Customer Reviews

Thirst

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There is always something exciting about stumbling across hidden treasure - finding something rich and wonderful when you least expect it. Kalfus is a wonderful secret - quietly writing some of the most imaginative and diverse short fiction I've read recently. It's a great book for those who want to look cool holding a book by an author few people have heard of yet, but it's an absolute must for anyone who loves to get lost in a story and hasn't read anything very original in a long time.

The fourteen stories here (all previous published in various lit reviews) display an amazing range of styles and a great deal of promise. There is whimsical comedy is the opening two and half page "Notice" and in the faux records of "The Joy and Melancholy Baseball Trivia Quiz". There is a liberal dose of fantastical elements, such as the never-ending snowstorm of "The Weather in New York", the mysterious nomads of "A Line Is A Series of Points", or the dual-existence protagonist of "Night and Day You Are the One." There is also the unfortunately presence of the literary joke story "Invisible Malls" (a pastiche of the Italian writer Calvino's Invisible Cities), and a weak meaning semi-historical Borgesian effort "The Republic of St. Mark, 1849."

Kalfus's more "realistic" stories are equally uneven. The stories "Bouquet" and "Thirst" cover an encounter in Paris between an Irish nanny and an Moroccan, and are totally run-of-the-mill. The longest story is "No Grace On the Road" (at 40+ pages), a very awkwardly done story set in Vietnam about a young upper-class official caught in a storm out in the countryside with his American wife, and forced to shelter in a peasant's hovel, where a baby lies dying. It's a really clumsy piece, worthy of a college freshman writing class. On the positive side of the ledger, the brief "Cats in Space" is a simple and haunting story of kids being cruel to neighborhood animals. "Suit" is another short but sweet piece, about a boy being fitted for a suit for a court appearance. "Rope Bridge" is probably the most conventional story in the collection, concerning a man who lusts after a vivacious friend of his wife. But Kalfus treats the material with care and simplicity, creating an exquisite short work.

So, a typical first collection of very good pieces and some very bad pieces, with an atypical range of of styles and settings.

Ken Kalfus is a terrific writer, a great stylist who can make any topic interesting. The first story -- "Notice" -- transforms the standard copyright notice paragraph found at the beginning of most books into a mini-story on the nature of memory. Other stories may seem experimental -- like the terrific "Invisible Malls" which pays tribute to Calvino's "Invisible Cities" -- but at their heart they always reveal truths about human nature. Highly recommended!

Read this collection and it will change the way you view a short story. Most of the stories have a Twilight-Zone quality to them -- they're presented in a quasi-eerie manner that a regular person could still relate. Common activities that most people experienced (such as baseball, war, everyday life, etc) are presented in a fantastical and refreshing manner. I cannot find a single adjective to describe the tone of the stories; it's comical yet tragic, strange yet familiar. Pick this book up for an enjoyble good read.

"Thirst", by Ken Kalfus contains a Reading Group Guide at the end of the book. The Guide's goal is to help the readers find, "new and interesting angles and topics for discussion", as they pertain to the collection of stories. It may make a difference when these are glanced at, and they may be of interest to some readers. In my reading I could not get terribly interested in the stories or their characters to invest time beyond the actual reading.

This is the first of 2 books that Mr. Kalfus has written that contain a variety of short stories. I actually read the second collection first, as most who had read both found the second work weaker. In this work, "Thirst", there was one story I almost enjoyed that was shared in two parts, and one or two others I found intriguing until I came across the guide at the end. The guide seemed more of an effort to convince the reader of how much there was to these stories, how varied their structure was, and the symbolism that should be looked for. At times the guide read as an English Test.

"Le Jardin de la Sexualite", is presented in two parts, "Bouquet", and, "Thirst". It is the first story in the book, and it is mildly amusing at best, and only if an Au Pair chasing her two young girls in an attempt to get them out of an anatomically correct museum interests you. The Au pair is also pursued, and if some mind numbing attempt at exploring sexuality interests you, so will this story. "Cats In Space", will fascinate anyone who enjoyed harming small animals as a child, and, "Suit", is one of the most cliché pieces by far although the guide will attempt to convince you otherwise.

I may be the odd reader out with this book, but I would wager otherwise. Good writing does not need to be explained, just written. Write well and people will find no difficulty in discussing the work, present this material, and you best explain what you thought you were doing as some may reconsider their first opinion.

Ken Kalfus is an excellent writer. The range of stories in this book, combined with the grace and style with which they are written, demonstrate that. He can hop from setting to setting, and from style to style, and executes each with aplomb.

However, I will note that in this collection, while there is breadth, there isn't necessarily depth. This is a tasty candy, a frothy confection that dazzles. But it's not a meal. I felt the the emotional life of the characters was not as complex as the situations he set up demanded. There was a sense that the writing came first, the story after.

But this is a first book, and I certainly look forward to seeing him develop. The book is smart, funny, and beautifully written.

I thank two previous reviews - metamentor and Ginger Mekala - for enticing me to try this enjoyable volume. Kalfus is an excellent writer who includes a variety of approaches to the short stories that make up this volume.

No Grace on the Road explores the tension between tradition and "modern Western" in an unnamed, third world Asia country. The narrator is among the privileged, married to an American. Their vehicle fails in a storm and they are forced to seek shelter with a poor peasant family with a dying child.

Invisible Malls is a delightful spoof on Calvino's Invisible Cities.

Notice is a story in the form of the legalese and copyright notices that appear at the beginning of every book.

The Joy and Melancholy Baseball Trivia Quiz are human sketches introduced by baseball trivia questions such as who hit the most consecutive fouls.

Cats in Space follows youthful animal abuse to the recognition of the "play" as cruel - in this case sending a kitten up in a helium balloon powered gondola.

Whether returning from a trip to Bulgaria, buying a suit, imaging adultery, being confronted with the thirst of the desert - each of the tales succeeds - a remarkable feat given their variety.

This volume is well worth your time

Reading a Ken Kalfus story is like being dropped into the middle of a literary maze. As you read your way out, the characters and their actions slowly reveal themselves to you. From the cruel turnabout and flirtations of Le Jardin de la Sexualite to the bittersweet sadness of Suit, Ken Kalfus delivers an amazing array of stories.

Buy this book.

This might just be the best collection of short stories since Dubliners. Simply and elegantly, Kalfus's stories unfold in delightful ways. A must read.

The stories are humbling and pure. At times, I whispered, " No, he is not going there.", but before I knew it, he had already taken me.