Rabid Transit: Menagerie | ||||||||
edited by Christopher Barzak, Alan DeNiro and Kristin Livdahl | ||||||||
Velocity Press, 92 pages | ||||||||
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A review by David Hebblethwaite
Matthew Cheney's "Fragments" is presented as a series of extracts from three documents which tell of Pete, a writer
whose advances are rejected by his former muse, Felicia; and who then writes "a story that has no connection to the
external world" in response, in the hope of finding "[a] muse within the words themselves." At least, that's one possible
interpretation. There is another one, which turns the tale on its head; though I'm afraid it didn't quite convince
me. I can't explain why properly without giving the game away, but I felt that the three sections didn't have equal
weight; which, I appreciate, is rather vague, so my advice is to read the story and decide for yourself,
because "Fragments" is an intriguing concoction regardless. Cheney's prose is somewhat brittle and distant; but the
diary in particular is effective, conveying Pete's frustration and despair in a striking, abstract way.
Now on to what, for me, is the best story in the book -- "Terminós" by Dean Francis Alfar. Mr. Henares is a merchant
of time: if you have any unwanted memories, or time to spare, or futures you'd rather not experience, he'll take them off
your hands. Miguel Lopez Vicente is a writer who has run out of ideas. On his 32nd birthday, he visits Mr. Henares,
saying, "I have come to trade away all my days." We then follow Miguel back through his life, as he tries to find a
suitable ending. Alfar's writing is very beautiful, lending the story an authenticity that draws the reader in. A wonderful tale.
James Allison's story, "Pick, I am, I am", has two first-person narratives, printed in two columns. Both are (apparently)
told by the same character, the (unnamed) owner of a car showroom with the power to drain the vitality from those around
him. One thread revolves around a "farewell dinner party" for his brother Patrick (who has a degenerative brain disease and
has recently moved into a hospice); the other fills in more about the man's earlier life. There's some good writing
here -- I found the likening of earthquakes to Godzilla (whom the protagonist was fascinated by as a child) particularly
effective -- but I was left with an irritating feeling of having missed something, without being quite sure what.
According to the blurb, some of the stories in Menagerie "are flat-out gonzo weird from the first sentence". One such
story is "The Sky Green Box" by Rudi Dornemann, which begins: "When she finally got through the door, Moonhead Lunes knew
her heart was gone: she could see fragments of broken candy-box still melting into the shag." This tale is full of arresting
ideas and images, like giant stone slabs inscribed with strange symbols floating in the sky; or butterflies being transformed
into mints and coins with a single nano-charged sneeze. I should have found it marvelous, but in the end, it left me
cold. Perhaps it was just too weird for me.
The book closes with Eric Rickstad's contribution, "Ballerina Ballerina." To be honest, I'm not sure what to make of
it. Our narrator is Stan, who lives with Sal and Bailey and is looking for a job. At the age of seven, he saw his father
accidentally run over a woman with his Buick. Or maybe Stan imagined the whole thing. Rickstad's fractured narrative does
not give up its secrets easily; I've read through it several times and only now do I think that I've figured out what's
going on. Maybe it's just that "Ballerina Ballerina" takes a bit of work, and I'm not going to criticize Rickstad for that!
Out of the six stories in Menagerie, I have reservations about four, which may suggest that I wouldn't recommend the
anthology. But I am happy to do so, for several reasons. For one thing, many of my negative reactions stemmed from those
four tales' not being to my taste in some way, which is no reason to condemn a story outright. Besides, there is something
to recommend about each of the stories here; and "The Sign in the Window" and "Terminós" are so good that it's worth s
pending six dollars on Menagerie just to read those two; and -- who knows? -- you may well enjoy more.
David lives out in the wilds of Yorkshire, where he attempts to make a dent in his collection of unread books. You can read more of David's reviews at his review blog. |
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