Book of Poetry Review: Sherry Fairchok
February 22, 2010
Sherry Fairchok’s The Palace of Ashes is a collection of poems laden with coal, ash, and horses.
Yes, I know that’s an odd mix – but you need to read this book in order to understand.
Having never lived in a coal-mining town, I hadn’t the slightest idea what it was like. Not one bit. After reading The Palace of Ashes, I feel as though I’ve spent my whole life inhaling dust and cleaing it off of the front patio every evening.
Fairchok’s tone in her poems is relatively hard to pin down, but it is enjoyable. It is real. It is the voice of someone who honestly wants to deliver a childhood vision. This book engulfs the reader into Fairchok’s world, one of hard work and honest living. It is a pleasant place to stay.
Book Review: Paul Toth
January 14, 2010
Finale is Michigan writer Paul Toth’s third novel. It’s a story of travel and of re-visiting the past. The main character in the book is quite the pathetic man; so much so that he’ll boost anyone’s ego who reads this book. His life is that sad.
The book teaches the reader vague lessons about life and love and effort. And while I found some of the style to be forcefully literary, the drive of the plot helped me enjoy this story for what it was. Finale is an interestingly designed book, and for those curious enough to check it out, I suggest you go with your impulses.
- C.J.
Book Review: David LaBounty
December 24, 2009
Affluenza, David LaBounty’s third novel, is dark. Very dark. Even the cover of the book is pitch black. The story is a roller coaster ride balancing precariously upon tracks of credit card debt and support beams of little to no conscience.
The main character, Chas, is an extremely unreliable narrator. And personally, that is one of my weaknesses in fiction. A big weakness. So I was instantly in love with this messed up insurance agent. Beyond that, though, Affluenza has a lot to say about society and the functionality of its current structure. It is worth reading for its meaning, even beyond its eerie, dark, and sometimes disturbing plot line. I recommend this book to… well, everyone.
- C.J.
Book of Poetry Review: Randall Horton
November 13, 2009
The Lingua Franca of Ninth Street, a book of poetry by Randall Horton (who we interviewed), is something unlike any poetry book I’ve ever come across before. It’s more real than walking outside and people-watching for hours. It’s more honest than a 3-year-old boy and more enchanting than a Disney movie. It’s something else.
Randall Horton’s book deals with issues of life, of crime, of hate, and of love. It’s got a lot of deep, meaningful work that makes you stop and think for a minute before turning the page. Yeah. It’s one of those. There are also a hardy handful of poems that are full of good humor, and those are the little rays of sunlight needling through the clouds. This book is sure to get the reader feeling and thinking. And, really, what other point to literature is there?
- C.J.
Book Review: Jeff Vande Zande (Part II)
November 9, 2009
Jeff Vande Zande, previously interviewed right here on Five Fishes, recently came out with a new novel, Landscape With Fragmented Figures. This story is one about art, love, family, and life. Yes, life. That thing we are all up to. It’s a powerful subject, but this book covers it in such a way that you don’t realize how deep into the topic you are until the very end, when you exhale a soft and admiring “oh.”
Landscape is a medium-length, can’t-set-this-book-down type of novel that grabs hold of the reader and doesn’t let go. There’s something about Jeff’s writing that is so addictive and believable. I strongly urge everyone to check this book out. Now.
- C.J.
