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The Overwhelming Urge (2008)

by Andersen Prunty(Favorite Author)

3.93 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1933929650 (ISBN13: 9781933929651)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Eraserhead Press

review 1: Andersen Prunty, The Overwhelming Urge (Eraserhead Press, 2008)I'm a pretty big fan of Andersen Prunty's. While I can't claim to have read anywhere near the man's entire output—he's easily one of the most prolific authors whose bibliography I keep track of—what I've read has been good stuff from front to back. The Overwhelming Urge, a collection of mostly short-shorts, is no exception. While it would be more accurate to label most of these character sketches rather than stories, they never fail to be interesting. And when Prunty does show up with a full-fledged story, as he does a few times in this collection, wow. “Discovering the Shape of My Skull” is a darned fine blend of horror, humor, and existential angst, a blend that Prunty has come close to perfecting. Th... moreis is fine stuff indeed, and if you get a chance to pick a copy of this up, go for it. *** ½
review 2: As opposed to other short story bizarro books I have read I have to say this is my favorite. I've liked his books and now his short short mini stories. The stories are all over the map but each one great and well thought out in its own right. The longest one at ten pages and going against the short rhythm of the book itself, feels like an epic. Each one is a smooth, fast read, propelled along by the quality of Prunty's storytelling. The quality of Prunty's writing is great, polite & nice, bordering on apologetic. But with these short stories I am reminded of telling jokes, due to their shortness; moreover, I pair some of these stories and the art form to improv comedy like The UCB theater, and Andersen does a great job at setting up the story and delivering the laughs. And on the laugh spectrum it goes from crazily weird, to the gross out funny, to laugh out loud hysterical to the scratch your head and then laugh about it later.Some of my favorites include: Prince, Void, Blood, The Wise Man, Drugs, Vampire, The Animal Trainer, and Frogs.4.5 stars, a great rapid-fire bizarro short story novella. So far I have enjoyed every Prunty read that I have gotten my hands on. less

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