Customer Reviews

Bleed into Me: A Book of Stories (Native Storiers: A Series of American Narratives)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

stephen jones, the author of three previous novels, THE FAST RED ROAD, ALL THE BEAUTIFUL SINNERS, and THE BIRD IS GONE as done it once again. time and time again jones manages to blow me away with his vision of the world around us. BLEED INTO ME is a collection of stories, some have been published previously while others this is their first time seeing print. nobody puts together scenes like stephen jones. nobody takes ordinary events and flips them on their head like he does. the characters that roam the pages of this collection are 'real' people, people we all know. to steal a line from another review that sums it up best, "Jones sees this world, its parallels between beauty and despair, grace and turmoil, and describes it with originality and stylistic flair. Jones's vision is unflinchingly peculiar. It's also a vision like no other.

(...)

This is a very strong collection of stories and an excellent place to start if you're new to Stephen Graham Jones. If you want to have a taste before taking the 15 dollar plunge, do what I did and type the author's name into that A9 Web Search box up top. Several of the short stories featured here can be sampled through various online publications, along with other little gems that could have just as easily fit into the book. You'll probably find yourself hooked before it even arrives in the mail.

Beautiful stuff, spanning topics both on and off the reservation -- mostly youthful indiscretions, mischief, inherited sins, getting the girl's attention, etc. with tragic consequences. Standout tales for me include "Carbon," "Filius Nervosus," and "Bile."

As with the best of his work, Jones asks the reader to participate attentively from the first line, as he jumps right into his stories like you're the last of your friends to get picked up in the van headed to the party (or hospital or hunting trip) while everyone else is already three beers down regaling you with snippets that get you up to speed mere seconds before the crash.

SGJ is one of my favorite authors, and if you haven't read his work yet, this is a great way to start. I can't remember EVER reading a story of his, and he is one of the most prolific writers I know, that has come close to letting me down. Great job Stephen.