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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
Loved this. I found it to be a mix between Don Carpenter and Denis Johnson/ Leonard Gardner.
It's hard to adequately sum up my feelings for this one. A few stories in this collection are among my favorites (the titular story, "The Black Lights," "The White Horse"), then there are some just decent stories, as well as a few stinkers. Jones was a writer who, like a good boxer, found his winning combo and stuck to it. Temporal lobe damage, boxing, sex, Vietnam, those were his trademarks. Sometimes that stuff works better, and sometimes it feels like late additions to stories that really wouldn't be changed by their inclusion.
Still, when he's on, he's brilliant. The best stories in this collection really sing.
Still, when he's on, he's brilliant. The best stories in this collection really sing.
a high-momentum collection of short stories, the best of which are about war and fighting. Jones has a sensitivity that separates him from the Hemingways and Bukowskis of the world, and I’ll be reading more of him soon
Reading this at the conclusion of 2020 was not good for me. Great book, amazing writer, but not a happy read. Sucked all hope from me... in the best way?? Maybe?
A lot of reviews call this collection “manly” and make comparisons to Hemingway, Bukowski, et al., but these felt much more sensitive and cerebral than all those. The boxing and war stuff seems to me more like the latent content Jones himself had to work with, but his treatment of this subjects is by no means in-line with the typical Papa Hemingway posturing some reviews lead one to believe.
I think reading a bit about Thom Jones himself helped contextualize some of these stories.
I think reading a bit about Thom Jones himself helped contextualize some of these stories.
A pretty solid collection suffering from repetitive story elements. Thom gets vulnerable, his prose is absorbing and snappy, his story subjects vary but his characters always pulse with a quiet resilience.
Once-boxers, The Doors, dead fathers (usually by suicide, usually in a mental institution), harried Nam vets, copious references to Nietzsche/Schopenhauer - nearly every story in the collection contains these elements, to the point where some of the shorts felt like inferior versions of others. When Thom clusters three Vietnam stories in the opening of the collection, it's inevitable that I'm going to analyze them in relation to one another - what are they doing differently, what are they doing better?
There are some stories in here that meandered in magical, serendipitous ways (I Want to Live!, A White Horse), and others which spiralled tragically (Unchain My Heart, Mosquitoes, Wipeout). And then, the relative duds. None of Thom's writing is boring, but it's hard to feel much when he leans into his shtick and refuses to budge. All the war stories, 'As of July 6th...', even Rocket Man, to an extent - they felt unsurprising, sitting next to stories which utilized similar themes to greater effect.
Once-boxers, The Doors, dead fathers (usually by suicide, usually in a mental institution), harried Nam vets, copious references to Nietzsche/Schopenhauer - nearly every story in the collection contains these elements, to the point where some of the shorts felt like inferior versions of others. When Thom clusters three Vietnam stories in the opening of the collection, it's inevitable that I'm going to analyze them in relation to one another - what are they doing differently, what are they doing better?
There are some stories in here that meandered in magical, serendipitous ways (I Want to Live!, A White Horse), and others which spiralled tragically (Unchain My Heart, Mosquitoes, Wipeout). And then, the relative duds. None of Thom's writing is boring, but it's hard to feel much when he leans into his shtick and refuses to budge. All the war stories, 'As of July 6th...', even Rocket Man, to an extent - they felt unsurprising, sitting next to stories which utilized similar themes to greater effect.
The short stories in this collection seem to all center around two types of characters--the egocentric opportunist (Part II), or the tragically screwed good person (the rest of the collection). The author incorporates several recurring themes in his stories (many of which draw on his own experiences), namely boxing, the military, epilepsy, quirky nicknames, famous songs, and a love for literature/philosophy.
A testament to his good writing is that I found myself enjoying the stories even when the subject matter wasn't interesting to me (or when the characters were detestable).
A testament to his good writing is that I found myself enjoying the stories even when the subject matter wasn't interesting to me (or when the characters were detestable).
The human condition in dim lighting. You can't fault this greatness.
some excellent stories...Would go 4.5 stars if possible