B. Horror: And Other Stories [Paperback]

Wendell Mayo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999

Taking a metaphor from the title story, Mayo is constantly concerned with what lies behind our seemingly humdrum and even frivolous lives: B horror, not even frivolous lives: B Horror, not even even high horror-is that what we're all about? Yes and no, for Mayo makes two other moves in this collection. The first uses a fine, stoic, sense of humor to permeate such stories as "Who Made You" and "Mortal Sins." The second elevates B Horror to grand tragedy when Mayo moves his final stories to Lithuania where World War II yet pervades the possibilities facing humans. Then Mayo brings it all back home in the final story, an odd sexual tryst between a presumably normal male and a quadriplegic female. In that story, reminiscent of Terence's claim that "nothing human is alien to me," Mayo points out that nothing there is really nothing alien to any human, after all. Mayo's metaphors and images are enhanced by a deceivingly simple prose that uses flatness to convey both humor and shock. As with the best of all riting, this work offers us the solace to continue.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Real life isn't real life," philosophizes a cook at a fast-food restaurant while observing the panorama of human existence unfolding over the otherwise predictable course of his shift. Indeed, the characters in these 12 quirky slice-of-life stories, set in a fun-house version of middle America, often find their personal lives reflected in the bizarre yet oddly apt circumstances of their jobs. In "Who Made You," a man realizes that his unemployment and indolence during a stifling summer heat wave are the coordinates of his self-created hell. An automobile factory worker in "Robert's Bride" discovers that his disaffection with his assembly-line job is mirrored in the strange mutations he observes in the appearance of a co-worker's fianc?e. In the title tale, an actor who dresses in drag to play the victim role in party reenactments of B-movie horror scenes finds himself screaming more believably at the cruel behavior of his audience than at the monster. "It wasn't the kind of scream I'd trained myself to make... it was a scream that came from within, a hellish scream, the kind of scream that shocks the screamer." Mayo's (Centaur of the North) gnomic parables showcase his facility for reading deeper meanings in the banal moments of ordinary life and the disposable artifacts of popular culture. Some are sketchy and too reminiscent of experiments inspired by writing-class assignments. The best piecesAmost notably, the poignant "Mary Magdalena Versus Godzilla," in which the narrator uses a monster mask to scare his younger sister because it's the only way he knows to connect with her emotionallyAshine with the professional polish of subtly wrought revelation. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

paper 0-942979-61-3 Top-drawer horror stories, by the author of Centaur of the North (1996), that distance themselves from the genre routine by depending largely on fantasy, fun, and a wonderfully supple prose style. This is grand writing conveyed in the simplest words without the faintest hint of pulp fiction, although much of the subject matter comes from pop culture. In the title story, B. is a kind of horror vaudevillian who entertains at high school parties and other social affairs by giving the guests a taste of famous film monsters in memorable scenes from their best pictures. Thus, garishly costumed as the Creature from the Black Lagoon, or a Teenage Werewolf, or Karloffs Frankenstein monster, he reenacts passages that have him violating a young girl, who is played by the narrator, a small-bodied young man who can shriek like Fay Wray or any other scream queen. The eponymous male protagonist of ``Robert's Bride'' works at the Oldsmobile factory, fastening emblems onto new cars, and is engaged to a beautician who faces endless reengineering (like an Olds) to bring her utterly dead beauty to its deepest polish. ``Woman Without Arms'' stars a poet who wears prostheses to write her poems or even to slip a stick of gum from a pack. She's so imbued with the metallic qualities of her arms that her very being, her mind and sexuality, shade off into metal. Another cant-miss tale is ``Mary Magdalena Versus Godzilla.'' Horror fans, do not pass this by. Others should note that this off-offbeat sheaf from a university press has strong literary worth. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 129 pages
• Publisher: Livingston Pr (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0942979613
• ISBN-13: 978-0942979619
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,492,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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