Customer Reviews

Whose Song?: And Other Stories

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Thomas Glave's Whose Song and Other Stories is a triumphant short story collection that articulates the sounds and shouts of otherwise marginal figures. Moving back and forth from the Caribbean to the American South to the Northern metropolises, Glave captures the fluidity and undecidability of what it means to be "Black," "Caribbean," "queer," "straight," and "gendered" in our society. Glave skillfuly crafts narratives which are beautiful and disturbing and forces us, as readers, to enter the never written before, but often lived, reality of characters. An amazing first book and a definite read!!!

I had the pleasure of interviewing Thomas Glave for a local paper, and read his book in order to prepare for the interview. I'm reminded of something Toni Morrison said about her practice as a writer, and that is that she writes the kind of stories she would want to read. Thomas Glave writes the kind of stories I want to read, and gives voice through his writing to people and experience not often heard above the din of the rest of humanity. His writing is highly readable, and he tackles his subject matter with compassion for his characters and his reader, but without attempting to find pat answers to the challenges and choices his characters face. I highly recommend this book, and hope to see much more from Glave in the future.

Thomas Glave forces us, through his work, to confront an intensity which often lies buried in our consciousness. The work is at times overwhelming due to the images conjured up such as the erotic and in some cases, the violent undertones (See stories on "Accidents" and "Whose Song"). The reader has to, in the process of reading, face these images and dwell on them as the stories progress. It can either be a comfortable, "inhibition-lowering experience" or totally uncomfortable. The reader's mind has to expand to accomodate the content and the scope of the stories.

Glave also deals readily with issues which many would chose not to address, homosexuality, rape, depression, gruesome accidents etc. which in the final analylis are all part of daily exisitence. He also deals with issues of commitment and the dilemma of sexulaity. He tenacious and unapologetic in his approach to the subject matter and one has to admire this quality in the work.

Glave also weaves his Jamaican-American upbringing and perspective into the work which is clearly a foundation of his identity. As a fellow West Indian, there is far more than just the ring of authenticity to the work, one can relate to it.

Glave's work is therefore a clear indication of an expansive and an intensely imaginative mind. In addition, he writes with an authority which draws the reader in to the work, whatever the end feeling, comfort or discomfort. One perspective which is hard,at times, to swallow is Glave's construction of reality/the final outcome which veers towards the unfulfilled and which I do not necessarily see as the outcome perhaps fifty percent of the time.

Thumbs up to Glave! The book is strongly recommended! We also look forward to his future work.

Once in a while you come upon a book that you know is a great one. This book of short stories is one of those books. I think that Mr. Glave is a musician. He is also a pyrotechnician. He pulls off many things in this book that other writers would not dare to try. I teach writing and composition, and know that writers like Glave are _extremely_ rare. I would caution young people to take it easy with this book, though, since its subject matter might be too much for some of them. Mr. Glave does not shy away from harsh subjects, and some of these stories are quite frightening. But if you love beautiful language and mesmerizing storytelling, they will be _well_ worth the trip. I feel changed forever by the experience of reading this book.

I did not expect to read such a GREAT book when I picked this up. I dont even read short stories but this book has made me want to read more, especially by this author Thomas Glaves. He is a genius and I never heard of him before. You should read this book if you want to read something you have never read before. But be careful because these short stories will stay with you for a LONG time. And they are very painful. But he wrote them like poetry. A MASTERPIECE.

Reading Mr. Glave's work was like coming home from a long journey and finding hidden treasures upon my arrival. His work is full of zest and a richness unseen since James Baldwin's eloquent voice graced us in the 50's and 60's. Mr. Glave is a very gifted writer and his work moved me in so many ways. His talent seems to be boundless. His work is a gift to all of us and I want to say thank you, Mr. Glave.

The stories ramble on like a drunk friend boring you to tears with long drawn out stories. Even his writing style is annoying. I couldn't read much of each story before I disliked it enough to put it down.

This is the best book I've read so far this year. I didn't know what to expect when I got it, but one of my professors recommended it so I bought it. I hardly ever read short stories, but I'm REALLY GLAD!!! that I bought this book. This writer, Thomas Glave, writes like a magician!!!! The stories knocked me out and took me to all these different places I never thought I could go. I've never read anything like that story "Whose Song" or "The Pit" and another one, "Their Story." They're all GREAT. Who is this guy? He's AMAZING!!!!

Fabulous! Leo Wilton, Ph.D.