Alex Burrett

This is one of the worst books I've ever read. It started out okay enough, but once the novelty wore off, you were left with several loooong pages left to read. I often found myself reading my bookmark instead of the pages in front of me because, frankly, it was more interesting. With each story I read, I got the feeling that the author felt that each word he had written was the most genius thought ever written before. It wasn't. It took many months of torture to work my way through this show more one. Normally, I love weird, off-the-wall stories, but this just did not do it for me. If you want good, quality strange stories, try something more like Etgar Keret or Robert Shearman. show less

The first thing you notice about Alex Burrett's short story anthology My Goat Ate Its Own Legs is its shape. The cover shown above isn't the same as the copy I own, and the chewed away bottom corner is less ragged on mine, but the idea remains the same - the titular goat took a chunk out of its own book. It's a nice idea, which hopefully will make Burrett's collection stand out in the bookshop (though not if it's shelved).

Burrett's writing is all about the ideas. Like all the best authors, show more he seems to have more ideas than his brain can possibly cope with. From the girl who dates Death to God's ex-wife to a sniffer dog that becomes an addict. There are stories written from the point of view of a rat, ancient Welsh legends, Human Abattoir Reports, and lovers who have so much sex they become literally inseparable. Some are less stories than satirical articles (Arguments For The Decimalisation Of The Day), and occasionally Burrett sets up an interesting concept purely to throw it away with a gag twist in the final line. Fortunately they're short enough that if you don't like the one you're reading, another great idea is always just a few pages away.

Read the full review at my blog. show less

Interesting. Different. Those are not always compliments, but in this case they are. Short, mostly funny, sometimes rambling, stories, of a sort. Started off strong but has it’s ups and downs. Worth a read.