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The Art of Short Story, Jun 12 2008
This is Neil Smith's debut book of 9 short stories. It's somewhat uneven, like most books of short fiction. Some of the stories were gems and a couple duds.
I especially enjoyed "The B9ers", the story of a support group for people who had benign tumors. Yes, you read write, the non-lethal variety of tumor. This story was both humorous and touching.
Another story I enjoyed was the title story, "Bang Crunch". It's the touching story about a girl born with Fred Hoyle syndrome. First she ages rapidly and then goes backward, back to an embryo again.
There were only 2 stories that I didn't care for at all. "Green Fluorescent Protein" and "Extremities". They were just too "out there" for me.
Neil Smith is a strong writer. He writes with sensitivity and wicked humour. Though I didn't like all the stories in this collection, I highly recommend it. The stories I enjoyed were well worth the time!
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Very nice on the outside, Mar 6 2007
There is a particular merit to the short story form. It allows you to skate by on pure literary talent when purpose you are working with a premise that would not stand up to anything longer. Neil Smith has clearly perfected this art; Bang/Crunch is a collection of stories that are charming, perfect, and beautifully written, but would be completely insufferable were they any longer.
Of the nine short stories in the collection, there are a few that have frustratingly mundane concepts including the after school special topics of a teenager questioning his sexuality and one about surviving cancer. These premises, although dull, are rescued to a one by delicate and finely crafted prose; there're few words out of place in the book, and not a sentence that doesn't feel like it has been distilled down.
Those stories where the quality of the concept matches the writing the title foremost among them are marvelous things, and all of the stories do end up compelling. I don't mean this to be a negative review, because Bang/Crunch is wonderful to read and the product of a spectacular writer. It's just that it feels a bit like a nice new paint job on a rickety shack. Very nice on the outside, but I wouldn't want to stay long.
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