Sunday, October 25, 2009

xTx's "Nobody Trusts a Black Magician"

I’ve just finished reading xTx’s chapbook “Nobody Trusts a Black Magician”--a jarring experience because “Nobody” is quite edgy, and I’ve just begun a project that feels very antique in comparison. There are no pieces in the xTx book about which I am ambivalent: half the book is hysterical, the other half disturbing. My faves: “Argentina Sunday,” “Saving the Meat,” “Scrambled Egg House,” “Christmas Eve,” “Black Friend,” “Wiffle Ball,” and “And You Can Wear Your Mirrored Sunglasses When You Are Scared.” I know xTx's fiction is known for its raw management of sex and desperate intimacy, but after reading this collection I’m most impressed by those stories that talk about 1) white anxiety or 2) long range partnerships.  I know, I'm old. 

3 comments:

xTx said...

i am thanking you in seven different languages, all of them made up, but all of them sincere.


(and i am glad you liked Scrambled Egg House because SOME PEOPLE think it's funny, but i think it's very serious and has an important message)

Steve said...

We can have a club, because everyday the web makes me feel older and more obsolete. If edgy is a very sharp chisel, I am the tree.

Now back to my remote Montana cabin, where I will continue writing a story about grass growing (really).

Ethel Rohan said...

Ha, I hear you Steve and Laura. I'm hearing lots of good things about xTx's "Nobody Trusts a Black Magician." I look forward to the read, thanks.