Circumnavigation: Stories (Signed First Edition)

Featuring an assortment of alienated, destitute characters searching for redemption, a collection of short stories set in desolate landscapes explores the underbelly of contemporary western America and includes the title story about an irresponsible man

The tough-guy realism and casual nihilism of Thom Jones, Denis Johnson, and Larry Brown (among others) is finding its expression in a second generation of new writers who often sacrifice the subtleties of language for the perfection of the pose. Such is the case with first-timer Lattimore. A typical Lattimore character will wonder out loud if we start life doomed or work our way there. Such white-trash philosophes include the aging slacker of the title story, who tried work once, didn't like it, and now lives in an inherited house with a young boy abandoned by his father, who doesn't seem to be returning any time soon. The depths of meanness surface in ``Dogs,'' in which the narrator recalls locking a friend in a cage and peeing on him; long-simmering anger is the ``sport'' of ``Family Sport''; here, the narrator's mother is losing touch with reality, and her father is not taking the change well. Cruelty is at the black heart of ``My Best Day Was the Third Grade,'' a rich man's memory of his childhood nastiness. The expectant father of ``Answer Me This'' considers splitting, then ends up in a fight at a 711. The result of disappearing parents is seen in ``Jarheads,'' about the son of a battered many-times married mom who makes some unlikely friends; and in ``Separate States,'' about a confused girl who lives with her long-gone mother's ex-husband, an uncommonly good dad, it turns out. The long ``Between Angels'' strikes a surprisingly slapstick note--it's the comic tale of a gangster's quest for proof of the existence of God as revealed by the Ark of the Covenant, supposedly stored in an L.A. warehouse. More tales from loserville by a promising, if somewhat derivative, newcomer. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Lattimore's first collection of short stories describes a world where children are neglected and adults are stupid and cruel. In the title story, the main character watches TV all the time and talks about "the year I made money," when a five-year-old boy is left on his doorstep. In "Dogs," a kid gets kicked out of school and spends the afternoon watching a friend being tormented in unspeakable ways by older boys after being locked in a dog cage. The narratives are mostly first person, told by troubled young boys and angry men who have never taken responsibility for their lives. The writing is pedestrian at best, full of unnecessarily crude language and characters who speak in monosyllables most of the time. Lattimore doesn't provide any insight into his characters' dysfunctional lives; they are merely paraded across the page like freaks. Although ostensibly set in Fresno and other California cities, these stories have no descriptors that would provide atmosphere or sense of place. Lattimore's work has been published in American Short Fiction and Harper's Magazine, making this collection all the more disappointing.?Charlotte L. Glover, Ketchikan P.L., Ak.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.