Very powerful, great character development. Would have lived to read a full novel instead of a novella, but hey. I'm just the reader. ( )

Gritty, deep, dark noir. The main character is reeling from the loss of his marriage, home, parents, and career as he drives cross country with his faithful bulldog, Churchill. Once he gets to his brother's home, he finds no solace there either. The themes of loss, failure, bad decisions, mediocity are manifest, and the frustration and rage, which follow. Excellent writing, but ending too abrupt. No idea which of his books to read next.
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Every Shallow Cut was released in 2011, but I didn't get to crack open its cover until one dreary day early in 2012. The next few hours were a blur, and when I closed the covers again, I knew I had just experienced something very special.

Brutal, yes. Violent, sometimes. Unforgiving, oh yes, and spilling over with despair. It may be one of the finest literary recreations of depression I've come across. As the title implies, every sentence is a razor, every word a shearing of flesh from meat. Every Shallow Cut is a nightmare of urban angst, the terror of losing everything to faceless banks and sneering creditors. At its essence, in its tone and style, it reminds me of nothing so much as the brilliantly unsentimental work of Jim Thompson (an author who knew his way around insanity).

But is it special? With a capital S. If I'd read it three days sooner, it would have been in my top reads of 2011.

Read the rest of the review here. ( )