DARIUS IN THE MEANTIME

by Devin O'Shea, Devin Liddell

"Looking at my eyes behind the black mask, I tell myself that I'm not too far away from being a criminal. Life is in the props and I have a mask and a gun. The right props can turn you from someone the world pushes around into someone who pushes around the world."

Meet Darius, an unlikely bank robber. Recently graduated from a Seattle university, he's just spent three days in a Parisian hospital recovering from pneumonia, and his lack of machismo has inspired his younger girlfriend to dump him. But now Darius' reality is in flux. He's on the run from his father's botched suicide attempt, a very boring job with an insurance company, and his lost sense of danger and potency. For Darius, waving a gun at a bank teller becomes a rejection of the life ahead of him, and, at the same time, an apology for the life behind him.

"Darius in the Meantime" chronicles a young man's trajectory immediately after college, charting the unexpected spaces between a graduation ceremony and a bank robbery-between cap and gown and balaclava and gun. At once comic and searing, "Darius in the Meantime" gives a clear voice to the tensions and contradictions every graduate faces.

150 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 2007

Reviews

[Tica Perri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of mine wrote this somewhat autobiographical novel. Its a coming of age story about Darius a young up and comer not ready to settle down to a mundane job in insurance. So he gets his hand on a gun which opens a place of danger in his life and leads to a myriad of experiences including a solo trip to Europe & space to come to terms with his past. I laughed & cried & cringed all the way through.

[J. Herman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, tightly written, honest and moving. The story tracks a guy named Darius who's just out of college, searching for a rite of passage and sorting through a painful past. It reminds me a little bit of Frederick Exley's "A Fan's Notes," though Darius doesn't sink to the same depths as Exley's character.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. Anyone who has had to leave the comfort of college and felt pushed into the adult world can identify with Darius.