The Show That Smells - Derek McCormack

I'm not really sure what to say about this little book. Well, I guess there's one thing already...its little. Coming in at 120 pages, with a big font and large spacing, there really isn't a ton to it. I read this in a day, and still had time left over. I'm not sure I would have kept reading it if it hadn't been short though.

This is a weird little book. I got it off the free book shelf at work, and apparently we were sent an advance copy of it. It had a weird skull-like thing on the front, and the back was art deco-y and sounded weird, so I picked it up.

Imagine, if you will, an entire story told inside of the Mirror Maze at a funhouse. Then imagine that you have vampire fashion designers, tuberculosis riddled carnival singers, The Carter Family, Lon Chaney, and Coco Chanel as a vampire hunter. Throw in the cast from the movie Freaks, and, well...you get...this.

I'm still not really sure if I liked it. I finished it, mainly just wanting to know what weird things were going to happen next. It definitely tickled my word geek a bit, with silly plays on words, some fun alliteration (but nothing that compares to Nine Kinds of Naked), and a few interesting typesetting uses(open parenthesis used as sequins, for example). It did capture a bit of a freak show/carnival vibe. And....that's about where I stop, I think. lol

I'm not going to call this a recommendation, but neither am I going to say don't check it out. It was at least interesting, and captures an avant-garde literary style that I don't see as much of anymore. If you know me, you're more than welcome to borrow it & see for yourself. Maybe read it while sitting at a library somewhere. Heck, you could possibly finish in the bookstore coffeeshop if you devour like me.

And, just in case, here's a purchase link below...but, honestly, I'm not sure its worth $10 just to see for yourself. =|

The Show That Smells - Derek McCormack

(Read time stuffs: Finished the 2nd book in the Wolf series, and am now 157 pages into another Time Scout book. I'll probably be writing up King Rat by China Miéville soon, along with a few newl-reads, and more from my shelves.)