Sea, Swallow Me and Other Stories

by Craig Laurance Gidney

Overview

Ancient folklore and modern myth come together in these stories by author Craig Laurance Gidney. Here are found the struggles of a medieval Japanese monk, seduced by a mischievous fairy, and a young slave who finds mystery deep within the briar patch of an antebellum plantation. Gidney offers readers a gay teen obsessed with his patron saint, Lena Horne, and, in the title story, an ailing tourist seeking escape at a distant shore but never reckons on encountering an African sea god. Rich, poetic, dark and disturbing, these are tales not soon forgotten. A finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590210666
Publisher:	Tincture
Publication date:	11/01/2008
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	5.11(w) x 8.04(h) x 0.52(d)

Editorial Reviews

"The best of the stories in this thoughtful debut collection make full use of African and African-American characters..." - Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

The best of the stories in this thoughtful debut collection make full use of African and African-American characters, such as when young slave Israel Jones meets a man he's convinced is the guitar-wielding Devil in "The Safety of Thorns," or when white tourist Jed encounters Olokun, the patron spirit of enslaved Africans carried across the sea, in the title story. Some of Gidney's experiments with style hit the mark, as in a tale of Arthur Rimbaud riding a French train without a ticket in "Strange Alphabets," but homoerotic encounters don't always mix well with folklore-like storytelling, and rich details sometimes pull readers in and sometimes leave the stories feeling saturated and drawn out. Those who don't mind a little digging should find several gems. (Jan.)

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Publishers Weekly