Customer Reviews

Whiskey Nipple

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Although the book is slight--a mere 94 pages--its reach is huge, its seven stories spanning a geographical and emotional depth rarely seen in short fiction today. Half the stories center around Navy life, and we are taken to places that recall an earlier time in American fiction, landscapes as rich and evocative as those of Melville. The comparison doesn't end there. Just as Ahab was haunted by his uncaught wale, Frelke's characters are haunted by the unfinished business of their lives: the used car salesman contemplating a life unlived, the young Naval officer coming to terms with the death of a father he never really knew, the Philipino engineman, willing to bleed freely for a tattoo that will "say it all," the "Navy Legacy" turned tattooist who beat his bunkmate to death for the last life preserver. Frelke, like his ancient tattoo artist, is a "skillful renderer," creating characters that are at once unique--almost fantastic--and struggle with real dilemmas. They elicit our empathy as well as our fascination.

Frelke is also a master at creating setting. From the swampy, unmarked gravel roads of "Blackbeard's Country" to the seedy Australian port of bars and whorehouses to a makeshift medical clinic in a run-down VA hospital, Frelke shows the ability to transport the reader. The sparseness of the prose provides a stark background for the luminous symbols and characters that seem to emerge from the page and straight into our consciousness. I enjoyed this collection immensely.

In Whiskey Nipple, Doug Frelke's first collection of short stories, he has given voice to the unheard. These are stories about everyman. The person who is trying so hard to get it right but never does. He is reaching for the gold ring on the merry-go-round of life, but it is always just out of reach. You will feel his pain, frustration, desperation and lonliness. Although the collection of stories is short, Whiskey Nipple's characters will haunt you long after you have finished reading.

Through the collection of these stories the reader is able to encounter a diverse look at the darker side of human existence in our modern American culture. This culture is one that many of us want to ignore, or find it as a form of amusement on such shows like Jerry Springer and Ricki Lake. The fact is that this dimension of our society exists and the author respectfully details the plights of these individuals through his vivid portrayal of their experiences. These stories offer an insight into our society that we all must be aware of in order gain the full picture of our American culture

It's likely you've never heard of Doug Frelke, but the time is coming when everybody who reads fiction will know the name. The proof is a single story in this collection. It's called "Push," and it's as fine a story as you're ever going to read by an undiscovered writer. Remember the name.

I like the stories that I've read in Doug Frelke's "Whiskey Nipple". They are well written and wonderfully provocative. The stories affirm a wide range of human emotion and experience. " Living with the Magician" raises my consciousness about disability, and about a father and daughter's love for each other. "El Corazon" depicts a disturbing scene of homophobia in the military. "Love Canvas" is an engrossing tale of passion gone mad. " In "White Dog" a naval officer stuggles with the grief of his own father's death as he comforts another... My spirit was touched. I highly recommend this book. Ed Marsh

This collection of short stories reads like the first shot in the war against the complacency that has settled on American literary fiction. These stories are fresh in every sense of the word. The characters that inhabit the world in Frelke's short stories are all living on edge -- you'll just be shocked to realize how close we all live to that same edge. Whether it's sailors in a foreign port, car salesmen the fishbowl of their salesroom, or regular stiffs eking out their lives in small town America , Frelke's characters are all real, all formed by the pressures of today's world. This author takes chances, chances underwritten by his talent, and they pay off. The beauty of this book is that the payoff will probably be your year's best read. This is seriously good literary fiction. Buy this book.

I've just completed reading Whiskey Nipple, ( I'm familiar with that old practice). It is a delicious easy read. A bit deceptive in its easyness, enticing you to read and reread passages to savor the full flavor. Emotions simmering raw barely beneath the surface of "every-dayness" are cleverly and vividly sculpted by this talented wordsmith. They stay with you long after the whiskey is gone. I'll have another, thanks..

Stunning cover art by Wolff is the ideal adjunct to Doug Frelke's short stories. His style is haunting and wrenching, his words whittled precisely to reveal humanity's frayed nerve endings, shattered synapses, and raw imperfections. Forget all preconceived notions of life, death, love, and human
interaction while reading Whiskey Nipple. Frelke's voice as story teller stuns, soothes, surprises, and shocks. His characters are skillfully crafted and unforgettable. Another excellent book of short stories from Press 53.

I found these eight stories extraordinary in their ability to stay with me long after I'd put the book down. Like other great storytellers, Frelke manages to take universal themes-most often, the need we all share to love and be loved-and thread it through stories that manage, in turn, to shock, to inspire, to make you laugh, and to make you cry. But in the end, Frelke seems to be telling us that despite the vagaries of life and love, there is hope, no matter what. I have come back to read several of these stories over and over. I think anyone who reads will do the same.

As I finished reading Doug Frelke's "Whiskey Nipple" I felt two distinct emotions. First a sadness, the kind that you feel when a great summer vacation comes to an end. And second appreciation, the kind you feel for having experienced it in the first place. This collection of short stories has left me stealing moments of introspection throughout my days since I turned the last page. Although the book itself is slight, Frelke's cast of characters certainly is not. From a young naval officer's unenviable tasks of delivering folded flags to next of kin; to a teenage girl faced with caring for her dying father's every need; one can't help but find themselves doing a little soul-searching in the process. Frelke's characters are honest and unflinching as if I were catching glimpses of their diaries. I can say with equal honesty that I will look forward to reading future works by this sharp young author. And in the meantime, read "Whiskey Nipple" again as should any of you. A great read indeed.