The Devil You Know
by Billy Martin
On This Page
Description
In her third short story collection, Poppy Z. Brite finds fresh ways of exploring territory both familiar and strange. Here you'll meet the Devil and his giant cat last seen in the pages of Bulgakov, the gourmand coroner of New Orleans, the mad-genius chef who can't stand to have his cheese list criticized, and an assortment of Crescent City characters who also appear in Brite's novels The Value of X and Liquor. First and foremost, Poppy Z. Brite is a New Orleans writer. Dissatisfied with show more much of her early work about her home city, she has begun to explore a way of writing about it that bypasses the cliches and approaches the city's true heart: the hard-working, hard-partying cooks; the ways in which race, class, and sexual orientation do and don't matter; the love of bottom feeders, be they crustaceans or politicos; the million little juxtapositions of sacred and profane, bizarre and mundane, sublime and ridiculous that make up the everyday life of New Orleans. Some of these stories are set elsewhere, but Brite always returns home in the end. Brite's short fiction has been praised by a diverse assortment of writers: Harlan Ellison, Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, Dan Simmons, Dennis Cooper, Andrei Codrescu. In this collection you'll find her strongest work yet. Book jacket. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Several of my friends mentioned loving Brite's work in their teens, so when I came across this book in the local Oxfam bookshop I thought I'd give it ago. Sad to say I was a little disappointed. I found the characters flat and the plots simplistic. There was nothing technically wrong with the writing, but it felt lacking. Characterisation consited of more tell than show, while many of the stories were predictable. And the stories about Dr Brite just made me uncomfortable, unfortunately.
Maybe her novels are better, I don't know. I don't exactly feel compelled to try them after reading this collection, though.
Maybe her novels are better, I don't know. I don't exactly feel compelled to try them after reading this collection, though.
I'm not a huge fan of short stories, but I love Brite's works. This collection is a good mixture of strangeness that almost smacks of Brite's gothic horror roots and stories that involve her Liquor characters, Rickey and G-man. The latter stories were my favorites, of course.
Sometimes, as a reader, there will be times when I want to drop myself into an immersive world full of well-written characters with a long story that will keep me occupied for days. Other times, feeling less interested in universes and plot intricacies, I find myself looking for a good short story collection to keep me entertained in smaller, much more manageable bites.
[Full Review] http://alookatabook.blogspot.com/2009/12/29-of-2009-devil-you-know-by-poppy-z.ht...
[Full Review] http://alookatabook.blogspot.com/2009/12/29-of-2009-devil-you-know-by-poppy-z.ht...
A little strange, but still a good read.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Books Read in 2003
261 works; 7 members
Author Information
Some Editions
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Important places
- New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- Dedication
- For Harlan Ellison, who's helped me longer than he's known me,
and Kirin Anderson, who helps me more than she knows - First words
- Mr. Bulgakov knew of them as early as 1928, but their machinations combined with those of his native Russia made it impossible for him to publish his novel about them during his lifetime.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 241
- Popularity
- 135,229
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.89)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 1
