Genre: Short Stories/Black Humor
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
Pub. Date: Oct. 5, 2021
David Kranes is the gifted author of plays, eight novels along with short story volumes including “Performance Art Stories.” Some of the stories in this book appeared in earlier publications. The title suggests that we all perform for others whether we admit it or not. His characters are more than quirky. They are bizarre which is why I did not finish this novel. I read five of the shorts then skimmed the rest. I was blown away by the first short, “The Daredevil’s Son,” and then had a hard time following the rest of the ones that I finished. In “Daredevil” from birth, his son is pegged as a chip off the old block, a dead ringer of his pop. Alas, for the father, the boy was more comfortable in his mother’s closet than his dad’s. It is such a good story that shows us that the boy was mentally healthy, and the father was well, nuts. I did find that the author’s writing to be impeccable. Still, most of the shorts here were surreal, and just too ‘out there’ for me. I get that the tale, “The Stand-Up Phobic” is a dark humor story about a comic who makes tasteless run-on jokes with the audience. I was never sure if the man was hallucinating or not. It reads like an imaginary free-form-art bomb leaving me to recover from the blast. I should mention that Karnes is the winner of many literary awards. Maybe it is just me.
I received this Advance Review Copy (ARC) novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
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