Tuesday 16 April 2013

GERARD BRENNAN - OTHER STORIES AND NOTHING BUT TIME (2012)


Product description....

A 10,000-word short story collection by one of the hottest new writers in Northern Ireland.

“Gerard Brennan is a master of gritty violence.” - Colin Bateman

BOUNCER first appeared in Verbal Magazine, a literary publication based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It’s the tale of a bouncer who can’t figure out how to relate to his gay son and how if affects his increasingly violent behaviour on the door.

HARD ROCK was published online at ThugLit and again in The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime, volume 8. A rude rock and roll romp that gets sick fast. Narrated by a second rate rock star that dives in way too deep with an adventurous groupie.

NOTHING BUT TIME was first published at Tony Black’s Pulp Pusher website. The terrified narrator tries to work his way up the prison hierarchy in a bid to make it through his stint without getting shanked.

DAY-TRIPPING is a brand new story, never before published. The oddest couple since The Odd Couple do breakfast with a difference. Can stoner Mattie convince straight-laced James that it’s a good idea to experiment with psychedelics on a Tuesday morning?

SWING is also a brand new, previously unpublished story. Conor (AKA Swinger) knows better than most just how cruel kids can be. His parents cause him grief when word gets out that they’re swingers. Conor quickly discovers who his real friends are when the fists start flying in the schoolyard

I dipped into this short, short story collection when I needed some brief respite from another book I was reading at the time.

I’m probably not the world’s greatest fan of short stories to be truthful. I kind of get irritated after a while. Invariably there’s one or two at a minimum within an anthology that I just don’t enjoy. I’ll read about a character or situation that isn’t working for me, when I’ve just left behind another character that I wanted to know more about.

Four out of the five here were really enjoyable for me, one less so. Pick of the bunch was Bouncer – an astute observation on the difficulties families have accepting and loving each other unconditionally, irrespective of our choices.

On that basis and with an 80% pass mark,

4 from 5

I obtained my copy of the collection from the author. 

4 comments:

  1. Col - Glad you found some stories here to enjoy. For me, short stories really can be a nice alternative to novels. Like you I dip into them between longer stories.

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    1. Margot, thanks. Yes, I certainly felt the need to dip on this occasion.

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  2. Reading short stories is not my thing either, Col. If I like them, then I want them to be longer. I do have a few collections I want to try sometime, though.

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  3. If I try to read a single author's shorts cover to cover, my interest wanes, with anthologies less so because I'm hearing different voices. This one was only 5 stories long, so was just about right.

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