A review by poachedeggs
Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day by Ben Loory
3.0
I read the entire book on a long bus journey on the way to meet my friends for dinner last night. The unpleasantness of the journey probably had something to do with my three-star rating. There was someone blaring his/her stupid techno music really loudly, thinking all his/her passengers were characters in his/her personal MTV. And there was a massive traffic jam stretching all the way from the expressway to town and beyond. I was 1hr late for dinner!
I can see that these are good stories, macabre and bizarre. They are extremely short, contain little dialogue, and none of the characters are named. In one story, an octopus speaks to his nephews about living in the city; in another, a woman reads a book with blank pages and protests against it; in yet another, a man tries to get rid of a monster he sees in a public swimming pool.
I am just not sure I should have read all of them at once - each one felt like an abstract piece of art, meant to be admired at one's leisure, and not glossed over because of what appears to be its simplicity.
I can see that these are good stories, macabre and bizarre. They are extremely short, contain little dialogue, and none of the characters are named. In one story, an octopus speaks to his nephews about living in the city; in another, a woman reads a book with blank pages and protests against it; in yet another, a man tries to get rid of a monster he sees in a public swimming pool.
I am just not sure I should have read all of them at once - each one felt like an abstract piece of art, meant to be admired at one's leisure, and not glossed over because of what appears to be its simplicity.