Review: An intellectual, emotional thrill ride
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 16, 2013
Darren White's `Memes of Loss and Devotion' is a heady, visceral trip--it will blow your mind away and choke your heart in a death-grip--and I mean that in the most positive way.I admire writers who take the road less travelled and choose to go with a short fiction collection instead of the more popular novel form. One such writer, of course, is White, and his collection of stories is no trifling matter--it is perhaps one of the best--if not the best--collection I've seen in years. White writes with a language that brims with confidence--his prosody, dialogues, verisimilitude are spot-on. I dare you to start reading the first story and see--and experience--for yourself.Most importantly, White's stories are opportunities to question and flesh out the nature of reality and human life--White has the guts and the intellect to go where others dare not go. Clearly, he uses fiction as a chance to explain things that would otherwise impossible to articulate using "normal" everyday language, such as the chillingly evocative "soul destroying' and the memorable "life chances." He ventures into almost-taboo and primally frightening what-ifs and proceeds in efficiently executing the tale--as if he knows exactly what he needs to do.Overall, `Memes of Loss and Devotion' is an astonishing literary achievement--one that should find a wider audience. Those who like their books intelligently written as well as deeply entertaining will not be disappointed--White's work deserves all the five-star ratings it gets.