Hey folks,
I've said it before, and I'll most likely say it again, that Zach Sampinos can be full of surprises. I've known the guy for a few years now and he still can throw me every once and while. As I've mentioned before Zach is the moderator of the Hard Boiled Book Club that I attend once a month. This book club focuses on first-time authors and alternative fiction. Started attending in order to stretch my reading habit and has introduced me to great work from Willy Vlautin, Murakami and Nam Le.
Our book this month was Captive Audience by Dave Reidy and too be honest I wasn't too impressed by it. This short story collection revolves around the themes of performance and fandom. Personally I felt that a lot of these stories felt like parts of much longer stories. And I guess I have a predilection to dislike short stories that are over 30 pages. In short stories I want a set-up, story, and then a "turn" that brings me to the point of it all. Now admittedly not all short stories need to fit this pattern. Literature can be whatever form it wants as long as it's well-written. But I just wasn't captured by the majority of these stories.
The exceptions to that previous statement was the titular story Captive Audience, which centered around a mentally-ill guy who loves stand up comedy. At first he can listen to old comedy records all day, until a comedy club moves in underneath him. Horribly disturbed he is upset at first, but then he finds a way to help a young comedian. This story featured a keen understanding of the subject and methods of stand up. It was great to see the author break down common techniques of a Newhart monologue from the 60's. Just as the main character is held captive by his own limitations, he finds a positive way to break free. His transcendent moment at the end of the story was wonderfully poignant and life-affirming.
I was also drawn to the story Thingless, which features a highschool kid desperate to find something that other kids will identify him with. He decides to learn guitar, and then tries to share it with the troubled girl next door. Her teenage nihilism toward life in general felt very realistic to me since I see it all the time in the teens that I help. Reidy expertly makes it clear that finding an artistic way to create an identity for yourself is as necessary as food. It nourishes your self-worth, even if you're ability is dubious. It's the compulsion to express an emotion in some way that gives these characters a sense of self. Reidy doesn't always take the easy happy ending which I also appreciated.
So despite my feelings of "meh-ness" I went ready to discuss the book. Upon arrival though I discovered that we would be a very small group and that Zach had arranged for Mr. Reidy to call in and answer some questions. He had done the same thing with Willy Vlautin last fall. See these are the kind of things that Mr. Sampinos can pull off with a seeming effortlessness. Slowly Zach, as well as some others, managed to turn me around. By the time Mr. Reidy called I managed to see the merits of the book. You can read Zach's thoughts on Captive Audience here.
In the end it turns out that discussing a book with others can raise your opinion on a book. This is why I think it's important to escape my own solipsism at least once a month. It was very surprising.
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