2018 School Spending Survey Report
As Close As You'll Ever Be
Cairn. 2012. 154p. ISBN 9780985319717. pap. $18; ebk. ISBN 9780985319724. F
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This stunning collection depicts the climate of violence in Northern Ireland and among Irish expatriates in America during the period of The Troubles. Several themes are repeated throughout. "The Long Wet Grass" and "No Exceptions" offer frank descriptions of paramilitary executions, while "Listen Here to Me" and "The Perfect Son" are revenge fantasies about killing abusive fathers. Also prevalent is much armed robbery, as seen in "The Witness" and "Sure," told with a gripping procedural authenticity. Shocking acts of violence are pervasive, as is an incongruous but ubiquitous vegetarian. The deadpan descriptions of mayhem are seductive and enticing. The two not overtly violent stories, "Another One" and "On Her Birthday," offer a poignant contrast.
VERDICT Excessive bloodletting, almost to the point of satire, evokes the flavor of Tarantino's Kill Bill films and the sense of transgression of J.G. Ballard's accident-fetish novel Crash. Scanlon illuminates the intertwined relationship among victims and perpetrators of violence. This collection is an ode to the human truth found in violent desperation. Highly recommended.
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