100 pages
Self-published: Banners of Death
Released: April 2014
Dave K’s
My Name is Hate is a steampunk-y and compelling depiction of a pregnant
woman’s dismal hunt for her deadbeat husband, Jesse. A social commentary of
sorts, Dave sheds light on how selfish and cowardly humanity can be when under
duress to step up to the plate:
When the doctor told us I was pregnant, [Jesse]
said that he couldn’t believe it, that he never thought I’d be able to have a
baby. I told him I wouldn’t have, if I’d had his attitude. We live in America,
after all. Anything is possible here. Jesse laughed until the doctor told him
he’d have to quit smoking on account of our baby. Maybe that’s why he ran off.
Packed with sinister imagery, the beautiful
and moving yet morbid and dark narrative voice evokes chills:
Last time I cut open a horse, its guts rushed
out like that, just happy to meet the day.
Simultaneously, Dave’s simplistic choice of
words and rhythmic delivery inspires a deep sympathy and concern for the conflicted
and emotional protagonist: an abandoned pregnant woman straining to trek across
a barren landscape of horse chips and flies in search of her baby daddy.
I don’t want to think about Jesse, either. I
don’t want to remember him. I want him here.
Though a quick read, Dave more than just sets
the scene, maintains the conflict, and conveys an immense amount of detail in
his short micro-fiction sprints. He does a phenomenal job of portraying a
fragile woman’s state of mind, and the agony and humiliation of walking into
town searching the bars for her husband. Passages such as this still brought me
to my proverbial knees:
The heart is a pair of saloon doors, swinging
open and shut as people enter and leave.
My only qualm would
be over the title. I’m not sure it did justice to such a heartbreaking story,
and may lead book cover-judgers astray. That aside, Dave K’s released one of
the most dynamite flash novellas of 2014. 5 stars means get your hands on it
now.
Lavinia Ludlow is a musician, writer, and occasional contortionist. Her debut novel alt.punk can be purchased through major online retailers as well as Casperian Books’ website. Her sophomore novel Single Stroke Seven was signed to Casperian Books and will release in the distant future. In her free time, she is a reviewer at Small Press Reviews, The Nervous Breakdown, American Book Review, and now The Next Best Book Blog.
This is an interesting take on the book, though I would encourage the reviewer to take a second look at the text, beyond the beauty of the prose to the mysteries that swirl beneath. Things are not all as they seem, and the author chooses his words and imagery with expert care, even when they seem abrupt or strange. The title, too, is not an accident - what begins as a seemingly simple story actually becomes a startlingly complex portait of a woman whose journey to find the man who left her is equal parts compelling and frightening. An excellent novella - I highly recommend reading it twice!
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