NEW MYTHOS

"The summer heat came. The eldest colonist swore he saw, while scything hay, a giant panther charging from the south. The panther had six eyes! And a tongue like a cat-o'-nine-tails! And had constellation markings on its fur! And spoke Basque! This was corroborated by others, although the language was debated. Fissures crept into the colony."
—page 194, "Home of the," Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead by Alan DeNiro

Finishing a good book is like finishing a good beer or a good steak. It feels good to complete it, to swallow it, and digest it. Then, it lingers a bit. It is present, even though it isn't. There is also a sadness in the completion, because once the moment has passed, it is difficult to remember what the moment felt like. It is absent, even though a shadow remains.

Alan DeNiro's Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead is a great book, as I stated earlier. This collection of short stories carves out a new mythos in the same way that Karen Russell's collection St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves recently did. Both are smart, witty, serious, funny collections that draw upon the ancient, the modern, and the postmodern to speak about who we are. Alan DeNiro obviously loves to read. He also obviously loves to write. He has the eye of a great prose writer, the ear of a poet, and the heart of one who lives life fully—research, observation, and rhythm are his strong suits.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I finished it a few days ago and stories are still haunting me. They linger. They tease. They cajole. I have had to return to a few stories to reread passages.

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If you would like to read a couple of stories from the book, there is a "fun size" edition on Alan DeNiro's website. You can read the "fun size" edition here...

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The just completed second half of the book includes the following stories:

*"The Caliber"—A high school senior has her own FBI agent, who follows her everywhere, for her own protection, of course. Her uncle is the leader of a cult. He contacts her through postcards. The FBI is trying to nab him through her.

*"The Excavation"—Archaeological digs in a relationship. Layers and layers and layers.

*"A Keeper"—A tale about art and power and tyranny and freedom. It all takes place in Brasilia under the monarchy of King Juan Juan.

*"Fuming Woman"—Circus meets riotous mob.

*"The Friendly Giants"—Xenophobia, voyeurism, the excitement of the new in the midst of the banal, time, geography, transgressions, and a car that is/that is driven by Death. What more could you ask for?

*"Quiver"—A modern-day "Robin Hood" robs a convenience store with a crossbow. One of the bolts he fires trims a lock of hair from the protagonist. She is determined to find him and discover the truth. She is going to be unhappy with what she finds.

*"Child Assassin"—Is it possible to balance work and family? Is it possible to survive mergers and acquisitions amongst the competition of the market?

*"The Exchanges"—This is a brief tale about how "flexible" our identities are. To tell you the truth, this story kind of "creeped me out."

*"Salting the Map"—Casey is finding out that his new job is not quite what he expected. "Of course, right out of college, he hadn't expected much with a quasi-useless degree in English." (page 161) But, it's not the work that is the problem—although that is a problem on some level—but what Casey is doing with the work.

*"Home of the"—A complex tale of chess and Wal-marts and Cathars in Erie, which weaves together pre-colonial and post-apocalyptic America. This is my new favorite story of the collection. It has short and clipped sentences peppered amongst longer sentences that hold them together, barely. The rhythm seduces as much as the tale itself.