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Scorch Atlas
Scorch Atlas
Author: Blake Butler
In this striking novel-in-stories, a series of strange apocalypses have hit America. Entire neighborhoods drown in mud, glass rains from the sky, birds speak gibberish, and parents of young children disappear. Millions starve while others grow coats of mold. But a few are able to survive and find a light in the aftermath, illuminating what we...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780977199280
ISBN-10: 0977199282
Publication Date: 9/8/2009
Pages: 188
Edition: Reprint
Rating:
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.
 1

2 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: Featherproof Books
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 6
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review
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althea avatar reviewed Scorch Atlas on + 774 more book reviews
Not so much a novel as a mood piece.
The book is a series of short pieces which all follow similar themes (think: rot, bloating, pustulence).
If the author had been in one of my creative writing seminars in college, and this work was what he presented in class, I would have thought it very promising. However, I would not have thought it was ready for a publisher. It has a very unedited feel. The author likes to use words in unusual ways. Sometimes, it works, and gives a poetic touch to the prose. At other times (frequently), I found myself jarred out of the flow, asking "Does he know the definition of the word?" or, "That's not actually an adjective, you know?"
At the end, I was left feeling somewhat unsatisfied - I didn't really feel like the work went anywhere, or had anything definite to say. There're some issues running through it - problems with family relationships and pregnancy are the big ones - but I suspect that the gross-out factor was the book's raison d'etre, rather than being a tool used in service to a concept.

The visual presentation was nice, however. I liked that all the pages were different, and that the design of the pages matches the content.

I'd recommend this to fans of David Lynch's 'Eraserhead.'


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