Scan barcode
A review by joecam79
Jerusalem Ablaze: Stories of Love and Other Obsessions. by Orlando Ortega-Medina
3.0
Orlando Ortega-Medina's biographical blurb describes him as a "US-born British-Canadian author of Judeo-Spanish descent." He currently lives in London, where he works as an immigration lawyer.
It is tempting to see in this début collection of short stories and its varied settings and contexts a reflection of the author's rich background and experiences. It might also be no coincidence that most of the characters are "seekers" who are trying to come to terms with their cultural or religious heritage, with their sexuality or, more generally, with their personal identity.
There is variety also in the author's style and approach. The anthology is subtitled "Stories of Love and Other Obsessions" and my initial impressions were of a latter-day Edgar Allan Poe, using elements from the horror genre to highlight his characters' fixations. Thus, in the opening "Torture by Roses", the narrator disdainfully watches the body of his teacher and mentor going up in flames, ironically confirming that he has learnt his master's perverse lessons in hate. In "After the Storm", we're even more clearly in Poe territory, as a lonely Oregon housewife finds a man's body on the beach and carries it home for company.
In other stories, Ortega-Medina ratchets up the sexual tension, through some explicit and even violent imagery. A case in point is "Invitation to the Dominant Culture", about a man who eventually acts out his violent fantasies about women. Also in the same vein is the title story "Jerusalem Ablaze" about a young Catholic convert who enters a seminary in Israel but is seduced by a Jewish dominatrix. It is a story about religious identity and guilt capped by a bloody denouement. Unsurprisingly, some early readers found these stories "disturbing" -which, frankly, they are. It is a pity that this will put some readers off an original anthology which includes its tender moments (such as "Star Party", about an immigrant with an interest in astronomy, or "The Shovelist", about an old man who convinces his new neighbours - a young gay couple- that they need somebody to shovel snow from their drive).
Ultimately, this brief collection's dizzying variety is both its main advantage and its disadvantage. The anthology's occasionally awkward mix of dark pieces and more "mainstream" material, flash fiction and longer tales, wildly different settings and characters, all within less than 200 pages, give it the feel of a "scrapbook" or tantalising "taster" rather than a fully-fledged debut. There is certainly a gifted author at work here but I, for one, would have wished for a more cohesive collection.
It is tempting to see in this début collection of short stories and its varied settings and contexts a reflection of the author's rich background and experiences. It might also be no coincidence that most of the characters are "seekers" who are trying to come to terms with their cultural or religious heritage, with their sexuality or, more generally, with their personal identity.
There is variety also in the author's style and approach. The anthology is subtitled "Stories of Love and Other Obsessions" and my initial impressions were of a latter-day Edgar Allan Poe, using elements from the horror genre to highlight his characters' fixations. Thus, in the opening "Torture by Roses", the narrator disdainfully watches the body of his teacher and mentor going up in flames, ironically confirming that he has learnt his master's perverse lessons in hate. In "After the Storm", we're even more clearly in Poe territory, as a lonely Oregon housewife finds a man's body on the beach and carries it home for company.
In other stories, Ortega-Medina ratchets up the sexual tension, through some explicit and even violent imagery. A case in point is "Invitation to the Dominant Culture", about a man who eventually acts out his violent fantasies about women. Also in the same vein is the title story "Jerusalem Ablaze" about a young Catholic convert who enters a seminary in Israel but is seduced by a Jewish dominatrix. It is a story about religious identity and guilt capped by a bloody denouement. Unsurprisingly, some early readers found these stories "disturbing" -which, frankly, they are. It is a pity that this will put some readers off an original anthology which includes its tender moments (such as "Star Party", about an immigrant with an interest in astronomy, or "The Shovelist", about an old man who convinces his new neighbours - a young gay couple- that they need somebody to shovel snow from their drive).
Ultimately, this brief collection's dizzying variety is both its main advantage and its disadvantage. The anthology's occasionally awkward mix of dark pieces and more "mainstream" material, flash fiction and longer tales, wildly different settings and characters, all within less than 200 pages, give it the feel of a "scrapbook" or tantalising "taster" rather than a fully-fledged debut. There is certainly a gifted author at work here but I, for one, would have wished for a more cohesive collection.