Spider Pie [Paperback]

Alyssa Sturgill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2005

Recipe for Spider Pie: blend 2 cups of dark humor with a healthy dash of oddity, add a pinch of ground freak's ear and 2 tsp of secret desires. Bake until your neighbors start complaning about the smell. In her debut book Alyssa Sturgill firmly establishes herself as the enfant terrible of contemporary surrealism. Laden with gothic horror sensibilities, Spider Pie is a one-way trip down a rabbit hole inhabited by sexual deviants and friendly monsters, fairytale beginnings and hideous endings.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"These stories will bitchslap your sensibilities and molest your pets. Each macabre absurdity is better than the last. I laughed, I winced, I bled spontaneously from every orifice. With Spider Pie, Alyssa Sturgill firmly establishes herself as the new deviant demoness on the block." —Craig Sernotti, editor Crown of Bones

About the Author

Alyssa Sturgill's work has been featured in many unusual and bizarre publications. She is the co-editor of Bloodcookies Webzine, DJ of its MP3 radio counterpart Bloodcookie Radio, and author of its movie review column, Cinemasochism. She is deeply and psychotically obsessed with obscure cult and horror flicks, and has several rather mind-wrenchingly unpleasant screenplays in the works.

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Raw Dog Screaming Press; Pbk. Ed edition (May 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933293055
• ISBN-13: 978-1933293059
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,190,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Death of a UPS Man, September 19, 2005

By 

Spock (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider Pie (Paperback)

I would have given this 4.5 stars if it were possible, but that isn't an option and I feel Spider Pie is closer to 4 stars than 5.

Anyways, this reminds me a lot of the stuff I've read by Carlton Mellick III, but seems to have condensed all the strangeness of his novels/novellas into short stories.

After reading this in August (it's now September), "Death of a UPS Man" stands out most vividly in my mind. I can only hope that a longer, more in depth version is someday written in which we are told more about the UPS man as he's handcuffed to the door. But maybe my love for this story has to do with the joy I sometimes get from checking the mail.

A few of the stories here weren't quite to my taste, "I Wear Black to Mourn Myself," for example, but nothing ever drags and not once did I grow even remotely bored. I might also add that this book is full of hilarious moments.

Bizarre and inspiring.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Danny Elfman were a restauranteur..., July 27, 2005

By 

Michael Smith - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spider Pie (Paperback)

...I'm quite sure he would demand that Spider Pie be added to the menu. The vignettes within are grandiose fragments of surrealism and absurdity; the characters she creates appear to be multi-dimensional without ever having to drown them or the plot in background/history; she provides us with an adequate character sketch and she moves forward, successully weaving her wonderful webs (no pun intended). These tales have this magical ability to create within the reader a kind of poignant delight that commands attention, meaning, you are compelled by the 'what will happen next?' factor.
Capable of invoking laughter, eye-widening, laughter, consumer and cultural awareness, sympathy, laughter...Alyssa is the ringleader of a 24 ring circus.

At times satiric, at times grotesque, at times animated, at times poetic, there's not a bad apple in the bunch; the content is the very definition of surreal...

You ask: "How 'bout an example?"

Hmm...how 'bout:
"After closing the arm for a month of repairs as a result of the incident, Simian decided never to rent himself out again. Instead, when the extensive renovations were complete, he decided to enjoy the fruits of his own labor, and moved into himself." (from No.5 Simian Place)

You say unto me: "What...the...f---?"

I say unto you: "You simply HAVE to read for yourself."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As Bizarre as Bizarro gets, October 26, 2006

By 

Dennis Duncan (Greenfield, Tennessee United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider Pie (Paperback)

A woman gives birth to a litter of kittens. Another woman finds out that she is pregnant and about to give birth to a television. A man sells bags of hair on the black market. A man installs a zipper into his arm for drug use. A serial killer likes to prey on albinos. Bunny aliens plan to invade earth. All of these things take place in Spider Pie. A short story collection from the genre of Irrealism or as most people refer to it as Bizarro. Alyssa Sturgill has written a collection of short stories that cant be defined.

Reading Spider Pie is like having the most bizarre dream you could imagine, or having a acid trip from hell. That is the only way I can describe this book. I have read a lot of different Bizarro stories but this one takes the cake. Spider Pie is on a level all its on and I loved every minute of the experience. It took a very vivid and wild imagination to comes up with these stories. I especially enjoyed Leviathan, Born, Not Made, I wear Black to Mourn Myself, and The Secret Ingredient. I had to go back and read them over and over again. They are gruesome, poetic, and satiric.

I highly recommend Spider Pie to anyone who enjoys the bizarre and surreal. This book was a pure joy to read and I wont soon forget it. If Carlton Mellick is the King of the Bizarro genre then Alyssa is the Queen. She is one of the brightest new voices out there and I cant wait to see what she gives us next. Go grab a copy for yourself and see what I mean. You wont be able to put it down.