4.5 Stars!

A ghost named Blank with Xs for eyes, and a ghost named Shultz-these are the only friends of Detritus; and they both know the "Opposite" is coming. What a strange, sad and surreal story this was. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, other than that I loved it.

Detritus is a young man who has nothing in life, not even a nice first name. With a meth head for a "mother", (which, believe me is using the term loosely), and whoever her boyfriend is for the week, Det's life in the trailer is barely tolerable. It's really no wonder that he has ghosts for friends.

But time with his spectral buddies is limited because they all know/feel that the Opposite is coming and he's coming for Det. For everything lovely in Det's life the Opposite chalks up something horrible in his life. It's some kind of insane world balance. But the Opposite NEEDS Det, or at least he believes he does, and this is where the story lives.

I want to mention the use of language, it was often just gorgeous. I loved this passage when Det was telling Blank how he felt about her:

"He told her he had a hole in his heart just her size. He told her all those things lonely people long to hear, and they were scented lavender words."

Doesn't that pull on something inside you? It does for me.

I loved this novella, somber and dark though it was, and I urge you to try it out for yourself. It's a surreal, shadowy little treat and even though you might have questions, I bet you'll enjoy it just the same. Sometimes it's best to leave some things to the imagination.

Highly recommended! Buy your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Detritus-Love-Yardley-Mercedes-M-ebook/dp/B01M0I3DQX/chas...

*I was provided a free e-copy of this novella in exchange for my honest review. This is it. In addition, I do *know* John Boden, (on-line only), and consider him to be a friend. This has not affected the outcome of this review.* ( )

Haunting, dreamlike tale of a high-schooler named Detritus (called Det) who sees ghosts. One is a boy who dresses like a Nazi, who he calls Schultz, and the other is a girl with X's over her eyes, named Blank. These are his best friends in an otherwise cruel, uncaring world. As his relationship with these listless spirits deepens we become aware of something coming for him; an evil twin, a Jungian shadow, a demonic entity called The Opposite. Det's struggle with this creature may very well have existential implications for the entire world of both the living and the dead. I especially enjoyed the prose of this story; it has a subtle poetry to it; skillfully knowing when to be graceful and subtle, and when to be dark and bleak. In that way it reads like the best kind of fairy-tale or ghost story. Highly recommended. ( )