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Snowball, Dragonfly, Jew: A Novel
by
Stuart Ross (Goodreads Author)
Struggling with the sudden, nagging notion that his mother once assassinated a prominent neo-Nazi leader, Ben—a performance artist, about to turn 40—doesn’t know where to turn. His parents are both dead and his brother, having previously been institutionalized, is a lousy source of information. In a non-chronological montage of memories, this inventive tale blends suburban...more
Paperback, 178 pages
Published
April 1st 2011
by ECW Press
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stuart ross wrote a full-length book!! he is all grown up now!! no more short stories and poems for him, he is officially a novelist!
although, shhhh, the book is comprised of shortish vignettes that work together like doozers to tell a larger story, mostly. so this might be some kind of "tween" stage of his writing career; a segmented novel.
but it is good, whatever it is...
the chapters connect in an almost random stream-of-consciousness flow, where a word mentioned at the end of one chapter wil...more
although, shhhh, the book is comprised of shortish vignettes that work together like doozers to tell a larger story, mostly. so this might be some kind of "tween" stage of his writing career; a segmented novel.
but it is good, whatever it is...
the chapters connect in an almost random stream-of-consciousness flow, where a word mentioned at the end of one chapter wil...more
At first glance, you could easily mistake the book for a collection of unrelated stories. A better way of looking at Snowball, Dragonfly, Jew is to view it as a collage of stained glass segments; breathtaking in themselves, but when fitted together the mosaic becomes something greater than the sum of its parts.
It all starts with a dream (recurring? One can imagine the protagonist replaying the scene over and over again in his mind) in which a much younger version of Ben has just witnessed his mo...more
It all starts with a dream (recurring? One can imagine the protagonist replaying the scene over and over again in his mind) in which a much younger version of Ben has just witnessed his mo...more
Rather than weep and tweet about the impending closing of Aqua Books in Winnipeg, I went shopping there while I still could. This was one of the treasures I found.
Review to follow assuming I ever get the thing done. Or even started. I can see having to edit it a bajillion times. I enjoyed this quick read immensely, but I don't know if I "get" it or even know what this new-to-me author wants me to get. I have close to a bajillion questions. Maybe this review will consist of my questions.
Like am...more
Review to follow assuming I ever get the thing done. Or even started. I can see having to edit it a bajillion times. I enjoyed this quick read immensely, but I don't know if I "get" it or even know what this new-to-me author wants me to get. I have close to a bajillion questions. Maybe this review will consist of my questions.
Like am...more
I struggled to write my own synopsis, because frankly, I haven't a clue what the book is about. It is a collection of chapters, snapshots of Ben's life. They aren't told in any particular order, and don't seem to have any overall theme. It seems to be a random mis-mash of scenes. Some of which don't even make any sense on their own, let alone taken as a whole with the others.
I gave a low rating, because I just didn't get it. Apparently I like my books to have a storyline, a plot, something to fo...more
I gave a low rating, because I just didn't get it. Apparently I like my books to have a storyline, a plot, something to fo...more
I originally posted this review on the website of ECW press, the book's publisher, but thought it would be of use here as well:
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That this is Stuart Ross' first novel after a history of writing short stories shows up very plainly in the text - the chapters are short, and for the most part, disconnected.
The book's heart is a memory unearthed (dreamed?) by Ben, the protagonist, about his mother assassinating a Neo-Nazi when he was a young boy. However, I say this because this is the incident that...more
--
That this is Stuart Ross' first novel after a history of writing short stories shows up very plainly in the text - the chapters are short, and for the most part, disconnected.
The book's heart is a memory unearthed (dreamed?) by Ben, the protagonist, about his mother assassinating a Neo-Nazi when he was a young boy. However, I say this because this is the incident that...more
I once wrote a novel about memory and it came out as a series of linked (and unlinked) short stories that tied together at the end. The editor promptly told me to turn it into a “proper” novel, with a dramatic arc, and a main story line enriched by sub plots, and to include all the trappings of fully rounded characters and a coherent theme and so on and on; and I meekly complied. In this short novel (novella, perhaps) Ross takes a “damn the torpedoes” approach to the novel form, throws out all t...more
Stuart Ross’s novel Snowball, Dragonfly, Jew is a moving, funny, insightful, and engaging novel, imbued throughout with a great depth of feeling and a richness of observation for a cultural milieu rarely recorded.
Readers of Ross’s previous fiction will delight in seeing his trademark wit and the absurd reframing of modern life in a resonant, emotional vivid, and humourous magic realism.
The novel is a bitter, sweet, wry, funny, sad novel about memory, grief, identity, hatred, discrimination, chi...more
My opinion, you ask? Hmmmmm. Best I can give you is nyeaaa - it was so-so. Truthfully, it was too disjointed with fragments of time and memory for me to piece the actual story together. Thankfully, it was short or it would have landed on my 'not completed' book shelf to boot. At it's end, I was ready to give it up and shelve it. But it did it for me all on it's own.
I won't completely pan it. When he was recollecting his thoughts and memories, there were times that he was very eloquent and his me...more
I won't completely pan it. When he was recollecting his thoughts and memories, there were times that he was very eloquent and his me...more
This highly original novel composed of brief vignettes, describes the narrator’s (Ben) memory of his mother avenging the murder of Polish Jews, by murdering neo-Nazi Rolf Kobe; his brother’s decent into insanity, his father’s cancer, and his own childhood bullying. The pieces are sad, often hilarious, and totally absorbing
This highly original novel composed of brief vignettes, describes the narrator’s (Ben) memory of his mother avenging the murder of Polish Jews, by murdering neo-Nazi Rolf Kobe; his brother’s decent into insanity, his father’s cancer, and his own childhood bullying. The pieces are sad, often hilarious, and totally absorbing
This novel by Stuart Ross was beautiful, extremely sad, and moving. The details were tangible to me - the milieu recognizable. Great to see his move into full-length novels, alongside the poetry and short stories.
Beautifully written chapters/short stories that link to unravel a mystery. The writing is really spare and stunning, but I wish the story telling was a bit more linear (and conclusive).
Just what it sounds like.
Fantastic.
A smart, hilarious, heartbreaking work executed with casual brilliance and relentless economy.
I loved this book. It brings to mind the statement " there are no answers only better questions."
Apr 30, 2013
Valentina Nwoke
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Stuart Ross published his first literary pamphlet on the photocopier in his dad’s office one night in 1979. Through the 1980s, he stood on Toronto’s Yonge Street wearing signs like “Writer Going To Hell: Buy My Books,” selling over 7,000 poetry and fiction chapbooks.
A tireless literary press activist, he is the co-founder of the Toronto Small Press Book Fair and now a founding member of the Meet
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Dec 09, 2011 07:09am
Dec 09, 2011 07:13am