| Description: |
|
From Amazon
Dead Girls, Nancy Lee's debut collection of short fiction, is an intense, morbid, and distinguished book. Revolving obliquely around the arrest of a serial killer (a retired dentist who lures prostitutes to his suburban home and buries them in his backyard), these stories chronicle brief moments in the lives of characters who exist at--or beyond--the edges of reason: maladjusted horny teenagers trading sexual favours on Valentine's Day, a lonely tattoo artist falling in love with (and growing impotent before) the homeless girl he takes in, a seemingly staid Vancouver mother growing increasingly desperate in the search for her prostitute daughter. Lee's world is strongly reminiscent of Patrick Roscoe's The Truth About Love; the two books share a graveyard sensibility and compassionate melancholy. Roscoe's book is more adventurous, but Dead Girls has much to recommend it--these stories are consistently enthralling and sometimes surprisingly funny. The real merit of Dead Girls is just that--Nancy Lee's considerable ability to leaven dire, depressing stories with grace and gentle, appropriate humour. Despite its lurid title and seemingly garish subject matter, this is a pleasingly understated collection that is well worth reading. --Jack Illingworth
|
