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Stay God
by
Nik Korpon (Goodreads Author)
Damon lives a content life, playing video games and dealing drugs from his second-hand store while his girlfriend, Mary, drops constant hints about marriage. If only he could tell her his name isn’t really Damon. If only he could tell her who he really is. But after he witnesses a friend’s murder, a scarlet woman glides into his life, offering the solution to all of his pr...more
Hardcover, 257 pages
Published
November 1st 2010
by Otherworld Publictations LLC
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Korpon's version of Baltimore appears to consist of bars, skeezy shops, and an endless kafkaesque series of back alleys and basements suitable for tying up someone who's crossed you.
As someone who doesn't have interest in drugs there were times during the narrative where even as drugs were ruining his ability to keep control of his life, Damon would still stop to snort a line or drop a few pills. What struck me as odd was that they rarely ever called any of the drugs by name. Are there other thi...more
As someone who doesn't have interest in drugs there were times during the narrative where even as drugs were ruining his ability to keep control of his life, Damon would still stop to snort a line or drop a few pills. What struck me as odd was that they rarely ever called any of the drugs by name. Are there other thi...more
I'm never going to Baltimore. The urban decay, the violent crime, the junkies, the music, the Chinese takeout, the neighborhood dives, the loose women . . . okay, book me on the next thing smokin' to Baltimore.
In Korpon's debut novel, a couple runs the namesake pawn shop of the failing neon sign where you can walk in with a vacuum and leave with a Depeche Mode CD case containing enough bug powder to get you through the weekend. As things usually do whenever dealers become addicts, the economics...more
In Korpon's debut novel, a couple runs the namesake pawn shop of the failing neon sign where you can walk in with a vacuum and leave with a Depeche Mode CD case containing enough bug powder to get you through the weekend. As things usually do whenever dealers become addicts, the economics...more
'Tiny spiders crawled in my throat and I tried to swallow them down to the acid and whiskey in my stomach.'
‘Stay Go D’ is almost literary in its poetic prose and nihilistic narrative. Korpon, romanticises while inking the backdrop against Baltimore’s seedy streets and chilling settings. Taking a minimalist approach in creating his vision of Bmore serves the bar-room-dwellers and pawn shop entrepreneurs well. The foreground compliments the changing character landscape allowing those central to th...more
‘Stay Go D’ is almost literary in its poetic prose and nihilistic narrative. Korpon, romanticises while inking the backdrop against Baltimore’s seedy streets and chilling settings. Taking a minimalist approach in creating his vision of Bmore serves the bar-room-dwellers and pawn shop entrepreneurs well. The foreground compliments the changing character landscape allowing those central to th...more
view all 3 comments
Stay Gold is a junk shop that sells everything from toaster ovens to vacuums to CD's stuffed with "white" and "brown". The L is burned out on the sign, hence the title. When I first sat down to read this book I thought it was going to be a mystery. Instead it ended up being more about Damon and Mary, the owners of Stay Gold, and their relationship. Don't get me wrong there is plenty of criminal activity. Between selling the aforementioned CD's, a business venture with a close friend selling bric...more
Rating: 3 out of 5
I loved the author's illustrious style of prose, but it didn't feel like I took anything away from Stay Go d after finishing it. I still found it an addictive gritty read, though as one disinterested in drug culture, I began to tire of the constant reference to, and copious use of, drugs - I think I was waiting for the drug use to take a back seat to more interesting story elements...
I will confess that I misjudged the book's genre, having picked up Stay Go d with the notion th...more
I loved the author's illustrious style of prose, but it didn't feel like I took anything away from Stay Go d after finishing it. I still found it an addictive gritty read, though as one disinterested in drug culture, I began to tire of the constant reference to, and copious use of, drugs - I think I was waiting for the drug use to take a back seat to more interesting story elements...
I will confess that I misjudged the book's genre, having picked up Stay Go d with the notion th...more
I’ve never been to Baltimore, but if I’m ever there, I’ll suspect that every seedy bar is a place where drug dealers meet, and every secondhand store is possibly a retail cocaine dispensary in disguise. Such is the effect of Nik Korpon’s Stay God.
Here’s the set up: Damon and Mary seem to have an ideal life. They’re young, they’re in love, and they have a successful enterprise dealing various illegal drugs under the guise of a junk shop. But as with all ideal lives, there are cracks beneath the...more
Here’s the set up: Damon and Mary seem to have an ideal life. They’re young, they’re in love, and they have a successful enterprise dealing various illegal drugs under the guise of a junk shop. But as with all ideal lives, there are cracks beneath the...more
Dec 16, 2010
Richard Thomas
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of neo-noir
"Someone stabbed the sun. It’s dripping onto Baltimore, seeping through gauze clouds onto the cobblestone street, reflecting off wet tire tracks in pinpoint sparks like the ones that follow a two-by-four across the nose. It’s dimming, dying, falling in slow motion, but the city is oblivious. Couples in matching jackets and complementary scarves walk arm-in-arm down Thames and through Fell’s Point. They push strollers with babies double-wrapped in winter coats. Share hot chocolate and kiss the do...more
Originally review at Day Labor, the Official Crimefactory blog:
With fierce, deep prose and copious amounts of pop-culture fading through the fuzzy head of a Baltimore drug dealer, Stay God is a remarkable debut. Standing firmly in the noir vein, this novel follows Damon, who runs Stay Gold, a second hand shop where they sell drugs hidden in CD cases along with his girlfriend, Mary. He runs with a group of users as deep into horror and video games as he is. His supplier is a kid who has seen The...more
With fierce, deep prose and copious amounts of pop-culture fading through the fuzzy head of a Baltimore drug dealer, Stay God is a remarkable debut. Standing firmly in the noir vein, this novel follows Damon, who runs Stay Gold, a second hand shop where they sell drugs hidden in CD cases along with his girlfriend, Mary. He runs with a group of users as deep into horror and video games as he is. His supplier is a kid who has seen The...more
Impressive . . . the one word that sums up what I think about Nik Korpon's debut. I was completely blown away with some of the descriptive passages in this book. The way Korpon writes is like an open-handed slap to the face, he will hit you again just as soon as the sting from the first slap recedes. This book is a perfect blend of Chuck Palahniuk and Bret Easton Ellis, a perfect book for anyone who likes hardcore, "in your face" type books. Nik Korpon is here to stay in the world of literary fi...more
This is a very good debut effort. I'll definitely look for his other books and short fiction. Some of the dialogue was rough and certain characters and situations felt strained. But the prose is vivid and energetic and worth the price on its own.
This is a brilliant debut novel with passages that you'll find yourself reading over, just for the pure beauty of Nik Korpon's writing style.
I just couldn't get into this book. I really wanted to like it but i just didn't.
Feb 25, 2011
Simon West-bulford
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
author-friends
I have plenty of love for this novel. The care Nik has taken to immerse the reader into the slow spiral of the central character's paranoia and self-destruction, is highly engrossing. It's not just the beautiful use of simile and metaphor, it's the sense of authenticity that comes through. I slapped the book shut last night, touched by the ending, wishing I could have stretched the experience out just that little bit longer. Bravo, Nik.
Will Christopher Baer meets Hunter S. Thompson in a debut novel with one of the best opening paragraphs I've ever read.
Just won this and am looking forward to mail arrival!
This dark story of a drug dealer in Baltimore was not so much my cup of tea, BUT it is VERY well written and I enjoyed the writing more than the story.
This dark story of a drug dealer in Baltimore was not so much my cup of tea, BUT it is VERY well written and I enjoyed the writing more than the story.
See my review of this fantastic book at The Nervous Breakdown.
Bouncy, wide-eyed noir. STAY GOD is tactile prose and a beautiful adventure in love and drugs.
why no kindle version of this book?
Nov 11, 2011
Christopher tm
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone looking for a gritty neo-noir tale.
Shelves:
favorites
Oh, hell, yes.
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