A Sick Gray Laugh

Wow, I've never read anything quite like this. It is part satire, part spiral-into-madness, part history, and part-philosophy, but all with a biting black humor. The first part of the book is a bit slow, because it relates a fictional history of this area of Indiana (and trust me, Indiana is boring to begin with). There's not really a hook to the story, such as it is either, because the "fictional" author, who has previously written fiction, has decided to delve into non-fiction, so this comes across like a history, or an epistolary book, with the author narrating to us readers her thoughts as they're coming to her. It's definitely weird, definitely literary, definitely insane, and it all somehow works, if you're able to get through the show more first part, that is. The author's voice really carries the first part, mostly because of the humor that she injects into it. But it did leave me wondering if I really was reading a non-fiction book at some points, because she made it all so believable. If you're into weird, dark, philosophical, nihilist writing, this book is for you. Even though this was written before Covid, there were some interesting parts, especially in regards to hiding faces, that were very thought-provoking to me. show less

WTH did I just read? I don't even know!

I can say that I liked it, that it was literary, and that it was beautifully written.

There were deep, dark, and gray ideas explored. If I had to put labels on it, (which is difficult to do), I'd use these:

metafiction
dark humor
weird tales
somewhat nihilistic
dense

After reading a few other reviews once I was finished, it seems that my favorite part was the least favorite part of others, and that was the middle. The first and third portions were more involved with Noelle's, (Nicole's?), life, discoveries, and aspirations whereas the second portion focused on a cult-like veil-wearing group traveling to the U.S. by ship and then onward towards the midwest. The New Moses and his group made for show more fascinating reading and I was sorry when the author moved on.

Overall, I did enjoy this compelling piece of fiction, but I will admit to the fact that my mind did wander a bit, especially during the first and third parts. Did I like it? YES! Do I recommend it? YES!
Was it my favorite work of fiction from Nicole Cushing, no-but that's ok.

I never know what to expect when I read her work, but I ALWAYS know that it's going to be original, well written, and that it will make me think.

As I said above: Recommended!

Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/2R88Y0n

*Thank you to Nicole Cushing for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.* show less