Customer Reviews

The Lexical Funk

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll be short and sweet ... like this book. Lexical Funk is smart. Damn smart. The kind of smart that thinks of the answer before it knows the question. The kind of smart that thinks twice about four things at once. The kind of smart that already knows how this sentence is going to end. This book was smart enough to make me want to eat its brains. Did this book smart? A little. Applied some bactine and moved on. Is this book book smart? Or is it street smart? Would that be Main Street, Wall Street, or Mean Street? If you look at the word "street" for too long, does it start to look misspelled? What about the word "misspelled"? Where was I? Apparently caught in a web of words, much like Lexical Funk. What can I say, I got my funk on. You know what I'm talkin' `bout. The groove, the jam, the jelly, the preserves that preserve your taste for pomo lit. Hah! Tastify my friends, hallelu-yum. (Call back to the "sweet" in "short and....) Hah, hit me two time, hee-yah! Lay down that funky muzak, white boy, and read this postmod litter-a-chère. Postmod, pre-ascot, tight pants, bold prints. (Memo to self: Refer to last sentence for main character of my next novel.) This book is short in stories but tall in tales. Tones on Tail? Sorry, I turned tail on a Bauhausian tangent there.

Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this surprisingly insightful collection. The end.

I traded books with the author on Goodreads. I never really know what to expect when I do this. The best one can hope for is to end up with a book that is readable.

Lexical Funk: A Triumph of Words goes beyond being readable and lands in the realm of entertaining. It's a short story collection and the stories vary in style from anecdotal to confession to silly. This is probably where my main criticism lies. I'm a big fan of flash fiction, but some of the stories in this collection seem to serve no purpose at all, and I could only think that they were there to augment the page count.

Some of the longer stories, however, worked very well, and these are things I would happily read more of. There is a touch of humor in most of the stories, albeit sometimes a sad type of humor, meaning, while one is able to understand the humor, one also understands the depression from which that humor grows. For instance, even the subtitle, "A Triumph of Words," is sort of a bombastic proclamation of the author's genius. But I think this is all tongue-in-cheek, borne out of the frustration of being a struggling writer, rather than any sort of genuine egomania. This frustration is captured nicely in the 3-page story/introduction, "A Lexical Introduction at 21--Confessions of a Burnt-out College Student." One of the most fleshed-out stories is called "Those Who Imitate" about androids who want to be humans or maybe humans who want to be androids. "A Necrophiliac's Love Story" is another well-written one. Probably my favorite story in the collection is the emotional and self-flagellating "Angela Killed Herself" about a guy who still blames himself for the suicide of his ex-girlfriend.

This collection could have been a lot stronger if Clausen had exercised more self-editing but, again, that is also part of the appeal of the book. There is a certain genuine quality to it that might have been lost if some of the things that typically make me cringe had been taken out. It's like a musician who's used to making home recordings. Sometimes this rugged quality shines a light on the music that just isn't there in a studio setting. If you're a reader who finds this kind of thing annoying, then this probably isn't the book for you. But if you're looking for a relatively short read of a good writer who shows great promise, or you are yourself a writer who wants to relive what it was like to write in your early- to mid-twenties, you might get something out of this.

Daniel Clausen definitely has a winner with his collection of short stories, The Lexical Funk. With just the right amount of humor and emotion, these stories examine unique characters and situations that will tickle your funny bone and break your heart all at once. Clausen has a frank but intelligent style that gives the stories a conversational feel, as though you're listening to a bar buddy with an English degree tell you about the woes of a friend of a friend, and it's splendid.

In addition to the stories, there are short Lexical Interludes that often break the fourth wall, addressing the reader and referring to the book itself, giving the whole work a nice meta touch.

Definitely pick up this book if you're looking for engaging and intriguing stories that will stick with you long after you've read them. My personal favorite was the bizarre "The Spectacular Adventures of Dictionary Salesmen", which is just as fantastic as its title would have you believe. This is not one to be missed!

I only had the opportunity to read the short version of this book, and I must say that Clausen has a way with words. Although the short stories are very unorthodox and seemingly have no connection to one another, he intertwines them with superb wordage. It was easy to get lost among the beautiful forms of alliteration. Although the plots of the stories were not exactly my cup of tea, I often found myself smiling at the clever use of words. This book is great for people with an appreciation of language and unusual plot-lines.

He really has a great vocabulary. He is a very intellgent writer. I wish I knew how to work my kindle dictionary for this book. If you like clever short stories or writings with big words this book is for you. or if you just want to increase your vocabulary words usage. It was too smart for me at this time. took to much work for me. was good writer though

At times goofy and at other times irreverent, this collection of short stories has a couple of bright spots I would love to see expanded into books, namely the morgue worker in love with the dead guy, and the robot trying to act human. A fun change of pace from most books, the stories are a glimpse into the darker side of the author.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 [...] : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

I received the `Lexical Funk' by Daniel Clausen, through the Member Giveaway Program here on xxxxxxx. Reviewers are not persuaded or suggested to give a positive or negative review of the books we receive to review, but to write exactly what we think of the book. This book was a short version, only 48 pages of short stories.. I found the stories to be a little different, but with a very high intellectual quality to them that sometimes "I" just didn't get. People with more of an open mind would love these stories, as I am more of the type of person who likes the conventional novel; fiction or non-fiction. This book, for me, is a far stretch from what I am used to reading, but this is `me', as I said above. The more I reflect on these stories, the more they grow on me. I see this book doing VERY WELL with people who like short stories, and ones that have some dry humor to them, yet some stories are not so dry and are laugh out loud! I LOVED the `Mr. Brown Still Lives There'. It had me roaring because when the author wrote he was an English teacher that was exactly what I was imagining! I have a friend who fits this description to a "T"!!! He works in the English Department at a University teaching English! He pretty much does the same things this character does, and says the same things this character does in the story, especially when asked why he became an English Teacher. I could NOT stop laughing at that one! That story I could relate to! I can see people who have some very high stress/long hour jobs picking this book up while sipping on a nice glass of wine, to get some long needed comic relief! I read some of the stories out loud to my husband, and he got a little chuckle out of them with a smile on his face. Perhaps these stories are geared more towards male thinking? However, perhaps if the author provided a few more short stories in this sampling would have given me a little better perspective before I state this book is geared more for male thinking, so I don't want to say that and have it written in stone. I have to say this again, that the more I reflect on these stories, the more they grow on me. This book has the opportunity to go FAR! I would definitely suggest it to some friends!
Laurie Carlson

I'd like to thank Daniel Clausen for sending me a copy of "The Lexical Funk" to read and review. (This review refers to "the Cool Cover" edition.)


This is the first book of short stories I've reviewed. I wasn't quite sure what to expect past the description--I almost assumed it would be a less-dry version of the British hit "Eat, Shoots & Leaves". I was quite terribly mistaken. It was so much more enjoyable than that (which is saying a lot coming from an English major).

Clausen takes the English language, and in this book of short stories--ranging in length from 2 pages to more--he creates a mixtape of words. From the angst-filled "Sages and Scarecrows", to the 50's Sci-Fi throwback "Starlight Terror and the Cappucino Machine" (my favorite) and the jazzy rap of "The Lexical Funk" I was carried along for the ride. I wasn't sure where I would wind up next, but somehow it all fit together.

I have to admit there were some stories that I didn't quite get. I felt akin to the time I took the AP English exam and had to analyze a poem. In otherwords: I am too dumb to understand this fine piece of literary work. But no matter. The interesting and mostly hysterical interludes between stories made me feel better and kept my interest throughout. (Just like die-hard credit watchers, read everything, including the oft-overlooked copyright page.)

This book would be best suited for older High school through adult due to language and adult situations.

I look forward to reading more by Clausen, and definitely recommend this book.

The Lexical Funk is a strange, but enjoyable little book. I particularly enjoyed Clausen's interludes and his sense of humour - "Warning: Alcohol may impair your ability to operate this book.
...or it may not." (p. 43)

The stories in this collection are quirky and engaging. Even though the subject matter of the stories varies greatly, there is a cohesion of style and organization throughout the collection. I never quite knew what to expect as I read, but was pleasantly surprised by Clausen's inventiveness.

Besides being interesting and creative,the appeal of The Lexical Funk was that the author comes off as an ordinary human being who happens to enjoy writing. Some of the stories are serious and sad but are balanced with the comic relief of the interludes. I think some of the best art comes from an author's ability to laugh at himself (or herself). Without Clausen's sense of humour the interludes could have become intrusive bits of navel- gazing. Thankfully, they are funny as hell and just add to the whole collection.

Hopefully, Clausen will write another book instead of running off to join the Peace Corps and save the world.

(See pages 87 and 88);D

In the Lexical Funk, Daniel Clausen gives the humorous short story the old college try, and comes up shining. In almost an ode to Brain Droppings and others timeless comedic publications, these stories are mesmerizing, highly descriptive, and very entertaining. There's the disturbing (A Necrophiliac's Love Story), the confusing (Murder in New York), or the outright outrageous (Rich Jacobs Searches for the Meaning of Life). Daniel's storytelling is so fresh and inviting that, by the time I had reached the third story, I realized that I wouldn't be putting this book down until there were no more pages left to slither the bookmark between. I hope that one day Daniel can complete his Vanilla Ice Challenge, and with our help his dream can come true.