Monday 7 March 2016

Book review - The Hot Dog King and Other Stories, by Wendell Thorne

Thorne is not a lean writer. He is baroque, embellished, laden with ornate curlicues.

This could be levelled as a criticism, and doubtless will be by some; the fashion of the moment is for very focussed short fiction, without side trails or stops for coffee. But I found them a breath of fresh air in today's world of genre-directed fiction.

The foundation of this very elaborate treatment, I think, rests with the characters. Thorne's characters live, they breath, they pulse with life and reality - even the minor characters, even the dead parents of characters are drawn with such detail that they practically jump off the page.

These four stories teem with all the life and colour of a fairground. They swept me away to other times, other places, without even a breath. 

The Hot Dog King and Other Stories is available from AMAZON in paperback and Kindle editions.

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