Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues: True Stories of the Unsavory, Unwise, Unorthodox and Unusual from the magazine "Morbid Curiosity"
Originally published in the San Francisco-based magazine Morbid Curiosity, edited by founder and multivariate writer Rhoads from 1997 to 2006, this anthology tackles a range of topics falling under the rubric of "all the dark adventures that make life worth living." Beginning appropriately enough with "Why," artist explains her fascination with gross objects: "What could possibly inspire me to make art from hundreds of photos of dog crap... or a collage from bloody squares of gauze?" Elsewhere, Michael Hemmingson recalls playing doctor with his cousin Veronique when they were barely into double digits; Simon Wood chronicles the time he hit a bicyclist with his car; Dana Fredsti writes about a desperate job she took in an L.A. strip club; and George V. Neville-Neil recounts his landlord's suicide. For all the dramatic goings on, however, none prove particularly memorable and most feel detached, lacking in empathy and emotional depth. Though that might be (part of) the point, conflating the tragic and the everyday, this disturbing volume ultimately disappoints.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.