DesertNomad
05-05-2011, 03:51 AM
I've decided to wet my feet in book reviews with a title that has rekindled my interest in reading titled "Confessions of a Dog Assassin: Stories from an American Mind", authored by Stephen R Cox. He seems to be a small time, lesser known author but I nonetheless have already developed a respect for his writing style.
The book is a collection of several short stories that sometimes go a little beyond a stretch of the imagination. This is not to say I did not enjoy them, merely that I could certainly see some people wanting a little more seriousness in their literature. Some of the more believable stories involve relatable situations such as a wife's futile attempts at salvaging a loveless marriage and a tale of an upstart entrepeneur whose unscrupulous past comes back to haunt him.
Threre is also a fair amount of rather dark humor at work in several of the stories; often times I found myself feeling bad for laughing at some of the situations. Some such stories involve relatable situations such as a wife's futile attempts at salvaging a loveless marriage and a tale of an upstart entrepeneur whose unscrupulous past comes back to haunt him. A few stories I would even go as far as to say I had trouble reading them, they simply touch on such provocative subjects.
In contrast I consistently found myself impressed with the well fleshed out characters and their interactions with one another. In addition, the incredibly descriptive style of writing makes it easy to see yourself right in the story. I truly believe that this superb character and plot development is a result of Cox drawning on real, personal experiences(though reading some of the stories I should hope he is not).
Overall, I would definately say the book was worth the read even though it sometimes came off as a little silly and some of the stories were quite depressing. I feel that Cox's ultimate goal however, was to make the reader question themselves in the most absurd, or sometimes the most desolate of situations.
P.S. This is my first attempt at a book review outside of talking with friends and would love any input on how I could improve upon it.
The book is a collection of several short stories that sometimes go a little beyond a stretch of the imagination. This is not to say I did not enjoy them, merely that I could certainly see some people wanting a little more seriousness in their literature. Some of the more believable stories involve relatable situations such as a wife's futile attempts at salvaging a loveless marriage and a tale of an upstart entrepeneur whose unscrupulous past comes back to haunt him.
Threre is also a fair amount of rather dark humor at work in several of the stories; often times I found myself feeling bad for laughing at some of the situations. Some such stories involve relatable situations such as a wife's futile attempts at salvaging a loveless marriage and a tale of an upstart entrepeneur whose unscrupulous past comes back to haunt him. A few stories I would even go as far as to say I had trouble reading them, they simply touch on such provocative subjects.
In contrast I consistently found myself impressed with the well fleshed out characters and their interactions with one another. In addition, the incredibly descriptive style of writing makes it easy to see yourself right in the story. I truly believe that this superb character and plot development is a result of Cox drawning on real, personal experiences(though reading some of the stories I should hope he is not).
Overall, I would definately say the book was worth the read even though it sometimes came off as a little silly and some of the stories were quite depressing. I feel that Cox's ultimate goal however, was to make the reader question themselves in the most absurd, or sometimes the most desolate of situations.
P.S. This is my first attempt at a book review outside of talking with friends and would love any input on how I could improve upon it.