(since February 08)

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duncan b. barlow

author profile

url

http://www.goodreads.com/profile/duncanbbarlow

gender

male

place of birth

Louisville, United States

website

http://www.duncanbarlow.net

genre

Literature & Fiction

influences

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about this author

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duncan b. barlow has had fiction published around the world. He was a touring musician for over 10 years, and released more than 20 records. He earned his MFA in Writing and Poetics from Naropa Unversity, and a Ph. D. in English from the University of Denver. He lives with his cat, Monkey, in Denver, Colorado, where he writes fiction, teaches writing, and plays in the band d. biddle.

books by duncan b. barlow

combine editions
avg rating: 4.25 | 8 ratings | 1 distinct work

Super Cell Anemia (Paperback)
by duncan b. barlow (goodreads author!)
avg rating 4.25 — 8 ratings — published 2008

my rating:

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, perform a search.

Duncan's recent updates (rss)

April 18

Duncan gave

to:
Creek Walk and Other Stories (Paperback)
by Molly Giles

my rating:

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February 28

Duncan gave

to:
Half Life: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Shelley Jackson

my rating:

recommended for: small crabs that scurry along the sea floor in search of their long lost facebook friends

Duncan said: "I've been spending my migraine filled days browsing through people's reviews of books and none struck me as much as the reviews for Shelley's book. I can see why so many people had trouble with this book when I look at the description from the publis...more I've been spending my migraine filled days browsing through people's reviews of books and none struck me as much as the reviews for Shelley's book. I can see why so many people had trouble with this book when I look at the description from the publisher. Jackson first gained popularity on the writing scene with her hypertext work. She followed this hype up with a stunning collection of short stories called the Melancholy of Anatomy (a title that plays on the work by Robert Burton called the Anatomy of Melancholy). As she worked on Half Life and some of her children's books, she began work on a project called "Skin," a story tattooed one word at a time on people around the world. This, although interesting because no one will ever know the entire story (lest all the words happen to meet in one place and miraculously fall into the correct order), seems to have become a problem for Jackson. It seems people only want to talk about "Skin." The novelty over shadowed the theory behind the piece. So, people, hearing the buzz about her "Skin" story, bought this novel and seemed to be disappointed. Big surprise. Jackson is not part of a side show freak exhibit. She is a dedicated artist, who tells tales that exist in a realm just beyond us. Yes, the characters use the same sinks, televisions, trains, and computers as us, but they somehow slip into a thin fabric of otherworldliness (an onion skin) where they experience complications and revelations that other characters can't see.

Half life is as much about conjoined twins as it is about curiosity museums in England. It's a book that examines the possibility of our other selves. It's about a world that thinks of itself as a better half and can't realize that it might not be the better half.

There are a few weak moments, I will agree. The word play in some of the notes doesn't seem to move the book along as much as I would have like to see, but that's a small complaint when one looks at the size of the book.

Jackson scared me for a moment when I thought the book was going to take a turn into the cliché "split personality" ending that seems to be so popular these days. However, she doesn't go there. She leads the reader right to the point where s/he thinks they have it all figured out and quickly dashes it all away.

Sure, if you're looking for Middlesex or a book on twins or another "Skin" this book is not going to do it for you. However, if you put expectations aside and let Jackson take you into the post nuclear world of a West that could have existed, you might just be thankful these words weren't tattooed on somebody in Idaho....less "

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February 26

Duncan added a quote:
"You're on Earth. There's no cure for that." — Samuel Beckett

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Duncan added a quote:
"'Can you understand,' asked my father, 'the deep meaning of that weakness, that passion for colored tissue, for papier-mache, for distemper, for oakum and sawdust? This is,' he continued with a pained smile, 'the proof of our love for matter as such, for its fluffiness or porosity, for its unique mystical consistency. Demiurge, that great master and artist, made matter invisible, made it disappear under the surface of life. We, on the contrary, love its creaking, its resistance, its clumsiness. We like to see behind each gesture, behind each move, its inertia, its heavy effort, its bearlike awkwardness.'" — Bruno Schulz

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Duncan added a quote:
"Now I can look at you in peace; I don't eat you any more." — Franz Kafka

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Duncan gave

to:
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana (Paperback)
by Umberto Eco, Geoffrey Brock, trans.

my rating:

read in February, 2008

Duncan said: "I've been working on a book about amnesia and I'm reading this book to make sure that it doesn't come close to what Eco has already explored. When writing about amnesiacs, it's difficult not to cross paths with other writers. This reads much differen...more "

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February 16

Duncan gave

to:
Better Ways of Being Dead (Paperback)
by Christian TeBordo

my rating:

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Duncan added:
It Came from Below the Belt (Paperback)
by Bradley Sands (Goodreads author!)

my rating:

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February 15

New comment on Bradley's review of The Tunnel: Selected Poems of Russell Edson

Duncan wrote: "I taught this book once at DU and it was humorous to see how different the response was between fict...more "

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see all 54 of Duncan's books »

Duncan's favorite quotes

"You're on Earth. There's no cure for that."
— Samuel Beckett

13 people liked it

"Now I can look at you in peace; I don't eat you any more."
— Franz Kafka

tags: -while, admiring, an, aquarium-, fish, in, vegetarianism

11 people liked it

"'Can you understand,' asked my father, 'the deep meaning of that weakness, that passion for colored tissue, for papier-mache, for distemper, for oakum and sawdust? This is,' he continued with a pained smile, 'the proof of our love for matter as such, for its fluffiness or porosity, for its unique mystical consistency. Demiurge, that great master and artist, made matter invisible, made it disappear under the surface of life. We, on the contrary, love its creaking, its resistance, its clumsiness. We like to see behind each gesture, behind each move, its inertia, its heavy effort, its bearlike awkwardness.'"
— Bruno Schulz (The Street of Crocodiles (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics))

3 people liked it

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