Early Onset of Night, Volume One

by Michael Kindt

Early Onset of Night, Volume One is a collection of 21 stories by author Michael Kindt. Shining through this book is a sense of playfulness and absurdity that sets it apart from anything you've ever read before. Dark, twisted, hilarious, and sad, Early Onset of Night sets the tone for the 21st Century.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2010

About the author

I am a writer living in South Dakota. I have written my whole life, but only seriously these last few years. Giving up conventional notions of career and success, I changed my life and plunged full-time into the world of the starving artist. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. I have had several stories, articles, and poems published, most recently on the Huffington Post, via Tumblr (“Mechanically Separated Chicken,” a short work of sarcasm that was widely misinterpreted and controversial). I have also been published in College Times, Midwest Lit Review, and had a poem included in an anthology called “It’s Dark & Scary In Here.” My writing has been compared to Elmore Leonard, Augusten Burroughs, and David Sedaris, but I don’t know what that means since I have never read any of them. It has also been called “uniquely fucked up” and I know exactly what that means. You will, too.

Reviews

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greatly enjoyed Kindt's absurdist/surrealist approach to writing in this. His playfulness, even goofiness will not be for everyone. Sadly, most people take writing far too seriously. Kindt turns this on its head and writes everything with a sort of wink and nudge, even in the creepier tales.

Early Onset of Night, Vol. 1 is a collection of short stories that range from madcap comedy to sci-fi dystopianism (more on that in a minute) to outright horror. Kindt's approach to writing is an act of rebellion, and I think most will miss that about it. He goes against the grain in just about every way in the short story format, developing stories in odd directions (or not at all) and creating characters that tend to be twisted or amoral and who grow (or "develop" in modern lit lingo) in odd arcs, if at all.

My favorite in this collection, I think, is The All-Mighty Three-Legged Race to The Boot Extractor, a story set in a not too distant future of apparent fascism. It is one of the most bizarre and disturbing things I've ever read. I loved it and also will never read it again.

At bottom, I feel Kindt is an absurdist with a very big macabre streak and as such he will probably never play well to a mass audience used to more traditional fare. That's ok, though. He deserves to be wider known, certainly. He deserves to find his audience because he has found his voice.

I came across Kindt when friend on Facebook posted a link to a satirical article he wrote and I have been hooked ever since. There is an Early Onset of Night, Vol. 2, but I don't see it here on Goodreads. I haven't read it, but have it coming in the mail as I type.

I give this book a solid 4 and a half stars.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not like Goodreads "star rating" system since it does not allow half-stars. I thought this work was between two and three stars (thus, two-and-a-half stars). At times the stories were just plain goofy, other times I found myself laughing out loud.

Michael's website (http://early-onset-of-night.tumblr.com/) is much funnier than this book, but hey, that's a web site and this is a book - two different things. How astute on my part, ha!

My favorite story in this work was Four Twenty. A gut laughing hilarious piece of work that I could completely relate to (as for the retail part of the story).

Michael is a funny guy, I enjoyed the book, it was quite entertaining. At times it borders on absurd and sometimes down-right silly, but it was a fun read, none-the-less. If you like dry humor, you'll like this book. The thing I like best about this book is that it is not "typical." It is very much out of the ordinary. Kudos for that!

[Donovan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early Onset of Night, Volume One was an interesting collection of short stories written by Michael Kindt. Reviewing this will be somewhat difficult as this book is unlike what I usually read. Some of the stories were interesting, but the overwhelming majority of them seemed to be gratuitous sex and drugs, such as “Cold Dead Hands”. There was no real flow to them and most of the stories left me completely confused as there wasn’t a fully developed plot line to them, like “High Carb Diet.” I didn’t understand what the purpose of each story was, although you could tell that some of them had small life lessons to teach, which I liked. My favorite story was “Four Twenty,” although I feel like that’s what the author expected. This one had the most solid plot line and successfully influenced my emotions. I think some of the stories, even though they truly kept to the classification of “short story,” could have used some more development in order to make more sense, otherwise I became disinterested in what I was reading. While this book did not necessarily appeal to me because of the content, I do think this book would be a great read for those who are interested in a dark, open-ended sense of humor and that play with sexual and drug-related material.

[J.j. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful little book. Came across the author's political humor, which I love, so picked this up. I wasn't sure what to think at first. The author uses a very non-traditional approach, in both the writing and structure of the stories. It's quite unusual to say the least.

If you are interested in traditional story-telling, this book probably won't be for you. The author leaves much to the reader's imagination. Once I got into the book and the author's head, I felt I was "getting it." It's sort of hard to explain, like trying to explain a Seinfeld episode or something.

About the actual stories themselves, there is a sort gleeful amoralism running through them all, but I think that's the point. The twist to the macabre in some of them is pretty striking also. It's pretty anti-authoriarian and deals with fringe topics and fringe people, and the author writes about them in a fringe way.

I was surprised at how many different emotions I felt, from being creeped out, to grossed out, to sad, to laughing out loud. I recommend it for anyone interested in a non-traditional style of writing. I also recommend it for others, but know what you're getting into. This is not a normal book.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

I REALLY wanted to like this book. I've come across Michael Kindt's non-fiction writing online and followed his blog a bit; there is no doubt that he is a gifted writer with a unique slant on things and a wonderfully wry sense of humor.

These stories, sadly, did not pack the power of his non-fiction offerings. Many of the ideas were intriguing and inventive, and the stories do develop in enjoyably oddball fashion.

Yet there was an unmistakably half-baked aspect to all of them, such that the good premises were wasted and the curious ones seemed hackneyed in an EC Comics sort of way. I was surprised - and disappointed - that every single story felt like little more than a first draft.

The good news, perhaps, lies in the second half of the book's title, "Volume One". Here's hoping there is more where this came from, but with increased focus and discipline.

[Jamie Fenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally read experimental stuff and that's certainly what these stories are. I quite enjoyed the dark, absurd humor, though. It's all pretty satirical. Not for the faint of heart as the book has pretty graphic sex in one part and references to drugs and alcohol throughout. It's also pretty violent. Though they're short stories, they're not traditional or regular ones. Some of them are more like episodes or prose poems. A very interesting read overall, but not for children or little old ladies. I give it four stars for making me laugh out loud at times and for creeping me out at others.

[Buzzing Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a hilarious, sad, twisted book that I thought was great. Never read anything like it. Truly, a unique experience.