Coulrophobia & Fata Morgana

I can't seem to get enough of Jacob M. Appel.   He writes short stories which are 
'out-of-the-box'  mind-twisting intriguing, dark, funny, diverse, sad, sweet, tragic, hopeful, and original......
........all the elements we want.  There is something so very different about Jacob.  I guess if I HAD to put words to what it is that moves me....it's THE HUMAN EMOTIONS I feel. ----a sort of melancholy ---which lives beneath the surface of our daily lives.  I never know what to expect from him, other than his background....( Physician, Attorney, Bioethicist) ... 'at times'  shows up in little ways.  His unique life experiences mixes well with his brilliant imagination - which transfers well into his talented skill as a writer.

This collection kept me thinking .....and honestly -every  book I've read by him keeps me thinking.  I own 4 of his physical books.  I often leave them out for guests to read who sleep over in our guest house.   I re-read them myself. 

I was cheap this time.   When I saw TWO of his books on Netgalley...I jumped with excitement.  Like a child might say: MINE!!!  I WANT THESE NOW!!!!!   Problem is....I want the physical books now, too!   I had 'just' bought one more....(one that Netgalley didn't have).  I really can't say enough....I'm a HUGE FAN of this young guy!   

For those who have not read Jacob M. Appel yet....I don't know what you're waiting for.
If you happen to be Jewish - like me- readers might appreciate the 'entertaining' ....( autobiography/essays).....called "Phoning Home".   It will warm your heart...Jacob will steal your heart...his family will steal your heart....and you'll never think of lime jello the same again. THEN....when you read his other 'very' creative collection of short stories... You'll know a little more about the author himself.   ( just sayin).    I enjoy the 'combo' - of knowing a little about an author -- it often adds to my experience of reading their books. However ....it's not necessary!   

I'm grateful to the publisher Black Lawrence Press, Netgalley, and Jacob M. Appel....
......( the only way this guy could improve in my eyes...is if he married one of my daughters --loved her dearly- and they were happy) ...JACOB ..."THANKS" for the stories you write!   YOU ROCK!!!!

Tense, Vivid and Provocative Stories at the Intersection of Love, Power and Despair

O.K., so take a general purpose collection of meticulously observed "literary" short stories. Now, add in some dread and neuroses, a few dead babies, and maybe some obsession, guilt, mendacity and regret. Is this new book more fun to read, or less fun? I don't know. What I do know is that the stories in this book combine some achingly perceptive lines, some bizarre twists, a train-wreck approach to plot, and appear to be the work of an author unconcerned by lack of precedent. I also know that if Jacob Appel were my roommate I would never fall asleep while he was still awake.

Consider the first story. SPOILER. It looks like it's going to be a kitchen sink drama about the conflict between a stalled schlubby sister and a golden successful famous sister. Maybe there will be some gripe about which parent liked which sister the best. Etc., etc.. Well, on the one hand you do get a rueful and sympathetic heroine. You get some sparkling dialogue. You get an exaggerated and funny sketch of the preoccupied, conceited and totally self-absorbed sister. But then the dead baby shows up and the whole project goes off the tracks as the heroine tries to get a handle on this rather unexpected development while the narrative proceeds in a deadpan style that suggests nothing particularly unusual is going on. Later stories follow a similar pattern.

It seems to me that you can approach this book in a couple of ways. You can go all serious and literary critical. Or, you can enjoy and watch for and cherry pick the best lines and bits, because there are many, many treats to be found. Or, you can just dive in and go for the ride, even if sometimes you feel uncomfortable about enjoying it or wonder why you are enjoying it. The stories range from bitterly funny to touching, although "hopeful" isn't much in evidence. Resignation is more the signature effect, accompanied by a certain casual cruelty.

So, if you like vigorous and rather fearless story telling, complemented by subtle and effective craftsmanship, and topped with a fine eye for detail and the effective or startling observation or description, then this collection might be just what you need, whether you know it or not.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Great collection of short stories- a great wtf factor where there are unexpected premises and twists. Greatly enjoyable.

COULROPHOBIA & FATA MORGANA is another excellent, addictive collection of ten stories by Jacob M. Appel. 

But this time the collection resembles more of a ten-car pile-up of lives—impulsive characters only concerned with their own self-accepting rationalization for their actions and propensities (murderer munching on a double slice of strawberry shortcake, while contemplating the necessity for a second murder: “I’m not a bad person…It could have happened to anyone.”) Stories replete with his attention-grabbing, stage-setting first sentences (“My father fancied himself a shrewd landlord—he refused to rent to lawyers, the children of lawyers, even a college girl who ‘had law school written all over her’—but he bit off too much when he sublet to the mime.”) and those ingenuous, lively details.

The writer widens the freedom for his characters in physicalizing impulses, giving us outright terrifying sociopaths as well as ordinary people realizing they have reached a tipping point. These are richly developed, memorable characters such as the long-term adulterous minister in “Silent Theology,” recently widowed, griefless, and “tell-tale heart” paranoid about condemnation and damnation—plagued by his dead wife relentlessly dancing with Greta Garbo before him every evening. The butcher who ponders that “Nothing is as reliable as a side of beef.” The husband with those beginning words “Domestic upheaval” and pennies, pediatric emergency rooms, and pondering if “happy lives aren’t by definition ab-normal.” Some are observers but most all face “a catastrophe waiting to happen.”

Often harder-edged and grittier, the stories are not devoid of Jacob M. Appel’s original gems of humor perfectly laced throughout. After all, any census-taker would have a rough time in Lawless County, AZ, but no harder than a reader trying to find the referenced book, “Messianics for Morons.” Only a writer who relishes the play in his craft would dare to give this title to a book. Yet some readers may find this collection edgier in action, tone and dialogue than previous ones—not what they are accustomed to in his writing. The writer takes chances, not only as a writer but as a bioethicist which is never too far in the background. He gives himself that wider freedom in writing as well, and it works.

This collection of stories is another superb journey into Jacob M. Appel’s writing, not to be missed.

I appreciate the opportunity that Black Lawrence Press, NetGalley and Jacob M. Appel have given me to early access to this book.

These stories were unusual and interesting, with some surprise endings.  Recommended.  :)