Mystery, So Long (Poets, Penguin)
A prolific writer with more than 20 books of fiction and 12 poetry collections to his name, Dobyns has a controversial public persona, and people tend to love or despise his work. Intentionally rebellious in his political incorrectness, Dobyns covers such topics as horniness, impotence, crass body changes due to aging, and even mental illness with a tactless yet disarming kind of sad/sick humor that is nothing if not thought-provoking. Dobyns' work demonstrates depth of structure, phrasing, and narrative ability, which is his most conspicuous asset. Dobyns is a good enough storyteller, for example, to take on a scenario like Orpheus meeting Lot's wife, and then dispel myths through mythic imagery and demystify what others have treated as mysterious. Perhaps the best summation of Dobyns' modus operandi as manifest throughout this book is a quote from his poem, "The Cunning One": "And Satan, once he foresaw an eternity of Heaven's / Coercive beauty, what could he do but rebel?"Janet St. JohnCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved