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Occasional Demons
The author's writing encompasses a number of voices in changing situations, revealing elements of the human condition which are sometimes dark and disturbing. This collection comprises 16 short stories, including The Practicality of Magnolia and Drowning in the Shallows.
184 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2000
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November 7, 2011
2.5 stars.
I've never written a book review before where I knew the author in real life. In the case of Occasional Demons, the author Raymond Soltysek was one of my university tutors from a few years back. Therefore, I went into this collection of short stories with trepidation - what would I do if I didn't like it? Could I really give something a potentially bad review that was written by someone I knew, and did I have the authority to do so? Well, the answer of course is that it shouldn't really matter either way. I feel you should always be able to critically appraise a text, whether you are a writer or not, because at the end of the day the majority of writers write to entertain an audience. And of course on this occasion, I am the audience. So here I go, with an honest review.
I struggled with the stories contained in Occasional Demons at the best of times. Not due to the way they were written, that was fairly simple, but due to the subject matter and language of many of the stories. Soltysek does not shy away from using copious amounts of swear words, and describing sexual acts in varying degrees of detail. He is also not afraid to depict violence. His topics of choice are often taboo, often seedy, and often troubling. For these various reasons, there were a fair few stories in this collection that I did not enjoy. Coming from someone who has read and loved American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, this left me feeling confused, and I can only assume that the reason the stories left me a little cold was due to the fact that I personally knew the writer. There is just something about these particular subjects that I tend to shy away from discussing with people I know, and this was a barrier for me.
Some of the stories I enjoyed quite a lot, in particular 'Hard Cheese, Soft Cheese', 'Unto Myself', 'Neighbourly', and my favourite of the collection 'Knowing What to Say'. The latter story in particular impressed me, as Soltysek wrote from a female perspective, depicting a woman during a teaching job interview suffering the flashbacks and aftermath of an abortion. I was surprised at how well Soltysek put himself in female shoes in this story, and loved the to-and-fro between her present state, and previous events. However, unfortunately during another story Fish In the Sea, this did not work quite as well, as I was unaware the narrator was a female until it was overtly stated. I was a little confused as to how the author could portray an opposite sex narrative so well at one point, and not get it at all at the next.
Unfortunately, I did not really enjoy this collection of short stories overall. There were too many stories that I felt ambivalent towards, and a couple that I overtly disliked. There is not doubt that Soltysek has talent as a writer, as I have previously shown, and there were some very interesting ideas within this book. I decided to eventually give it a 2.5 star rating, bordering between 'okay' and 'good', as although there were some high points in the collection, I didn't enjoy it enough to give it 3 stars, and won't be picking it up again.
I've never written a book review before where I knew the author in real life. In the case of Occasional Demons, the author Raymond Soltysek was one of my university tutors from a few years back. Therefore, I went into this collection of short stories with trepidation - what would I do if I didn't like it? Could I really give something a potentially bad review that was written by someone I knew, and did I have the authority to do so? Well, the answer of course is that it shouldn't really matter either way. I feel you should always be able to critically appraise a text, whether you are a writer or not, because at the end of the day the majority of writers write to entertain an audience. And of course on this occasion, I am the audience. So here I go, with an honest review.
I struggled with the stories contained in Occasional Demons at the best of times. Not due to the way they were written, that was fairly simple, but due to the subject matter and language of many of the stories. Soltysek does not shy away from using copious amounts of swear words, and describing sexual acts in varying degrees of detail. He is also not afraid to depict violence. His topics of choice are often taboo, often seedy, and often troubling. For these various reasons, there were a fair few stories in this collection that I did not enjoy. Coming from someone who has read and loved American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, this left me feeling confused, and I can only assume that the reason the stories left me a little cold was due to the fact that I personally knew the writer. There is just something about these particular subjects that I tend to shy away from discussing with people I know, and this was a barrier for me.
Some of the stories I enjoyed quite a lot, in particular 'Hard Cheese, Soft Cheese', 'Unto Myself', 'Neighbourly', and my favourite of the collection 'Knowing What to Say'. The latter story in particular impressed me, as Soltysek wrote from a female perspective, depicting a woman during a teaching job interview suffering the flashbacks and aftermath of an abortion. I was surprised at how well Soltysek put himself in female shoes in this story, and loved the to-and-fro between her present state, and previous events. However, unfortunately during another story Fish In the Sea, this did not work quite as well, as I was unaware the narrator was a female until it was overtly stated. I was a little confused as to how the author could portray an opposite sex narrative so well at one point, and not get it at all at the next.
Unfortunately, I did not really enjoy this collection of short stories overall. There were too many stories that I felt ambivalent towards, and a couple that I overtly disliked. There is not doubt that Soltysek has talent as a writer, as I have previously shown, and there were some very interesting ideas within this book. I decided to eventually give it a 2.5 star rating, bordering between 'okay' and 'good', as although there were some high points in the collection, I didn't enjoy it enough to give it 3 stars, and won't be picking it up again.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review