A few days ago, an envelope containing a small black box arrived in the mail for me. I had no idea what it was but I knew it was probably a new product to review. When I opened up the box, I was pleasantly surprised to see a fresh new book inside.Have I mentioned how much I love to read?
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Well, if not, I do! I read practically every single day!
The book that I received in the mail is called Surface Children and it is by Dean Blake.
About the Book:
(Author's Blurb)
Dean has once again demonstrated his mastery of the art of story-telling in the much-anticipated collection of short stories.
From a satirical tale of a group of teenagers who crave nothing but perfection to a horrific account of a young man who claims to eat people. Surface Children introduces its readers to a generation consumed by vanity, self-indulgence, violence, and a twisted understanding of love and heartbreak.
My Thoughts on the Book:
Well, I honestly idea had no idea what to expect when I opened the book. Am I happy that I read it? YES. Let me tell you why...
This book was very different from many of the books that I have read, and liked I mentioned above--I read A LOT. This book was very fresh, and unique. It is extremely entertaining. It's filled with Dean Blake's raw and uncensored writing. There's humor, love, heartbreak, intoxication, money, sex, blood, and more.
It's a collection of short stories, as stated above, and it goes from stories about Dean and his friends to random stories that he has written over years. It went back and forth this way, until the end. I like the way it is all put together. This kept the book very interesting. I read the book really quickly because I couldn't seem to put it down.
I love a lot of things that were said throughout this book. Here are a few excerpts:
"To me, love is suffering fora reward. It's putting up with fights and imperfections and the constant fear of loss to enjoy those subtle moments, like asking my man to carry my bag if it gets really heavy, or knowing that I have someone to come home to and cry to, or seeing someone I care about achieve a goal, and like, just having a photo of him to look at and smile at after having a fight. Do you get what I mean? It's about, like, going through pain to enjoy all those stupid little things that deep down, we all actually long for."- Vail
Afterwards Eva started working on some readings she had to do for one of her units and I walked to my computer and, unlit cigarette in my mouth, tried to write something. But I couldn't: out there, people were struggling, dying. But here I was, in love. What had I done to deserve someone like her? I'd done nothing. - Dean
I guess I like a few things. I like alcohol. I like the way my sunglasses fold. I like calling people up. I like stepping out of the shower. I like the word August. I like parties. I like driving to the beach from time to time. I like telling people I'm applying for jobs. I like girls, how they look. I like sitting down outside and watching things clear up, the sun rise and filter through the neighborhood. I like how when I ask people, "How are you?" They say, "Good, and yourself?"And they don't notice this, but for a millisecond before I respond, I think of what people expect out of me, and I look inside my pockets for something to say, a lie or maybe the truth or maybe something in between, and from somewhere inside their shallow depths comes something supposedly tremendous, a word, I think, a word that's kind of invisible, but whatever, I'm not sure, and it's this: "Good."
I find that all fiction books do is make people dream, but that's it. They fantasize but don't create fantasies. Its for lazy people who want nothing more than to escape from reality as easily as possible without any effort whatsoever.
Some of the stories in Surface Children made me laugh, some maybe me think about my own life, some stories were disturbing, and others were sad. One thing is for sure- I enjoyed reading them all. I found myself saying, "Wow, I didn't see that coming!" and "Oh, my God, that's horrible!" quite a few times. It's not predictable, which is unlike many books that I've read. It will shock you at different points.
Do I recommend this book?
I think that it's a great book. I recommend this book to all you readers out there who enjoy want to read a book that's not like many others. A QUICK NOTE--- It's not a book for the easily offended though and yes it's for a mature audience. Not a young teen or kid's type of book!
I would LOVE to read more of Dean Blake's writing in the future. He's an excellent writer. I'm also a writer and I strive to write something as blunt and original as his work, in the near future.
I'll be honest- I had never heard of Dean Blake before this book arrived. So, what I did was look him up and found out that he has a really interesting and popular blog called Generation End. If you haven't checked it out yet, you totally should.
Quick blurb on his blog:
We were the point, the end dream, the favourite money, the secret vices, the untitled democracy. We had a purpose, and we could only read it when we'd become blind. We were the victims of freedom. We were history on repeat. We were Generation End.
Many of the characters mentioned in Surface Children are a part of his ongoing blog, by the way.
You can also find Dean Blake On:
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