Customer Reviews

DAMAGED GOODS

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

 

 

I'll admit- I know him personally. I've petted his cats and flustered an ex-girlfriend of his on at least one occasion. I had to work hard to put aside all of this and judge the book by its content, not from what I know of the author.

Kind of reminded me of early Harlan Ellison. Good voice, good style- if he keeps up in a similar vein I can see Rob getting more of a name as a 'modern fantasist' or whatever label they use nowadays.

Damaged Goods is described by Callahan on the title page as "a collection of mostly short mostly stories". Some of the stories are funny like the opener Fruit Fly the Magician in which an apartment dweller is displaced by insects that take over his place. And then there's The Tarantula King -- a spooky tale of a young man who has some hairy friends with lots of legs.

But my favorite is a story of romance. Messed up romance, to be sure -- but it has some serious authenticity. SNAFU sums up the main character's idea about the relationship with the following two sentences:

I don't know if this constitutes true love. I don't even know if there is such a thing. I'll admit I don't know much about love, but I know what I like.

Callahan's many trips into the fantastic -- there are 16 stories in all -- are packed with extreme people or situations that illustrate truth. Or pain.

Or maybe, to paraphrase William Goldman: "Truth is pain. Anyone who says different is selling something." Callahan has something to sell here: he's got a voice and style that makes it clear that he's done some hard living but retains a sense of humor. And he wraps it all up in a tight writing style that is edgy and clear. (And remarkably free of cliche`.)

The dialogue rings true; I have a feeling that he has lifted some lines directly from people he's had actual conversations with. There's nothing wrong with that -- good writers do that all the time. SNAFU, especially, had a few lines that most of us have either heard or said at different times in our lives.

Damaged Goods is a very fun read. Rob Callahan does not waste words -- he brings us right to the good stuff right away. And whether the story is silly, or absurd or heartbreaking, there is a lot of good stuff in this collection. Give this book a try!

Over the course of my little life I have read more than my fair share of books. Some I have re-read, though most I have not. Some stories have stayed with me, though most have faded to the recesses of my mind long ago. That being said, 'Damaged Goods' was an incredible find by a fabulous up-and-coming author. If you have read his stories that you can find on-line, or even his personal blog, you will find mention to some of the stories contained within this collection. I feel it unnecessary to mention those particulars again, although they are quite good. The one story from this collection that I have not yet come across mention of is 'The Box'. I know the end of this story will keep me smiling many moons from now. Due to the fact that the other stories are written so well, and offer such variety, I know this will be a book that I will read again. And again. And so on and so forth. If you enjoy writing done right, this collection is worth owning.