Gay Terry

Life, Death, and Beyond Smiggle's Bottom...this book was really different than what I thought it was going to be. It was marketed as a fictional Appalachian biography, so [forgive the stereotype] I thought it would more about growing up in the mountains and most likely set in the early twentieth century [based on the picture on the cover]. But the book is more about life (or should I say death and afterlife?) in a small town set in the 50's/60's.
It also cannot be considered a fictional biography per se, as it is more a selection of random recollections in no order whatsoever.
All the same, I liked this book and the characters. After all, the main character is an old soul that appreciates autumn and sees the value in growing old just so you an have an excuse to be eccentric (like I do!), that occasionally has past life experiences and her deceased relatives to visit her. Who wouldn't find them interesting? But Aunt Nettie was my favourite---spoke her mind without caring what anyone else thought. Who would not want to be like that?

Some snippets of wisdom from Life, Death, and Beyond Smiggle's Bottom:

"There's nothing like death to make people feel alive"

"In the face of death, we cling to life and chocolate".

"For the pale and wan, refrigeration is the key in staying fresh".

The only thing I did not really care for was the text for some of the stories in the book, which resembled old German font. Not being used to it, it was difficult to read. If it would have been 2 pt sizes up, though, it might have been a bit easier, however.… (mehr)

Gay Terry’s Meeting the Dog Girls is a mixed bag of bizarre short stories in the vein of Kelly Link. But that maybe too glib a comparison. For one thing, Terry doesn’t stick strictly to contemporary settings; many of the stories seem to take place in dark, imaginary worlds that are almost, but not quite, recognizable realms of ancient legend, fairy tales, fables and fantasy. The mood is different, too - fanciful, yet dark. Similar to Latin American magical realism, but not quite that either. The fact that Terry’s work is so hard to pigeonhole is one of its strengths.

The best of these stories tend to be the shortest and most opaque, begging a second [and third] reading to unlock their mysteries. My personal favorite, “This Is Not a Pipe,” about a peculiar young woman and her bird companion living in a derelict old manse, was inspired by the surrealist paintings of Rene Magritte. In it Terry really manages to capture the oddness of his work with her imagery. At one point, the female protagonist is described as wearing a, “mousseline blouse and brocade pantaloons.” The entire story reads as if the author substituted the most obscure synonyms in the thesaurus as often as possible. But weirdly, it works. Other stories, like “The Line” and “The Prison of Kronos,” effectively depict dystopian visions of a subjugated underclass that are both chilling and resonant. And sprinkled throughout, there are satirical pieces with a contemporary setting, most enjoyably “The MacGuffin” in which a misanthropic New Yorker bonds with her neighbors when a Tom Otterness sculpture comes to life and takes up residence in her apartment, perhaps showing, in a literal sense, how populist public art can bring people together.

Terry is less successful when her meanings are too obviously stated. Stories with an overt message, like “Episcatory” (pro-environmental) and “Unto Others…” (anti-prejudice) tend toward sermonizing, diminishing their value as literature and detracting from the power of the underlying message. But, fortunately, the proselytizing is kept to a minimum.

This is a big and eclectic collection. While there are a few misses, it’s mostly enjoyable and thought-provoking. I’ll be very interested to see what the very fertile imagination of Gay Terry produces in the future.… (mehr)

Review based on ARC.

Absolutely worth your time.

The words and images on the cover of this little treasure do not do justice to what is within. Terry's imagination and creativity are a welcome addition to my library.

Again, I find myself reading short stories -- a collection of things. I used to think that I wasn't really into short stories, but really, I think it was just too many bad sets in a row. Suddenly emerge writers who bring new light to the "genre."

Like Gaiman's Fragile Things, I found myself quickly turning pages of short little snippets that came to feel like personal friends. I both did not want each story to end and could not wait to get to the next one to see what else Terry had in store for me.

Terry's gift is in presenting the crazy, the abnormal, the other-worldly with subtlety and elegance.

I highly recommend.… (mehr)