The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break

I have just finished The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill, a strange novel that I found absolutely compelling. The 5000 year old Minotaur, the eternal bull-headed man of Greek myth, is alive and well, working as a chef in a southern town. People react to him as if he were an unusual, but not extraordinary person, and in many ways, this suits the context: everyone he meets is a bit fractured, broken, bifurcated in some way. He is merely more literal about this, with his division visible for all to see. His coworkers internal schisms are under the surface.

While obviously surreal in its basic premise, once this is accepted, Sherrill's terse prose convey a clarity that creates a strong sense of realism.

The novel certainly is not for everyone, but I was riveted. It is a story of profound loneliness and isolation. If you thought that monsters were somehow different from us, this should break down the illusion. If you want something fairly far out of the norm, give it a shot.

Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake

I have just finished Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, the first novel I have read that has an official website, appropriate to a work set in a dystopic near future.

The book was near enough to our world, with genetic modification of plants and animals, corporations running the show, and marketing taking over as the main form of literature, for the book to be more chilling than humorous. Even bits of satire that were probably intended to be funny are often disturbing and haunting.

I'd highly recommend this one, though not a cheerful read.