Customer Reviews

Charity

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A wonderfull collection of stories from one of the most original voices in American literature. As soon as I finished reading it, I started it again. I was left wanting to see more of these tragic characters. Any of them could have filled their own novel, especially Cyphus and Samuel from "Tunga Tugga, Lingua Dingua." This is why I like short stories. Richard doesn't disappoint.

The first story Gentleman's Agreement and another story The Birds for Christmas alone are worth the price of this collection. Richard is working from a different place in a different light. As a former student of his, I can tell you that's he's the real deal. Even though his classes were sometimes run like a revival meeting, as he admits, there's something almost Biblical in these stories. Check it out.

Mark Richard's work may stand alongside the work of Larry Brown and Barry Hannah as great contemporary Southern literature, but CHARITY proves that Richard should stand next to Styron and Faulkner as one of this century's great American writers. This is an amazing collection that bridges a remarkable collections of emotions, attitudes, worlds...Read it.

Affecting, tough stories of hard luck cases told in a distinct prose that is challenging at first, but well worth the effort. Once you find his rhythm, you're hooked. Looking forward to reading his novel.

Brilliant, funny, unique, and twisted, Mark Richard's vision of the world is pure art. This book is a sheer pleasure to read, and the story "The Birds for Christmas" is a classic of the form.

Often embarassingly humorous, Richard's descriptions are as vivid as a flash photo. You can smell the stench. This is the type of book your mother would have enjoyed in the privacy of her own room and would have hid next to your father's skin magazines. "Fun at the Beach" was dark and dirty, and every story has "Independent Short" written all over them.

ICE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD is among the great short story collections of the modern south, along with those of Allan Gurganus, Pinckney Benedict, Lewis Nordan and Breece D. J. Pancake. He has become a sound footing in the foundation of THE OXFORD AMERICAN, and a pasionate,articulate,idiosyncratic,intelligent and reliably uproarious southern voice. Read ICE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD. Read the CHARITY collection, especially "Gentleman's Agreement" and "The Birds for Christmas." Read Richard's recent memoir in OXFORD AMERICAN (October,'98, probably), and savor and celebrate the coming of age of a genius.

Richard's deals with people on the outside of our experience, drunkards, murderers, unorthodox policemen, circus people. While his style is not stream of consciousness he often seems to hover on the edge of it. The long sentences (one of which is two pages long!) can sometimes make following the story difficult, but rich and original imagery balances this. The book is better the second time around for sure. My favorite story was Gentleman's Agreement, the first in the collection. Very touching, a story about fatherly love.

these stories are beautiful and sparse and amazing.
and mark richard is very, very COOL. i was lucky enough to be a student of his years ago and yeah. can i write a review of him? he's AMAZING. that little gimp is as good as this book.

Mark Richard is a would-be, a wanna-be, and a never will be. He's the Seth Morgan of the Iowa Writers Workshop. The definition of "literistic" is: nothing written from real experience, only faked to please the teachers of "Creative" Writing workshops. The Queen of this sort of garbage is Joyce Carol Oates. Ri-CHARD is giving it the good ole college try. Sure he's got talent, but talent is cheap. To cross genres here [and paraphrase Lester Bangs]: David Bowie had "talent," he could write good "songs," but did he ever write anything as good as "Woolly Bully"? Did any of Bowie's songs need to be sung? If I was a teacher I suppose I'd give Mark Richard an "A", but I'd never spend money on any of his books. [I did once.] It's all written to see himself in the mirror [and in others' regard] as the Author riding the perceived zeitgeist of his time. Not because any of it needed to be said. I give him two stars instead of one because he's better than Bradford Morrow or Ted Mooney, but that really ain't saying too much.