Brian Evenson
Paperback | Pages: 151 pages Rating: 3.99 | 119 Users | 12 Reviews
Point Books Toward Contagion and Other Stories
| Original Title: | Contagion and Other Stories |
| ISBN: | 1877655341 (ISBN13: 9781877655340) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Interpretation Concering Books Contagion and Other Stories
Mapping a literary space uniquely his own, Evenson's CONTAGION AND OTHER STORIES pursues to a new level the crepescular and delirious exploration begun in his acclaimed and controversial ALTMANN'S TONGUE. In the O'Henry Award winning "Two Brothers," a minister breaks his leg while his sons watch then refuses to call an ambulance, remaining convinced even unto death that God will arrive to lift him up and make him whole. The self-acclaimed language specialist of "The Polygamy of Language" indiscriminately blends linguistics with murder. "Contagion" is a skewed retelling of the early history of barbed wire, which interweaves metaphysics and the Western genre. "Watson's Boy" shows a boy endlessly wandering the human equivalent of a conditioned response box while the protagonist of "By Halves" finds himself trapped in a relationship that may not exist. Throughout, Evenson's immaculate prose draws us mercilessly up to confront troubled and troubling lives that, astoundingly, are no less human than our own.Identify Based On Books Contagion and Other Stories
| Title | : | Contagion and Other Stories |
| Author | : | Brian Evenson |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 151 pages |
| Published | : | July 15th 2000 by Wordcraft of Oregon |
| Categories | : | Short Stories. Fiction. Horror. Zombies. Bizarro Fiction |
Rating Based On Books Contagion and Other Stories
Ratings: 3.99 From 119 Users | 12 ReviewsWeigh Up Based On Books Contagion and Other Stories
Undoubtedly there are some gems in this collection. Evenson also has a way with words, and giving a poetic edge to the most morbid and gruesome happenings. Taken as a whole however, and in light of previous story collections I've read by the author, dude is starting to wear thin on me a little bit.A collection of Evenson's earlier works, this slim volume mixes the literary style of Altmann's Tongue with the heavier weirdness and confusion that is a trademark of his later work. There's not a bad story among the ones here, but the best were 'Internal', 'A Hanging', and after my second reading of it, 'Two Brothers'. There's something disquieting about Evenson's writing and the absence of reason in so many of his characters. As ever, Evenson is a great recommendation if you like dark fiction.
It's hard to say which Evenson short story collection is my second favorite. The Wavering Knife is my absolute favorite. But several other collections vie for second place. Contagion is one of those. It contains "Watson's Boy," which I first encountered in the VanderMeers' anthology New Weird. It is my favorite Evenson story and I've read it at least five times, each time taking something different away. "Two Brothers" is another astounding, dark piece that will stick with me until my death
Anyone that follows my blog or podcast knows that I am a huge fan of Brian Evenson. This book, however, was released many years before I discovered his writing. I should have noticed when this was re-released by my old friend Duncan Barlow at Astrophil press in 2011. I have been meaning to go back and read some of Evenson's early work and thanks to this book I got a chance.This collection includes the O.Henry award-winning short story, Two Brothers. It is a great example of Evenson who was
Reviewed it at Vol.1: http://vol1brooklyn.com/2011/11/29/re...
On the whole not quite as nuanced as later Evenson, but these stories still throttle one's reading mind. Peopled with renegade Mormon preachers, forsaken children, and all manner of proto-humans pursuing grand designs, it is a bleak wasteland as far as one can see. Evenson's characters are primeval, speaking either in old-time preacher slang or an odd, clipped manner honed to communicate only the bare essentials. Often they are possessed by some higher calling, beyond the apocalyptic settings in
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