A review by screamdogreads
Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons: Stories by Keith Rosson
4.0
It seemed that the sheriff had been exaggerating about the fearsomeness of the land but then he saw that the plumes of their breath made unnerving forms in the air - a sinking ship, a man dangling from a tree, a dead face rising up from a well.
Although it's said that these are horror stories, they really aren't. At least, not in the traditional sense. The stories contained within this collection are tales of dying worlds, of towns threadbare giving way to decay, they're stories that tell of souls crumbling, of lives turning to rot. Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons is a desolate, bleak novel entirely comprised of lonely, haunted people. Yes, the stories here could be considered horrifying, but you won't find anything lurking in the shadows ready to pounce. Here, the most prevalent notion is one of failed dreams.
Between these pages lies a world of intense, overwhelming dreariness, with each story depicting some kind of authentic human experience. These stories, and their author, are entirely honest about the brutality of living. There isn't anything held back, the sad, violent truth of the human condition is shown in all its foul glory. This is a collection of cruelty, one that could only be penned by an author so highly attuned to the world around him.
Although it's said that these are horror stories, they really aren't. At least, not in the traditional sense. The stories contained within this collection are tales of dying worlds, of towns threadbare giving way to decay, they're stories that tell of souls crumbling, of lives turning to rot. Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons is a desolate, bleak novel entirely comprised of lonely, haunted people. Yes, the stories here could be considered horrifying, but you won't find anything lurking in the shadows ready to pounce. Here, the most prevalent notion is one of failed dreams.
Between these pages lies a world of intense, overwhelming dreariness, with each story depicting some kind of authentic human experience. These stories, and their author, are entirely honest about the brutality of living. There isn't anything held back, the sad, violent truth of the human condition is shown in all its foul glory. This is a collection of cruelty, one that could only be penned by an author so highly attuned to the world around him.
"You stop at a gas station that glows in the valley like its own miniature city. A cement box of a store, a half dozen pumps under light as bright as a morgue table. Constellations of moths beat themselves senseless beneath the standing roof."
Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons might just be one of the most brutally honest story collections you'll ever encounter. From its unflinching depiction of a life ruled by addiction, to the crushing blow of depression, and the soul sucking realization that a life lived is stagnant and underwhelming, everything is presented with a gut-wrenching fervor. The most mundane, boring facets of life become something otherworldly the moment you open this novel.
This World Or The Next, Coyote, and Homecoming were my personal favorite stories.
One of the coyotes leans back, its throat exposed, and the howl drifts long and lamenting into the sky. My brother and I, we run headlong into the pack.