7.22.2002

Lee Henderson writes like he gets it

to say i loved everything in Lee Henderson's collection of short stories The Broken Record Technique is only 99.98% true.

here are a few things i truly loved:


  • the badger in the penguin suit on the opening page of the book (substituting for the usual penguin logo)


  • the font of the titles of the stories.


  • the stylistic beauty of the use of perspective in the first story "Attempts at a Great Relationship".


  • Susan's turn of phrase and heartbreaking wisdom in "Mirage/Fata Morgana".


  • the maniacal adults in the strange neighbourhood of "Spines a Length of Velcro".


  • the paranoid simplicity of "Shaved Temple".


  • did i already mention the freaky mini-drawings at the beginning of each story? they scare me. but on the other hand i love them dearly. Marcel Dzama is the artist of the drawings.


  • the next thing i would like to mention is about the story "Sheep Dub". nothing would please me more than to be able to relate to you a summary of this story along with intelligently expressed thoughts and feelings regarding it. but i can't.


  • Shoopy the enraged and anguished beagle in "Any Number of Reasons to Act as One Does".


  • the boy. the beautiful misshapen-headed boy.


  • the wonderful talking marmot in "W". and more.



  • that's only 11 things...but there are so many, many other reasons to read this book.
    there are at least 10 things in "Sheep Dub" alone that i can't even talk about yet.

    as a collection, The Broken Record Technique is bound by unique perspectives garnered by our dreams, fears, and nightmares. (that sounds grim. and yeah, sometimes it is. but don't forget the dreams, they can be good. even wonderful.) there is a distant eye in this world that comprehends humanity, focusing in on its most disconcerting faults and resigned failures, and then committing it all to memory in the heaviest of hearts.

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