Hi folks,
I want to introduce you to
a new book that is one of the best novels I’ve read in decades. First, a
disclaimer: I confess I was favorably disposed to like this book even before I
opened the pages. It’s by Jon Bassoff, my publisher at New Pulp Press. Jon, in my
opinion, is simply the single best publisher on the scene today. I say “in my
opinion” because it’s just that. There may well be publishers as knowledgeable,
as wise, as talented as Jon out there—and I know several who belong in that
upper 2%--folks like Allan Guthrie of Blasted Heath, Brian Lindenmuth of
Snubnose Press, Frank Nowatzke of the German press Pulpmaster, and some notable
others—but I’ve read every one of Jon’s list of published books and there isn’t
a single clunker in the bunch. Not one! I don’t know of any other publisher who
has done what he has, and that doesn’t denigrate the ones mentioned nor any
others—Jon has just put together an unparalleled list of writers and brilliant
work.
(Click on the picture for the Amazon link.)
That said, even though I
was predisposed to like his book, I was completely caught unawares of the brilliance
of CORROSION put out by DarkFuse. It absolutely blew me out of the water and
surpassed my already-lofty expectations.
By ten miles.
CORROSION is easily one of the
best novels I’ve read in the last decade and ranks up there—in my estimation—with
the best of Faulkner, Cormac McCarthy, Joe Lansdale and Tom Franklin. And, I read a lot. An average of five novels a week.
It stars a protagonist that
I think will end up in the pantheon of the very best of dark characters such as
Anton Chigurh, E.O. Smonk, and Joe Lon Makey—the tortured soul of Benton Faulk/Joseph
Downs/The Preacher… who are all the same man. Who loves two women enough to
torture and kill them—Constance and then Lilith (the name of the first “Eve” in
the Bible, which should be a solid clue as to the depth of these characters.).
This is the story told from
the fevered and twisted mind of a sociopath/psychopath and when we are in the
dark with him, we are genuinely and thoroughly frightened. I think I know
something about entering the mind of such a person as I think evidenced by my
own character, Truman Ferris Pinter, but Bassoff makes me feel somewhat inferior
of my effort with the brilliance he brings to the task of showing us a demented
soul. Benton Faulk is indeed, a monster, but Bassoff does what one of my advisers during my stay at Vermont College, Sharon Sheehe Stark, advised us to
do when writing a truly despicable character. Instead of that oft-repeated
writing “wisdom” others deliver—that “make your villain like kittens”—to gain
the reader’s sympathy—she advised the opposite. Don’t do that, Sharon always
said, but rather: “Paint your character as black as you possibly can. The light
will shine through the cracks.” And this is precisely what Bassoff has done.
That light Sharon spoke of, does, indeed, shine through. And not through some
blinding beacon but truly “through the cracks.”
I won’t go into the plot—others
are much better at delivering plot synopses than I ever will be. I simply urge
you to grab onto this novel as soon as you can. If you like truth in your
fiction, this is the place to find it. If you believe that in the worst of us a
spark of humanity still resides, this is the place to prove that belief. If you
simply want to read literature with a capital L, this is where you’ll find it.
If you want to read a book that is what Jean Paulhan spoke of in the preface to
the infamous STORY OF O, when he said: “Dangerous books are those that restore
us to our natural state of danger,” this again, is that book.
Exactly so.
Blue skies,
Les
UPDATE! CORROSION is to be a film! Details at http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/70620/jack-reher-penning-feature-film-adaptation-novel-corrosion
Posts
