Time as a Sort of Enemy

by Tyler Dempsey

"Referencing Green Day like Dempsey himself, this book is a walking contradiction in the best way: spare but full, clever but approachable, playful but emotionally resonant. Time as a Sort of Enemy will linger in your consciousness longer than any concept of time you might have."
—Claire Hopple, It’s Hard to Say

"Dempsey writes like characters are forcing their way out of him, exiting out of every orifice, hanging off of his eyelids and dangling from his nosehairs. He gets inside their heads while they climb out of his. And yet we only get glimpses, half thoughts, and brief moments in time rather than the full all-encompassing picture. Because if we were to get it all, every intricate detail floating behind the pages and stories of Time as a Sort of Enemy, we might collapse under all that weight."
—KKUURRTT, Good at Drugs

47 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2022

Reviews

[crowjonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here’s a phrase that came to mind while I read this tiny collection: Lonesome Horny West. Its breathless, borderline misuse of commas and dashes invites audible parsing, maybe somewhat like Gaddis’s J R (which I liked but never finished). The book has a nice cadence of reflective, punchy endings. I was extremely amused by the image of burglars stealing frozen hams.

[Tyler Dempsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn good, if you ask me.