Tara Ison

In this one big excuse for unexamined hedonism, Ison claims the title of "feminist" but does just about anything she can to undermine it. She'll throw around coded vocabulary that gets me to let my guard down, then hit me with glorification of sexual assault, excuses for destructive substance abuse, apologism for pedophilia, and other bullshit.

It pokes at my sensitive spots...I'm made severely uncomfortable by casual sex, drug use, and the culture that surrounds them. I recognize that this and other preferences of mine make me inflate the flaws of this book, but regardless...they're present. It's more complicated that I present it here, and there's even moments that move me and capture parts of my own experience, but I don't care. It's infuriating.… (meer)

Tara Ison's principal fascinations seem to be human cruelty, isolation and Los Angeles, more or less in that order. While not every story in "Ball" works, the best -- "Cactus", "Wig", "Apology" and the title story -- demonstrate of what happens to people when they make the conscious choice to refuse to connect and grow. Like her obvious literary progenitor, Mary Gaitskill, Ison is unsparing with her characters and doesn't hold back much, but her stuff doesn't have Gaitskill's cutting minimalism, and her prose is, if carefully structured and well-honed, more traditionally writerly. Not for the faint of heart, but not exactly a revelation, this is a good collection for readers with low tolerances for the soft, flowery stuff that wilts away rapidly in the merciless Southern California desert. The cover's a badly executed and wholly unnecessary ripoff of Alison Nutting's "Tampa." It's a pity: while Ison really isn't on Gaitskill's level, just about everything here blows "Tampa" right out of the water. Also, a quick look at Ison's bio revealed that the author had published here and there and taught here and there and uh, received a co-writing credit for nineties-era schlockfest "Don't Tell Mom, the Babysitter's Dead"? I didn't see that coming. My God, L.A.'s a weird place.… (meer)