A review by dilan11
God Lives in St. Petersburg: Short Stories by Tom Bissell
3.0
Besides being page turners, these stories are funny too. But they are ultimately tragic and dark.
"Death Defier" was written in third person yet remarkably close to the main character, Donk, narrating each of his thoughts and emotions. At the end of the story, Donk dies. It is jarring, almost as if at the end of a first person story the narrator dies. I think it was deliberately done though. It is almost as hard for the reader to accept Donk's death as it was for Donk.
In an Author's Note, Bissell gives the writing order of the stories. "Aral" is his earliest story and "Death Defier" is the most recent. I think the later stories are of a higher quality, which is the best thing that a writer could hope for - to get better with time.
"Death Defier" was written in third person yet remarkably close to the main character, Donk, narrating each of his thoughts and emotions. At the end of the story, Donk dies. It is jarring, almost as if at the end of a first person story the narrator dies. I think it was deliberately done though. It is almost as hard for the reader to accept Donk's death as it was for Donk.
In an Author's Note, Bissell gives the writing order of the stories. "Aral" is his earliest story and "Death Defier" is the most recent. I think the later stories are of a higher quality, which is the best thing that a writer could hope for - to get better with time.