It's a great day for some Indie Book Buzz here at TNBBC. Over the next few weeks, we will be inviting members of the indie publishing houses to share which of their upcoming 2012 releases they are most excited about!
This week's pick comes from Tricia O'Reilly,
Windeye by Brian Evenson
(June 2012)
What It’s About
Well, to sum it up: the fantastical stories in Windeye are about understanding the idea
of self in a world of shifting realities. Why
is it important that you are you and not the person sitting across from you, or
the one walking across the street outside? What would happen if you were
forgotten? Would you still exist? The answers Windeye suggests are unsettling at best. Some of the characters in
these stories: a woman falling out of sync with the world; a
king’s servant hypnotized by his murderous horse; a transplanted ear with a
mind of its own—these characters live as interlopers in a world shaped by
mysterious disappearances and unfathomable discrepancies between the real and
imagined. This is Brian’s most far-ranging collection to date, exploring how
humans struggle to persist in an increasingly unreal world. Haunting, gripping,
and psychologically fierce, these tales illuminate a dark and unsettling side
of humanity.
Why You Should Read It
Brian Evenson is one of the most
talented short story writers I have ever read. Why his is not a name that every
person in American knows is a mystery to me, but I think it’s only a matter of
time. Windeye, his new collection of
stories that will be out in June, is his best to date. There is not story in here that didn’t give
me a visceral reaction. My favorites are “Grottor,” “The Second Boy,” and “The Sladen
Suit.” Oh, and the title story “Windeye,” which was a O. Henry Prize winner.
But pretty much every story is a standout example of
tense, genre-bending beauty. If you had to put him in a category, it would be
literary horror. Think Cormac McCarthy, except with a little bit more of a
Twilight Zone feeling. They also kind of feel like fairy tales in a way, and
have that creepy undertone that all the good fairy tales have: the quiet
stranger is not really who he seems to be; innocence is challenged at every
turn; people and things may swiftly vanish or slowly cease of being. So, why
should you read Windeye? Because it’s
an extraordinary presentation of excellent writing. But also so that when Brian
Evenson achieves Edgar Allen Poe level status, you can say that you ‘read him first.’
BIO
Tricia O'Reilly joined Coffee
House Press in 2010. A native of Queens, NY, her love for reading really took
off at age 7 when she hijacked her mother’s Mary Higgins Clark books. She later
discovered the beauty of her local library but maintained a love for
age-inappropriate literature. Some of her favorite writers are John Steinbeck,
Andre Dubus, Karen Yamashita, Tom Robbins, and Roald Dahl. She graduated from
Williams College in northwestern Massachusetts, where she studied English and History.
She sometimes sings along loudly to Neko Case when alone in the office.
So what do you think guys? See anything that catches your eye? Which of these things are you most excited to see release? Help TNBBC and Coffee House Press spread the buzz about these books by sharing this post with others!
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