, with Burgess as Screenwriter, produced a film version of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226681/" target="_blank"><i>Pontypool</i></a> which <span class="st">— </span>while an utterly fabulous flick, grim and dark, one of the best zombie films of the past decade <span class="st">— takes serious liberties with the text. I advise reading one and watching the other, but recognize beforehand that they are markedly different monsters.</span>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-37511566830592072582012-01-29T13:12:00.000-05:002012-01-29T13:12:36.904-05:00Goose Lane celebrates with a terrific sale!I don't normally shill for others (aw, who am I kidding?), but the good folks at <a href="http://www.gooselane.com/" target="_blank">Goose Lane Editions</a>, Canada's oldest independent publisher, are celebrating a new website launch with some fabulous deals on amazing books!*<br />
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From the press release:<br />
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<a href="http://readinginwinter.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/goose-lane.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://readinginwinter.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/goose-lane.png" /></a><b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.gooselane.com/index.php" target="_blank"><b>Goose Lane Editions launches new website</b></a></div>
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[Fredericton, NB] In 1994, still in the birthing years of the Internet, Goose Lane Editions, Canada’s oldest independent book publisher, made history by becoming one of the first publishing houses in the world to launch their own website. After 18 years, the site has gone through numerous transformations, changing to suit our evolving culture as technology improved and users became more computer-savvy. Now, we are proud to announce the newest iteration of <a href="http://www.gooselane.com/" target="_blank">www.gooselane.com</a>, with new features, new content, and a new promotion to kick off the launch.</div>
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In addition to a complete visual redesign, we have added new website elements such as <a href="http://twitter.com/goose_lane">twitter feeds</a> and <a href="http://www.gooselane.com/arepeople.php">ongoing blog posts</a> by our many employees. Sample chapters are available for many books, and an ongoing stream of events and notices is added to the main page every day.</div>
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To celebrate our launch, we’d like to extend a special offer. For every day the week of January 30, we will be offering one book a day at a special highly-discounted price. <i><a href="http://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864926388">Roadsworth</a>, <a href="http://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864926302">YOU comma Idiot</a>, <a href="http://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864924483">The Famished Lover</a>, <a href="http://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864924834">Miller Brittain</a>, <a href="http://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864925213">The Black Watch</a>, <a href="http://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864924971">Beaverbrook: A Shattered Legacy</a></i>, and <i><a href="http://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864924803">Ganong: A Sweet History of Chocolate</a> </i>will each take over one day of the week with a drastically discounted price to help celebrate our new look and attitude. All this, in addition to our regular feature of free shipping on orders of $60 or more. To take advantage of these offers, simply create an account with Goose Lane. By doing so, you’ll also ensure that you are regularly updated on upcoming special offers.</div>
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We’ve been around a long time, both physically and electronically. Here’s to many more years together.</div>
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*<b>NOTE: </b>I am, in fact, two online personas, Corey Redekop and the shelf monkey. As Corey Redekop, I am <a href="http://www.gooselane.com/arepeople.php?staffId=57" target="_blank">Goose Lane's publicist</a>, so I am, of course, prejudiced toward them and therefore cannot be trusted when I say that these are beautiful books that are easily worth your time. But the monkey? He chooses no sides, but he knows a good deal when he sees one. And he says to not let people know of an opportunity for a sale copy of <a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/ting-monkey-droppings-you-comma-idiot.html" target="_blank"><i>YOU comma Idiot</i></a> would be a crime.</div>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-87770651987602853862012-01-22T14:32:00.002-05:002012-01-22T14:34:21.700-05:00Favourite Monkey #1:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Lwm5W6tI1waAzlJ977DBMZOwkI_thY2upv2wCLNn1_lHdq6pOZc3iKmz4TIZTpmI1LGSHr1ncaqdS4uLD9lKAtjtvACtCrkPXy1rcfBKEDCNeS9iXpvxFNWgg4xTMLIrpvA1/s1600/FAVOURITE-MONKEY" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Lwm5W6tI1waAzlJ977DBMZOwkI_thY2upv2wCLNn1_lHdq6pOZc3iKmz4TIZTpmI1LGSHr1ncaqdS4uLD9lKAtjtvACtCrkPXy1rcfBKEDCNeS9iXpvxFNWgg4xTMLIrpvA1/s320/FAVOURITE-MONKEY" title="Favourite Monkey" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li>wherein the shelf monkey commences upon a historic, nay, <i>histrionic</i>, nay yet again, <u><i>monumental </i></u>attempt to re-read and internetally review those most-beloved works of fiction that have nestled firmly within his psyche, an effort spanning the entirety of his entirely too-short life thus far.</li>
<li>His favourite books, in other words. Good god but this primate is tremendously verbose for someone who sleeps in a tree.</li>
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Today's exciting episode:<i><b> </b></i></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.groveatlantic.com/#page=isbn9780802135858" target="_blank"><i><b>Stone Junction</b></i></a><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>by Jim Dodge</b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiboHVyjbCtyNhYdPG0sDDo16n2piOQxsXRfILitaWQm03T-NYW06Ms238LZoSvOff9QAEYq0M4HIUgcTXq4ZMFEnIE44zHQ123RSWu6x4_ZXI-pxBMOhev_Qy3Xjkx4_N1_Yfk/s1600/526652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiboHVyjbCtyNhYdPG0sDDo16n2piOQxsXRfILitaWQm03T-NYW06Ms238LZoSvOff9QAEYq0M4HIUgcTXq4ZMFEnIE44zHQ123RSWu6x4_ZXI-pxBMOhev_Qy3Xjkx4_N1_Yfk/s200/526652.jpg" width="133" /></a><b> </b><br />
<b>Plot synopsis (<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/526652.Stone_Junction" target="_blank">from Goodreads</a>):</b><br />
<blockquote style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<i>Stone Junction </i>is a novel about Daniel Pearse, an orphaned child who is taken under the wings of the AMO - Alliance of Magicians and Outlaws. An assortment of sages sharpen Daniel's wide-eyed outlook until he has the concentration of a card shark Zen master, via apprenticeships in meditation, safecracking, poker, and the art of walking through walls. This unconventional education sets Daniel on the trail of a strange, six-pound diamond sphere, held by the U.S. government in a New Mexico vault, rumored to be the Philosopher's Stone or the Holy Grail. Shadowing the slippery netherworlds of role-playing games like Magic or Dungeons & Dragons, Daniel's quest to retrieve the magic stone and discover who killed his mother becomes a bravura act of storytelling, both a free-spirited adventure and a parable about the powers within us all.</blockquote>
<b>When did the shelf monkey first read this?</b> I recall purchasing <i>Stone Junction </i>from the University of Winnipeg bookstore, from a sales table. I was undoubtedly in my twenties. Picked it on a whim, the cover and copy intrigued me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQFwW3CA7rxwSRAogC3MEoNR1o9NoLrGo7WMvzaxiIERJyK9b7KNBjS9sgsxKpFnp8VxtcsmGBAfAeT5hjURrF6d5Zniqq6AuSqqQhzvUVY5Kzf16SybRQGMCNWsF4ZtdMavX/s1600/sunday-november-30-20081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQFwW3CA7rxwSRAogC3MEoNR1o9NoLrGo7WMvzaxiIERJyK9b7KNBjS9sgsxKpFnp8VxtcsmGBAfAeT5hjURrF6d5Zniqq6AuSqqQhzvUVY5Kzf16SybRQGMCNWsF4ZtdMavX/s200/sunday-november-30-20081.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>
<b>What were the first impressions? </b><i>Stone Junction </i>grabbed me like few books ever have. For years I considered it my favourite novel of all time. <br />
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<b>How many times has the shelf monkey read this?</b> This, I believe, is my fourth reading.<br />
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<b>Has it withstood the perils of time and maturity? </b>Oh, yes, and then some.<br />
<br />
<b>New thoughts: </b>Thomas Pynchon calls <i>Stone Junction </i>"a celebration of everything that matters." Forgetting for a moment that a blurb from Pynchon is akin to the Pope's personal blessing for many people, it's a fine summation of <i>Stone Junction</i>'s many, many endearing qualities. Jim Dodge has penned a rollicking joyride of a story down the backroads and dark alleys of a mythical American landscape that cannot possibly exist, yet should. I'm not a conspiracy nut by any means, but the idea of a semi-legendary affiliation of outlaws and magicians that subtly weaves itself through history is so tempting, it's no wonder one edition begins with a warning: "This book is a work of fiction. FICTION. Believe otherwise at your own peril."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqinnOm27R55OfVJ0ASBVJhTLRI8lxSUbsj9cLHZGbyFP76Ylk0kHQKM8BwypzGQpAZsu9QlQS7kAexl8iFx93HNTTODtdjAMY36Yegs6-t715fu2XUc2QHQu1FwUutk8qerIk/s1600/67929781847677242123Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqinnOm27R55OfVJ0ASBVJhTLRI8lxSUbsj9cLHZGbyFP76Ylk0kHQKM8BwypzGQpAZsu9QlQS7kAexl8iFx93HNTTODtdjAMY36Yegs6-t715fu2XUc2QHQu1FwUutk8qerIk/s200/67929781847677242123Pic.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
When I first read Dodge's <i>magnum opus</i> <span class="st">— and it <i>is </i>just that; Dodge has only written three books, none since <i>SJ</i>, and I hereby <i>plead</i> with Mr. Dodge to pick up the pen again </span><span class="st">— I was still a young lad, somewhat well-read but on the whole ignorant. Since that initial reading I have become more familiar and conversant with the historical peers to Dodge's free-wheeling prose and plot style. Pynchon, Tom Robbins, Richard Brautigan; writers of serio-comic fiction </span>who quirkily explore philosophical themes with narratives that careen, bounce, and fly according to the meta-manic whims of the creator. Every character is provided a history, even the minor ones, and they all have a story to tell in flamboyant language that reads wonderfully and would be impossible to maintain in real life. Some people find these authors' refusal to use one word when ten will do tiresome; I personally love a lengthy sentence, and Dodge is lodged firmly within that genre, although his storytelling a touch more linear.<br />
<br />
"Outlaws only do wrong when they feel it's right: criminals only feel right when they're doing wrong." That's a primary theme here; this is an excursion to the land of people on the fringes, people who cannot abide rules and regulations, but mean no harm. People named Longshot, and Volta, and Smiling Jack, Bad Bobby, Red Freddie, and Bridget Bardo. It's an adventurous <i>bildungsroman</i> of Daniel Pearce's birth, life, and eventual *removed for spoiler purposes*. It's a search for meaning, a quest for what the heart truly wants. And when Daniel learns to vanish, it becomes something even greater, pushing into magical realism.<br />
<br />
Look, I can't pretend to fully understand what happens to Daniel. All I really know is that I loved the ride. <i>Stone Junction</i> is one of those rare novels that I don't want to end; I want to continue on in my relationships with Dolly, and Aunt Charmaine, and Wild Bill, and Shamus. My heart broke at Daniel's ultimate end, but the finale is the right one. It is ultimately unfair to me that Dodge's world does not exist, as I cannot imagine it wouldn't improve our world tremendously.<br />
<br />
<b>Verdict: still a favourite monkey </b>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-36746252285761742582012-01-15T13:32:00.002-05:002012-01-15T19:15:45.009-05:00Tiny monkey - Butterfly Winter by W.P. Kinsella<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaXhnJVOcsfctrVcZj5yxgDkjkSjE38PR-7GRcWgpZzhV4mvQFGNFQHE0CqT_SnCi9lGx6gMyhMvfTF38FwJGPBRDMgvXy37qyce7VaZ4gOYazj97hKny89Dkd50r4YyKD6pJ/s1600/Tiny-Monkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaXhnJVOcsfctrVcZj5yxgDkjkSjE38PR-7GRcWgpZzhV4mvQFGNFQHE0CqT_SnCi9lGx6gMyhMvfTF38FwJGPBRDMgvXy37qyce7VaZ4gOYazj97hKny89Dkd50r4YyKD6pJ/s200/Tiny-Monkey.jpg" width="200" /></a><b><i><a href="http://www.greatplains.mb.ca/buy-books/butterfly-winter/" target="_blank">Butterfly Winter</a> </i>(Enfield & Wizenty, 2011)</b></div>
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<b>by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._P._Kinsella" target="_blank">W.P. Kinsella</a></b></div>
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<b>Description (<a href="http://www.greatplains.mb.ca/buy-books/butterfly-winter/">from the publisher</a>)</b></div>
<blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<i>Butterfly Winter</i>, Kinsella’s first novel in 13 years, is the story of Julio and Esteban Pimental, twins whose divine destiny for baseball begins with games of catch in the womb. They mature quickly and by the age of ten they leave their home in the fictional Caribbean country of Courteguay for the American major leagues. Julio is a winning pitcher who will only throw to his catcher brother, much to the chagrin of the team that employs him, which must keep mediocre esteban on the roster. events in the brothers’ homeland, including regular coups and the outlawing of baseball, continue to shape their lives. They are monitored by the wizard, a mysterious figure who travels by hot air balloon and controls events behind the scenes. In his last years he tells the story of the twins and their family to a skeptical ‘gringo’ journalist. <i>Butterfly Winter</i> is entertaining, funny and magical, and includes a diabolical chiropractor, a great love blessed by butterflies and a deep political undercurrent that unites the wealthy north with the baseball-loving and oppressed south.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Su62-7B1fKm4Mw7aGpIKn1WIWS1BKoB-RmQbZHAgoM5Ze6Vb-72vCa6KK5xEnEGujJ96HVDyLc8l9o_pvex0MTdNAijSX7UHgAm8LelOZ7E3ak23A6TMmzSUAtOBCZEuLVoT/s1600/Tiny%252BMonkey.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Su62-7B1fKm4Mw7aGpIKn1WIWS1BKoB-RmQbZHAgoM5Ze6Vb-72vCa6KK5xEnEGujJ96HVDyLc8l9o_pvex0MTdNAijSX7UHgAm8LelOZ7E3ak23A6TMmzSUAtOBCZEuLVoT/s200/Tiny%252BMonkey.jpg" width="80" /></a></div>
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<u><b>What the Tiny Monkey thinks </b></u></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpoLdzyHkMWlrTWk7Zhsu29VJ8opHKJFbMKEDq6a7JVi9vrFiQmex-twk14EvafqAMADeQU8XbVm8pzOGm4NFmSOPBIWI8vsrTHrRrzqVerbEM81ejZiGU6rwFeSbR0ei9jah/s1600/Butterfly-Winter_v3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpoLdzyHkMWlrTWk7Zhsu29VJ8opHKJFbMKEDq6a7JVi9vrFiQmex-twk14EvafqAMADeQU8XbVm8pzOGm4NFmSOPBIWI8vsrTHrRrzqVerbEM81ejZiGU6rwFeSbR0ei9jah/s200/Butterfly-Winter_v3.jpg" width="142" /></a>Why the return of W.P. Kinsella wasn't heralded throughout the northern kingdom with hosannas and blaring trumpets I will never understand. Considering that the once-prolific author had claimed his career was over after a severe car crash left him unable to write, the printed return of Kinsella to his three loves (baseball, magic realism, and more baseball) should have been front-page news. Instead, <i>Butterfly Winter </i>slips onto the shelves unnoticed, released by a small independent publisher to a few good reviews. This must be rectified. Kinsella, in addition to being the finest writer there is or ever was of baseball lore (and this coming from an avowed sports unenthusiast), is one of the last true practitioners of the free-wheeling comedic plot practised and perfected by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Robbins" target="_blank">Tom Robbins</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Dodge" target="_blank">Jim Dodge</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Abbey" target="_blank">Edward Abbey</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Brautigan" target="_blank">Richard Brautigan</a>. True to form, <i>Butterfly Winter</i> is a breezy treat, a magical journey to a land where lying is the norm and you can never be sure of the truth. <i>Butterfly</i> doesn't hang together as well as Kinsella's masterpiece <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Iowa-Baseball-Confederacy-W-P-Kinsella/dp/0345410246" target="_blank"><i>The Iowa Baseball Confederacy</i></a>; its episodic nature and refusal to be tied down to a linear plotline can frustrate. Kinsella's enthusiasm and sheer joy at writing smooth over the rough spots, and if the result isn't the sum total of the parts, well, the parts sure are fine all by themselves. It's good to have W.P. back, and like the best of friendships, I hope he'll stick around.<br />
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<i><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i style="color: purple;"><b>TINY MONKEY REALLY LIKES</b></i></u></span>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-67199170247804738202012-01-10T20:01:00.000-05:002012-01-10T20:01:38.612-05:00Monkey droppings - Every Shallow Cut by Tom Piccirilli: "You're going to hurt yourself or someone else very badly."<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Today, the monkey swings in on a vine of happiness, and swings back out on a rope festooned with hooks and blades.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, ouch. Be careful, everyone. This one is going to leave scars.</span><br />
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<a href="http://chizinepub.com/books/every_shallow_cut.php" target="_blank">Every Shallow Cut</a> (ChiZine, 2011)<br />
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by <a href="http://thecoldspot.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tom Piccirilli</a><br />
<blockquote style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
They opened the car door and Churchill hit the ground beside me with a thirty-five pound belly-flop. Our gazes met and he gave me such a look of confusion and unconditional love that a sob welled in my chest and nearly broke from my throat. He snuffled at my neck and licked me twice and they went for the keys in my pocket and Churchill went for their ankles.<br />
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I had a flash, almost a premonition, where I saw that here it was, my very worst moment in a long chain of very worst moments, where I was going to have to watch them kick my dog to death. It was worse than my wife leaving me, it was worse than losing the house, it was worse than visiting the graves of my parents. It was going to be nearly as bad as the day I’d passed wailing protesters at Planned Parenthood following my wife’s staunch shoulders across the lot. They’d break Churchill’s back, boot him into the gutter, dance off with my father’s coins, and drive away in my car.<br />
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Church growled and hung onto an ankle, and the guy tried to shake him and bitched, “Fucking fat dog piece of shit!” His partners found it funny and started to laugh. I got to my knees and then to my feet, and I remembered that I was a man with nothing left who wrote stories about men with nothing left who did ungodly acts of violence against each other.<br />
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I wrote from the safety of a desk but the dark cellar door of my failures had opened and called me through it, and I found all my urgent whispering pain and hate, and I laughed again and they turned to look at me and I went to work.</blockquote>
<i>Every Shallow Cut</i> was released in 2011, but I didn't get to crack open its cover until one dreary day early in 2012. The next few hours were a blur, and when I closed the covers again, I knew I had just experienced something very special.<br />
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Brutal, yes. Violent, sometimes. Unforgiving, oh yes, and spilling over with despair. It may be one of the finest literary recreations of depression I've come across. As the title implies, every sentence is a razor, every word a shearing of flesh from meat. <i>Every Shallow Cut </i>is a nightmare of urban angst, the terror of losing everything to faceless banks and sneering creditors. At its essence, in its tone and style, it reminds me of nothing so much as the brilliantly unsentimental work of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thompson_%28writer%29" target="_blank">Jim Thompson</a> (an author who knew his way around insanity).<br />
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But is it special? With a capital S. If I'd read it three days sooner, it would have been in my top reads of 2011.<br />
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The nameless narrator is a crime writer, once one of some renown, as references to critical acclaim and awards fill the scant exposition. Time has not been kind, and he is now down to his last dollar, with his wife gone, his career in shambles, his house repossessed, and him living in his car with his faithful bulldog Churchill. He is truly living out the death by a thousand cuts,and if this story is at all biographical, we're lucky not to be reading about Piccirilli on the front pages of the tabloids, or the imprinting of a headstone.<br />
<br />
Piccirilli begins his saga at the lowest of low points, finding his hero being gleefully stomped by hooligans outside a pawn shop. But if luck has fled his life, resourcefulness hasn't, and after dispatching with the hoods he sells the last of his belongings, purchases a gun, and heads out on the road to...<br />
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To where? That's the fun (if we can call it that), as Piccirilli keeps taking left turns. The cover and bumpf led me to believe that this was an ultraviolent <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110632/" target="_blank"><i>Natural Born Killers</i></a> scenario, a man pushed too far, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071402/" target="_blank"><i>Death Wish</i></a> in a car, that sort of thing. And I would have been fine and dandy with that, I love a revenge fantasy as much as everyone, and the author plainly has the chops to make that work; his prose is stripped of elegance and refinement, so unadorned it makes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmore_Leonard" target="_blank">Elmore Leonard</a> seem like a crafter of purple prose.<i> </i>But Piccirilli — an author I am unfamiliar with, an oversight I will definitely rectify — elegantly crafts his story into an examination of despair. It becomes a modern-day retelling of the Job myth, although God finally eased up on the pains with Job. Piccirilli is not so kind as to offer a way out.<br />
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<i>Every Shallow Cut </i>keeps the reader eternally on edge. There are no names to these characters save Churchill, no signposts to help the reader keep his balance. The narrator has no connection to the people he meets along the way. They are only "my brother," "my agent," "my pal." Only Churchill reaches through the emotional vacuum and makes a connection. He cannot even connect with his writing, as he compulsively fills notebooks with a story his pal calls his best, yet he has no memory of writing. As he goes from person to person, the elements of himself are sliced off as fat off a roast, leaving only a nub of gristle and bone to take the reader into that darkest of dark places. The last few pages are as bleak, suspenseful, and swimming with misery as any I've read.<br />
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But I fear I've scared you off. And maybe that's for the best. The thrills of <i>Every Shallow Cut</i> are not those that can be easily shaken off. These are not funhouse horrors; this is the sickening vortex of mental collapse, a slurry of paranoia, self-pity, unfocused rage, and unremitting sadness. I'm almost afraid to read more Piccirilli; not because of the terrors I'm sure he can conjure, but because I don't know if he could ever top this. I hope he tries, though.<br />
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<b>VERDICT: MONKEY <i>LOVES</i></b><br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">P.S.</b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> This is another substantially amazing release from </span><a href="http://chizinepub.com/" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" target="_blank">ChiZine</a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, a Canadian publisher who has made a deal with Satan to produce the greatest genre fiction out there today. If you haven't read ChiZine yet, you haven't lived.</span>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-32032353732033810212012-01-08T15:04:00.001-05:002012-01-08T15:05:03.714-05:00What to expect in 2012 (before the endtimes commeth, of course)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOIEJBo8yfyxwy6Wf60euLM8RwCd2SUsk9vQq0P1g4QYksab5ZQL7OOhbUO_o4nfCPYCyKdyVs-HBhdMHZxVfBANq_JLfjXXQUSFjEgwegUONy-0LPoY2gqayqSZENFU_bWnc/s1600/mayan-apocalypse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="1" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOIEJBo8yfyxwy6Wf60euLM8RwCd2SUsk9vQq0P1g4QYksab5ZQL7OOhbUO_o4nfCPYCyKdyVs-HBhdMHZxVfBANq_JLfjXXQUSFjEgwegUONy-0LPoY2gqayqSZENFU_bWnc/s200/mayan-apocalypse.jpg" width="94" /></a>There are two ways to go in 2012, as I see it.<br />
<ol><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_a1PQyiK0rs52jQK5IGdE57dHRHRpXY6K1cyzVU8JGmARtPe_RZdw92K4iYt4glo8HqrcDT2jRalFmo3g86oNq3FDnIQ40bBT9lRbfPg0bDBOB-ctEpL5hyCDnpi7W8Tg7YS3/s1600/the-rapture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_a1PQyiK0rs52jQK5IGdE57dHRHRpXY6K1cyzVU8JGmARtPe_RZdw92K4iYt4glo8HqrcDT2jRalFmo3g86oNq3FDnIQ40bBT9lRbfPg0bDBOB-ctEpL5hyCDnpi7W8Tg7YS3/s200/the-rapture.jpg" width="100" /></a>
<li>Succumb to Fox News hysteria, dig myself a large hole in my backyard, line it with concrete, make a bulk run to Costco, and hole up with piles of Glenn Beck/Ron Paul literature to wait out the 2012 Mayan apocalypse, only venturing forth to meet our inevitable alien overlords when I can reasonably expect to assert my new position as king of the mole people (after I've battled and vanquished Pat Robertson for the title); or </li>
<li>as I've already survived two (2!) raptures in 2011 using nothing but cynicism and common sense, consider myself well-nigh argmageddon-proof, and soldier on.</li>
</ol>
As per usual, the answer lies somewhere in-between (although if we were scaling this on a horizontal line, I'd definitely fall far closer to option 2).<br />
<br />
2011 was a busy year for me. I read voraciously, watched movies fanatically, finished and submitted a new manuscript, went to work every day, and even started working out on a semi-regular basis. Now, having surpassed 100 books read and achieving a personal best of 25 push-ups in a row without vomiting, I look at my 2012 prospects and get instantly fatigued.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKU7Xz9rzFcCaUZVrORbkQGGqlY2Jpag2jgBzR6LkcFtQThSk4xA0QgqPidjY-mePQCLkXDlJxOvTJkwg5HamNPW5VOUM4tS6_Xucwbo9tS3Himia3dew7XJ0ciMRAAqtkaCnk/s1600/black-spider-monkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKU7Xz9rzFcCaUZVrORbkQGGqlY2Jpag2jgBzR6LkcFtQThSk4xA0QgqPidjY-mePQCLkXDlJxOvTJkwg5HamNPW5VOUM4tS6_Xucwbo9tS3Himia3dew7XJ0ciMRAAqtkaCnk/s200/black-spider-monkey.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
First, I'm going to divide myself in two, Internetally-speaking. <i>Shelf-monkey.blogspot.com </i>was initially intended to promote the publications of my debut novel (coincidentally titled <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Shelf-Monkey-Corey-Redekop/dp/1550227661/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322007032&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>Shelf Monkey</i></a>), but has somewhere along the line transformed itself into more of an all-purpose literary review site. Not that I'm complaining, the site has kept me sane for some time, and has fostered an unexpected ability to gain free books for review purposes. Yet now, with the impending release of my sophomore effort <a href="http://www.coreyredekop.ca/bibliography/husk/" target="_blank"><i>Husk</i></a>, I have decided to create a new site devoted entirely to my personal efforts, and leave <i>Shelf Monkey</i> (the blog) open as a continuing review site for whatever books and occasional movies capture my fancy. The new site is still a work in progress, but it's a public one, and I hope that you'll bookmark <a href="http://www.coreyredekop.ca/" target="_blank">www.coreyrede<span id="goog_1375089209"></span><span id="goog_1375089210"></span>kop.ca</a> and visit regularly for news and events relating to Corey Redekop the professional author. I've already imported most of my blogposts from here that relate to me, me, me, and the site is only going to get bigger when I win the Giller (*not a guarantee). <br />
<br />
So <i>shelf-monkey.blogspot.com </i>will now solely become a review site, one I maintain purely for personal reasons. I like books, I like talking about books, I like recommending books, and occasionally I like trashing books. I'll be streamlining this site somewhat, ridding the blog of certain posts, perhaps altering the look. But rest assured, the content will be of the same middling calibre you've come to expect and tolerate from a low-rent Canadian author such as yours truly. I'll make occasional cross-over posts, but I feel I need to separate the professional me from the blogger me. This new blogger-me will be known online as Tasha Chestnut (not really).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMeRkCMHBSRvHm10EBOFr0KbizuRehsb0FSt5r-LyX-B6yXxCr9p-RGZ7mVpt91r3SnrvsW8TR2ACMDr6L3Xvf5YFgvUoKXF3b3cU_8GagnNLWDYKdD29KokTnkXpCVQx3eRMX/s1600/Snow-Monkey-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMeRkCMHBSRvHm10EBOFr0KbizuRehsb0FSt5r-LyX-B6yXxCr9p-RGZ7mVpt91r3SnrvsW8TR2ACMDr6L3Xvf5YFgvUoKXF3b3cU_8GagnNLWDYKdD29KokTnkXpCVQx3eRMX/s200/Snow-Monkey-1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
But what about <i>reading </i>in 2012, Corey? What will you read? What will you review? How can we be expected to live out our normal lives not knowing your every move?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoY0lshY5vcflY9aW2DKE89rZ6-aqzlSVqasJSPSrmRLQNgeZLeKUuxLO0sMfs6_eubMTbG3vWDl5JLfEr4QpEjps9Zc7ECh2R3wIWo3GKaC8iWu7p5fRkBlOEoiBjfkkt9iY3/s1600/1129421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoY0lshY5vcflY9aW2DKE89rZ6-aqzlSVqasJSPSrmRLQNgeZLeKUuxLO0sMfs6_eubMTbG3vWDl5JLfEr4QpEjps9Zc7ECh2R3wIWo3GKaC8iWu7p5fRkBlOEoiBjfkkt9iY3/s200/1129421.jpg" width="136" /></a>I think I'll cut back. I went for broke last year, and while I don't regret it, I didn't stop and smell the pages enough. So while I'm going to still read new books and review them (hopefully more regularly than of late), I'm planning to go back to my stacks and luxuriate in some past favourites. Rereading a novel is always a treat, because while the book has not changed, the reader has. I've already gained new insights into Jim Dodge's <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/526652.Stone_Junction" target="_blank"><i>Stone Junction</i></a>. I was in my mid-twenties when I first read it (taken from a bargain bin on a whim, became one of my absolute favourites, don't you love it when that happens?), and while I fell in love instantly, I lacked the knowledge to judge it on more than surface grounds. Now, a lifetime later, I am catching the freewheeling seeds of its progenitors in the text, the styles of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Robbins" target="_blank">Tom Robbins</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon" target="_blank">Thomas Pynchon</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut" target="_blank">Kurt Vonnegut</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Brautigan" target="_blank">Richard Brautigan</a> that were unknown to me at the time, but have since served to evolve my personality.<br />
<br />
After <i>Stone Junction</i>, I'm going to dance my fingers across the shelves and see what strikes my fancy. I've already put aside <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_According_to_Garp" target="_blank">The World According to Garp</a> </i>(I estimate I've read this ten times already), <i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Iowa-Baseball-Confederacy-W-P-Kinsella/dp/0345410246" target="_blank">The Iowa Baseball Confederacy</a> </i>(estimate: six times), <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henderson_the_Rain_King" target="_blank">Henderson the Rain King</a> </i>(four), and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Androids_Dream_of_Electric_Sheep%3F" target="_blank">Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?</a> </i>(twelve). Perhaps I'll make a contest of it, <i>a la</i> my past <i>Critical Monkey</i> series devoted to the novels we were all avoiding. Haven't decided yet, although I will review them all here.<br />
<br />
And beyond that, who knows? There's a cornucopia of awesomeness always on the horizon, some with buzz, some surprises. I've already read a few upcoming releases (a perk of the position), and while I won't review them yet, I will say keep a close eye out for Christopher Meades' <i>The Last Hiccup</i> and Scott Fotheringham's <i>The Rest is Silence</i>.<br />
<br />
So bring it on, 2012! Ancient Mayans be damned! We have nothing to fear but fear itself, and the 2012 general U.S. election! <br />
<ol>
</ol>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-32721846418468050292012-01-01T19:31:00.001-05:002012-01-01T19:32:27.699-05:002011 in review, book-wise<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
Ah, 2011. It seems like you just ended yesterday.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
First, I’d like to again apologize for not keeping up the reviews like I should. I’ve had a few personal projects on the go, and I hope to return to a more regular output in 2012. This site may alter itself somewhat, but the reviews will continue.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
But now, in lieu of said incisive literary commentary, I’ve had a close gander at what I’ve read over the course of the past 365 days, and I thought it would be a good time to bring the whole thing out into the open for a year-end Best Of list (the reason the Internet was created!).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br />
In 2011, I reached what is probably a personal milestone: 107 books read from cover to cover. I’m not sure when the last time I broke three digits was, but I was likely still in short pants. So, pre-2006. That’s a lot of books, and going over them, I’ve had quite a good year. In 2010 I was intentionally hurting myself through a masochistic desire to read books almost destined to grate on me like steel wool against bare flesh (I weirdly miss the nad-shrinking prose of <a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2009/08/critical-monkey-entry-2-justice-riders.html" target="_blank">Chuck Norris</a>, <a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2010/01/critical-monkey-bonus-disqualified.html" target="_blank">James Patterson</a>, and <a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2009/07/critical-monkey-entry-1-twilight-or.html" target="_blank">Stephanie Meyer</a>; what does that say about me?). 2011, I went with what I wanted to read, which was not only more soothing to the soul, but also lent me quite a large list of recommendations today.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
So below is a sizable list, divided into sections for easy consumption. I have not paid attention to year of publication, and I have ignored books I reread. I’ve bolded those I’ve reviewed.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Favourite books of the year:<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></b></u></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/10/tiny-monkey-droppings-sisters-brothers.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sisters Brothers</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2011), Patrick DeWitt<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/05/monkey-droppings-book-of-tongues-by.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Book of Tongues</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2010), <a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/07/monkey-droppings-canadian-authors-and.html#anchor" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Rope of Thorns</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2011), Gemma Files<span style="font-family: Symbol;"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/04/monkey-droppings-room-by-emma-donoghue.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Room</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2010), Emma Donoghue<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864926586" target="_blank">The Time We All Went Marching</a> </i>(2011), Arley McNene<span style="font-family: Symbol;">y</span></li>
<li><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.sff.net/people/jim.morrow/city.html" target="_blank">City of Truth</a> </i>(1990), James Morrow<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/tiny-monkey-droppings-idaho-winter-by.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Idaho Winter</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2011), Tony Burgess<span style="font-family: Symbol;"></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/08/monkey-droppings-triumphant-triad-of.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Magician King</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2011), Lev Grossman<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><a href="http://www.thewinnipegreview.com/wp/2011/04/the-blue-light-project-by-timothy-taylor/" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Blue Light Project</i></b></a> (2011), Timothy Taylor<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/02/monkey-droppings-michael-van-rooy.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An Ordinary Decent Criminal</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2005), <a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/02/monkey-droppings-michael-van-rooy.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Your Friendly Neighbourhood Criminal</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2008), Michael Van Rooy</li>
</ul>
<u><b>Novels I’d read again in a second:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b></u><br />
<ul>
<li><i><a href="http://joanthomas.ca/curiosity-a-love-story/" target="_blank">Curiosity</a> </i>(2010), Joan Thomas<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b></li>
<li><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/01/monkey-droppings-drive-by-saviours-by.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Drive-by Saviours</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2010), Chris Benjamin<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></li>
<li><i><a href="http://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864926524" target="_blank">Kalila</a> </i>(2011), Rosemary Nixon<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></li>
<li><a href="http://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864926357" target="_blank"><i>Tide Road</i></a> (2011), Valerie Compton</li>
<li><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/02/monkey-droppings-guardians-by-andrew.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Guardians</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2011), Andrew Pyper</li>
<li><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/03/hidden-monkey-because-i-have-loved-and.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Because I Have Loved and Hidden It</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2009), Elise Moser</li>
<li><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/04/monkey-droppings-sci-fi-epics-haunted.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sarah Court</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2010), Craig Davidson</li>
<li><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/01/monkey-droppings-three-fates-of-henrik.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Three Fates of Henrik Nordmark</i></b></a> (2010), Christopher Meades</li>
<li><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.gooselane.com/books.php?ean=9780864926401" target="_blank">The Town that Drowned</a> </i>(2011), Riel Nason</li>
<li><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/06/monkey-droppings-robopocalypse-vs-major.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Major Karnage</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2010), Gord Zajac</li>
<li><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/tiny-monkey-annabel-by-kathleen-winter.html" target="_blank"><b>Annabel</b></a> </i>(2010), Kathleen Winter</li>
<li><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.jasperfforde.com/special.html" target="_blank">One of Our Thursdays is Missing</a> </i>(2011), Jasper Fforde</li>
<li><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/08/monkey-droppings-triumphant-triad-of.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Low Town</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2011), Daniel Polansky</li>
<li><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/159" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Island of Doctor Moreau</i></a> (1897), H.G. Wells<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b></li>
<li><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/tiny-monkey-canterbury-trail-by-angie.html" target="_blank"><b><i>The Canterbury Trail</i></b></a> (2011), Angie Abdou</li>
<li><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/09/tiny-monkey-bookman-by-lavie-tidhar.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Bookman</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2010), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Camera Obscura </i>(2011), Lavie Tidhar</li>
<li><a href="http://www.thewinnipegreview.com/wp/2011/10/%E2%80%98beauty-plus-pity%E2%80%99-by-kevin-chong/" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Beauty Plus Pity</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2011), Kevin Chong<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></li>
<li><i><a href="http://johndiesattheend.com/" target="_blank">John Dies at the End</a> </i>(2009), David Wong<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></li>
<li><i><a href="http://ministerfaust.blogspot.com/2011/05/alchemists-of-kush.html" target="_blank">The Alchemists of Kush</a> </i>(2011), Minister Faust</li>
<li><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.greatplains.mb.ca/buy-books/butterfly-winter/" target="_blank">Butterfly Winter</a> </i>(2011), W.P. Kinsella<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></li>
<li><a href="http://chizinepub.com/books/chasing-the-dragon.php" target="_blank"><i>Chasing the Dragon</i></a> (2009), Nicholas Kaufman</li>
<li><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.hyperionbooks.com/book/american-deserta-novel/" target="_blank">American Desert</a> </i>(2004), Percival Everett<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></li>
<li><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Grit_%28novel%29" target="_blank">True Grit</a> </i>(1968), Charles Portis</li>
<li><a href="http://doradueck.wordpress.com/this-hidden-thing/" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This Hidden Thing</i></a> (2010), Dora Dueck</li>
<li><i><a href="http://lavietidhar.wordpress.com/tag/jesus-the-eightfold-path/" target="_blank">Jesus and the Eightfold Path</a> </i>(2011), Lavie Tidhar<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
</ul>
<u><b>Spectacular short fiction: </b></u><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://www.thewinnipegreview.com/wp/2011/02/light-lifting-and-this-cake-is-for-the-party/" target="_blank"><b><i>This Cake is for the Party</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2010), Sarah Selecky<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><a href="http://www.thewinnipegreview.com/wp/2011/02/light-lifting-and-this-cake-is-for-the-party/" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Light Lifting</i></b></a> (2010), Alexander McLeod<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/05/hidden-monkey-crisp-by-rw-gray.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Crisp</i></b></a> (2010), R.W. Gray<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/08/monkey-droppings-triumphant-triad-of.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities</i></b></a> (2011), Ann & Jeff Vandermeer (eds.)<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://chizinepub.com/books/hair-wreath.php" target="_blank">The Hair Wreath and Other Stories</a> </i>(2010) - Halli Villegas<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.tachyonpublications.com/book/steampunk_reloaded.html" target="_blank">Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded</a> </i>(2011), Ann & Jeff Vandermeer (eds.)<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://tachyonpublications.com/book/UrbanFantasy.html" target="_blank">The Urban Fantasy Anthology</a> </i>(2011), Peter S. Beagle & Joe R. Lansdale (eds.)</li>
</ul>
<u><b>Great titles: </b></u><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><i><a href="http://lavietidhar.wordpress.com/tag/jesus-the-eightfold-path/" target="_blank">Jesus and the Eightfold Path</a> </i>(2011), Lavie Tidhar<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><i><a href="http://johndiesattheend.com/" target="_blank">John Dies at the End</a> </i>(2009), David Wong<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></li>
<li><a href="http://jordankrall.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Squid Pulp Blues</i></a> (2008), Jordan Krall<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Ass-Goblins-Auschwitz-Cameron-Pierce/dp/1933929936" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz</i></a> (2009), Cameron Pierce<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://books.simonandschuster.ca/Zombie-Spaceship-Wasteland/Patton-Oswalt/9781439149089" target="_blank">Zombie Spaceship Wasteland</a> </i>(2011), Patton Oswalt<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><a href="http://agpbooks.com/books/why-not-a-spider-monkey-jesus/" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why Not a Spider Monkey Jesus?</i></a> (2010), A.G. Pasquella<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/06/monkey-droppings-robopocalypse-vs-major.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Major Karnage</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2010), Gord Zajac</li>
</ul>
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<u><b>Books that would make awesome movies<i>:</i></b></u></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://richardkadrey.com/sandman.html" target="_blank"><i>Sandman Slim</i></a> (2009), Richard Kadrey<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://johndiesattheend.com/" target="_blank">John Dies at the End</a> </i>(2009), David Wong (<a href="http://www.johndiesattheend.com/updates/?page_id=12" target="_blank">coming in 2012</a>!)<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/06/monkey-droppings-robopocalypse-vs-major.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Major Karnage</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2010), Gord Zajac<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/10/tiny-monkey-droppings-sisters-brothers.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Sisters Brothers</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2011), Patrick DeWitt<span style="font-family: Symbol;"> </span></li>
<li><a href="http://chizinepub.com/books/chasing-the-dragon.php" target="_blank"><i>Chasing the Dragon</i></a> (2009), Nicholas Kaufman<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.robinzbecker.com/" target="_blank">Brains</a> </i>(2010), Robin Becker<span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://jonathanmaberry.com/patient-zero-a-joe-ledger-novel" target="_blank">Patient Zero</a> </i>(2009), Jonathan Mayberry</li>
</ul>
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<u><b>Disappointments (not the worst books, just personal disappointment):</b></u></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/10/monkey-droppings-damned-by-chuck.html" target="_blank"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Damned</i></b></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(2011), Chuck Palahniuk - and that’s it for me, I can’t take another Palahniuk letdown</li>
<li><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.philipnutman.com/books.htm" target="_blank">Wet Work</a> </i>(1993), Philip Nutman - heard a lot about it, but it’s only okay</li>
<li><b><i><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/03/monkey-droppings-good-innocuous-and.html" target="_blank">The Fall</a> </i></b>(2011), Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan - it's a fun ride, but nowhere near as scary or suspenseful as some reviewers have said </li>
<li><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesia_Moon" target="_blank">Amnesia Moon</a> </i>(1995), Jonathan Lethem - from Lethem, almost anything not a masterpiece is a disappointment</li>
<li><a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/06/monkey-droppings-robopocalypse-vs-major.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Symbol;"><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Robopocalypse</i></b></a> (2011), Daniel H. Wilson - killer robots should be fun, not boring </li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-61020921101076022302011-12-13T19:51:00.000-05:002011-12-13T19:51:11.184-05:00The monkey gets lazy, and watches a few movies instead of readingBoy, it has been a while, hasn't it? I have excuse, of course - a new novel, editing, work, a new website - but still, no excuses for not posting.<br />
<br />
So, without further ado, I commit the ultimate sin a blogger can commit, and link to other content. Now, the other content <i>is</i> mine, but still...<i>lazy.</i><br />
<br />
The content in question is on the genre film website <i>Flick Attack</i>, where I hurredly muse on some of the great, good, ignored, fairly ignored, and awful movies I've sat through. I've put up a few reviews lately, and I would be remiss if I didn't draw your attention to them.<br />
<br />
First up, the high-kicking action of Chuck "The Toilet Brush for a Face" Norris, and his career nadir, <a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2011/11/delta-force-2-1990/" target="_blank"><i>Delta Force 2</i></a>:<br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000G3RI/hitchmagazine-20" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-2821" height="200" src="http://www.flickattack.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/deltaforce2.jpg" title="deltaforce2" width="129" /></a>Directed by Aaron Norris (favorite bro of Bristle McSoloflex, and as fine a director as his sib is an actor), <i>Delta Force 2 </i>finds Punch Rockgroin leading some kind of anti-terrorist group, a leader so magnetic that no backstory or character development is necessary. After a friend is killed by Drago, The Beard with No Name works out his rage by kicking the snot out of his men in a training exercise and then traveling to South America for revenge, backed by the U.S. government.</blockquote>Next, we have the guilty pleasure that is Jamie Lee Curtis battling cyborg monsters in <a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2011/11/virus-1998/" target="_blank"><i>Virus</i></a>:<br />
<blockquote>Here’s what <i>Virus </i>doesn’t have: genuine scares, anything approaching originality, and a director who can do more than aim the camera at the right spot. But when I’m presented with a monster comprised of electrical impulses that replicates itself by combining spare human body parts with mutated versions of the spiderbots that menaced Tom Selleck in <i>Runaway</i>, resulting in awesomely goofy Borg/Cenobite hybrids, I’m willing to forgive a lot.</blockquote>And finally, a movie that earned me much family scorn for enjoying, the b-movie messterpiece <a href="http://www.flickattack.com/2011/11/hardware-1990/" target="_blank"><i>Hardware</i></a>:<br />
<blockquote><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002E2QHAE/hitchmagazine-20" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-2829" height="200" src="http://www.flickattack.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/hardware.jpg" title="hardware" width="135" /></a>It isn’t perfect; the script is undercooked, and the tiny budget betrays itself through clumsy action and ersatz effects. But <i>Hardware</i>, love it or hate it, is undeniably a pure product of Stanley’s mind, and<bloclquote> in an era of generic Platinum Dunes horrors, it’s refreshing to see an unwillingness to compromise, even if the result is deeply flawed. Put it this way: If you can find the value of a movie where the hero strides past a baby tied to dead woman’s waist without taking a second glance, you’ll appreciate <i>Hardware</i>; if not, I’m sure Blockbuster has a copy of <i>Big Momma’s House</i>.</blockquote>I'll get back to reading soon, I promise.<br />Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919353.post-23075600624449824462011-11-13T13:36:00.001-05:002011-11-16T20:22:49.668-05:00CANadian literature, Or CAN'Tadian literature? (Boy am I ashamed of that pun)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKbMyyRS61v-vNsh28y-7AMAhhMxjyoxx0NXgHepIKbUF71o9bTf2qZubHgZQwcF4jFxKFDUH5Nf-TeTuEXnXFlX-CDNNUs_AsGR263_1fHlNdM71zLqtBMlFtu6-JpYmun59/s1600/moose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKbMyyRS61v-vNsh28y-7AMAhhMxjyoxx0NXgHepIKbUF71o9bTf2qZubHgZQwcF4jFxKFDUH5Nf-TeTuEXnXFlX-CDNNUs_AsGR263_1fHlNdM71zLqtBMlFtu6-JpYmun59/s200/moose.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Today, the shelf monkey goes all flag-waving and whatnot to answer an age-old question that has tormented Canadian bibliophiles since we first learned to write; what the hell are we reading, anyway?<br />
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There has been a lot of talk/complaining/buzz/whining/questioning/whinging/probing/babbling/hand-wringing/soul-searching/teeth-knashing by persons much smarter than myself lately, as there usually is around award season, as to what exactly constitutes what we refer to as 'Canadian literature' (best exemplified in <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/are-canadian-writers-canadian-enough/article2217533/">this Globe and Mail article</a>). <a href="http://patrickdewitt.net/">Patrick deWitt</a>'s <a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2011/10/tiny-monkey-droppings-sisters-brothers.html"><i>The Sisters Brothers</i></a>, winner of the Governor General's Award for Fiction, and <a href="http://www.esiedugyan.com/">Esi Edugyan</a>'s Giller-winning <a href="http://www.esiedugyan.com/half-blood-blues.html"><i>Half Blood Blues</i></a> have earned some backhanded criticism for winning Canadian awards with stories set in 1800's California and Nazi Germany, respectively.<br />
<br />
As I see it, the major questions are:<br />
<ol><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOe71y0g2FgfZnGatQtYqVm0h-NRs6ezafQHFfnTA3Aodb7XrdzDFz0akdWLivxnb7YWg-_UcnlGnDaoTUvKsYLOkPVcuGxCznc3WZnZopC-JihfH8rDHkILUnjKbFBq3nN1kY/s1600/beaver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOe71y0g2FgfZnGatQtYqVm0h-NRs6ezafQHFfnTA3Aodb7XrdzDFz0akdWLivxnb7YWg-_UcnlGnDaoTUvKsYLOkPVcuGxCznc3WZnZopC-JihfH8rDHkILUnjKbFBq3nN1kY/s200/beaver.jpg" width="200" /></a>
<li>Is its being written by a Canadian enough to qualify a book as an example of 'Canadian' literature?</li>
<li>Are Canadian writers being appropriately Canadian in their published works? </li>
<li>Should 'Canadian' literature have a strictly Canadian setting to qualify as such?</li>
<li>How much 'Canadian' content should a book have to qualify as 'Canadian'? </li>
<li>What is the proper ratio of beavers and moose per page? Is six enough?</li>
<li> I may have made that last one up.</li>
</ol>
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There are seemingly no easy answers to this conundrum. What constitutes American literature, or English, or Greek, Polish, Lithuanian, Narnian? Does everything Irish have to come tinged with authentic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roddy_Doyle">Roddy Doyle</a> wit? Should American author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Proulx">Annie Proulx</a>'s <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Shipping-News-Annie-Proulx/dp/0671510053/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321485951&sr=1-1"><i>The Shipping News</i></a>, with its Newfoundland setting, qualify as Canadian despite the author's nationality? Does <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Barker">Clive Barker</a>'s setting of his horror novel <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Cabal-Clive-Barker/dp/0743417321/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321485974&sr=1-1"><i>Cabal</i></a> in Alberta disqualify it as an English product? Should we try and convince <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Norman">Howard Norman</a> to accept Canadian citizenship, since most of his novels are set here anyway?<br />
<br />
For me, the answer is deceptively simple, as befits my deceptively simple mind: Canadian literature is something written by a Canadian citizen. It matters not its setting, nor subject, nor genre. If you're Canadian, and you've written a novel, short, story, or poem, hey, you're in. Whether or not your work is any good is another matter, best left to wizened reviewers lurking behind their keyboards like trolls beneath a bridge, but as one who harbours an instinctive distrust of those who differentiate between 'literature' and 'fiction', I feel that if we settle on citizenship as a baseline, we'll all be a lot happier.<br />
<br />
For some perspective, let's quickly look at some Canadian novels of note:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_English_Patient"><i>The English Patient</i></a> (1992) by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ondaatje">Michael Ondaatje</a> - A novel set in wartime Europe, written by a Canadian of Sri Lankan origin. Only a few Canadian characters in a novel rife with many nationalities. Won the Governor General's Award and the Booker.</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_of_Pi"><i>The Life of Pi</i></a> (2001) by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yann_Martel">Yann Martel</a> - A novel involving an Indian child trapped at sea with a tiger. The author hails from Saskatchewan. No major Canadian characters of note. Won the Booker and The Hugh MacLennan Award for Fiction, shortlisted for the Governor General's Award.</li>
<li><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQ7N_EOJxMjx4pHBqanSVYFRYyYzp8rxHQVQ8kG4RcxbP94ujyzSPsQJFaYgCMxRBtWr-uGLaBOQoipkYlC7XJ_mqKtaCkUjJOYROjGeCbSxf3otNCacNJ_mH2868FUEj85Fk/s1600/margaret_atwood_the_handmaids_tale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQ7N_EOJxMjx4pHBqanSVYFRYyYzp8rxHQVQ8kG4RcxbP94ujyzSPsQJFaYgCMxRBtWr-uGLaBOQoipkYlC7XJ_mqKtaCkUjJOYROjGeCbSxf3otNCacNJ_mH2868FUEj85Fk/s200/margaret_atwood_the_handmaids_tale.jpg" width="98" /></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale#Awards"><i>The Handmaid's Tale</i></a> (1985) by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Atwood">Margaret Atwood</a> - A dystopian tale of religious patriarchal tyranny set in the fictional Republic of Gilead, located within the borders of the U.S. No Canadians. Written by a Canadian from Ontario. Won the Governor General's Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award, shortlisted for the Booker.</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Complicated_Kindness"><i>A Complicated Kindness</i></a> (2004) by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Toews">Miriam Toews</a> - Set in a Mennonite community in Manitoba, a young woman struggles to reconcile her yearnings for more with the regimented religious structure of the township. Written by a Manitoban. Won the Governor General's Award.</li>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fine_Balance"><i>A Fine Balance</i></a> (1995) by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohinton_Mistry">Rohinton Mistry</a> - A story set in India, examining changes in Indian society. No Canadians. Written by an India-born Canadian. Won the Giller, shortlisted for the Booker, and was an Oprah Bookclub Pick.</li>
</ul>
Do you see a connecting theme, other than the awards and acclaim that accompanied each novel? Yeah, me neither. I do know that these all are accepted examples of Canadian Literature, and that, last time I checked, no one was accusing Margaret Atwood of not being Canadian enough (like anyone'd have the balls). And while this ain't near an exhaustive list, I hereby, in my accepted roll as legally accepted arbitrator of all things Canadian (it's true, don't dispute me!), claim that there is no single accepted definition of a 'Canadian' novel. And excepting <i>only </i>the caveat that the author must have some sort of Canadian citizenship, <i>nor should there be</i> (gasps from the gallery!).<br />
<br />
Look, anyone who wants to write about Canada will write about Canada, that has never been a problem. Whether it be a tale of the immigrant experience (<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Amazing-Absorbing-Boy-Rabindranath-Maharaj/dp/0307397270"><i>The Amazing Absorbing Boy</i></a>), a trip backwards through time to uncover new facets of our shared history (<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Time-We-All-Went-Marching/dp/0864926588/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321485885&sr=1-1"><i>The Time We All Went Marching</i></a>), a legal thriller (<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Old-City-Hall-Robert-Rotenberg/dp/1416592857/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321485907&sr=1-1"><i>Old City Hall</i></a>), or an africentric sci-fi/fantasy adventure (<a href="http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.com/2008/05/quickie-reviews-sunday-may-19-2008.html"><i>The Coyote Kings of the Space-Age Bachelor Pad</i></a>), Canadian authors will always set novels in Canada, covering themes and genres both classic and modern. I don't think we'll have to worry if, one year, we don't get enough novels about Canadian settlers braving the elements and/or frostbite. Somehow, we will survive as a culture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiNFU3_0VgONBKZkshRYtFvOVx8Ff9-a9WzcGv7xIvi8qRCfp5Wmdt6XguAXkg4okyObKW3GGfLzOqM1-VZHMD-j05VzoYPufpt3CHyTSQ7Ucp9bKbFnqBd8D0mxbo5lpuSJ7/s1600/neuromancercover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiNFU3_0VgONBKZkshRYtFvOVx8Ff9-a9WzcGv7xIvi8qRCfp5Wmdt6XguAXkg4okyObKW3GGfLzOqM1-VZHMD-j05VzoYPufpt3CHyTSQ7Ucp9bKbFnqBd8D0mxbo5lpuSJ7/s200/neuromancercover.jpg" width="63" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZ96mJd5TUrt9otdiL_qIOL-gVbsBRji3l_erZvHKl19EvntQEvFE-mtHA3Yj8acM5tKTkLfkIHCuW0SeQCmLZISg-PZoDy8aBxwXCo3OVFXXQv_O_3b9w-W7EcN3jEp5z_U2/s1600/saints-of-big-harbour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXZ96mJd5TUrt9otdiL_qIOL-gVbsBRji3l_erZvHKl19EvntQEvFE-mtHA3Yj8acM5tKTkLfkIHCuW0SeQCmLZISg-PZoDy8aBxwXCo3OVFXXQv_O_3b9w-W7EcN3jEp5z_U2/s200/saints-of-big-harbour.jpg" width="62" /></a>But if we start (or continue) to argue that classifiable CanLit must adhere to certain standards, we risk alienating the artists we rely upon to create things for us to argue over. It is a well-worn trope that 'Canadian Literature' is viewed as being about history, and the prairies, and hard-scrabble lives, and fighting the elements. Indeed, it is precisely that form of literature (as fine as some of its novels may be) that drive people scarred from middle-school attempts to form them into functioning Canadians by having them read <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._O._Mitchell#Novels"><i>Who Has Seen the Wind?</i></a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stone_Angel"><i>The Stone Angel</i></a> to make sweeping statements such as, "I never read Canadian fiction." This has been uttered to me by many people over the years, and none of my attempts to remind them of the works of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_J._Sawyer">Robert Sawyer</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Ferguson">Will Ferguson</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Findley">Timothy Findley</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_Faust">Minister Faust</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalo_Hopkinson">Nalo Hopkinson</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_King_%28novelist%29">Thomas King</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.P._Kinsella">W.P. Kinsella</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Taylor_%28writer%29">Timothy Taylor</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Coady">Lynn Coady</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Doctorow">Cory Doctorow</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gibson">William Gibson</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Winter_%28writer%29">Michael Winter</a>, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_Robinson">Spider Robinson </a>will dissuade them from their opinion. And <i>if</i> they somehow have read these authors, or countless others, they will wave they hands dismissively and comment that these authors do not count as Canadian Literature, because they are entertaining, which is a state of being anathema to 'true' Canadian literature.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjZRonxS6T0SdY_GHdQWU7u950-4MPd2MMG-IoWrvC-pZ68o1c2dXW-fmoarW17ivMzU3SGtvKMSUmfA-C3ZHJrVyup7nIu07c6xyBbkzNCG9HA81LDbW3Dfjw1IicGvLcWvS/s1600/half-blood-blues.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjZRonxS6T0SdY_GHdQWU7u950-4MPd2MMG-IoWrvC-pZ68o1c2dXW-fmoarW17ivMzU3SGtvKMSUmfA-C3ZHJrVyup7nIu07c6xyBbkzNCG9HA81LDbW3Dfjw1IicGvLcWvS/s200/half-blood-blues.jpg" width="130" /></a>I have shouted myself hoarse at these people to no effect save restraining orders. I ain't proud of making a public spectacle of myself, but I would bristle and scream to the heavens and tear down walls with the force of my umbrage if anyone dared say to me that <i>my </i>work isn't Canadian Literature. You can call it sloppy, call it juvenile, call it a left-wing screed, call it just plain <i>bad</i>, but don't you dare question its nationality.<br />
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So I applaud this year's multiple awards for <i>The Sisters Brothers</i> and <i>Half Blood Blues, </i>for continuing the tradition (as evidenced above) of Canadian citizens writing about whatever pleases them and letting the awards fall where they may. Because for me, this is proof of a prime Canadian trait: accepting and rewarding others for who and what they are, rather than what we may wish they were.Coreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18287835957314437176noreply@blogger.com1