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Overview"Debra Di Blasi writes from the heart of the Postmodern American Gothic. A native Missourian, she plumbs the depths of psychosexual repercussion and searing sentiment behind the region's parched, pitchfork-bearing façade. Though her writing has been widely published in literary journals, Drought, paired here with a second novella, Say What You Like, is a stunning first foray into book form. In Drought, Di Blasi dissects a young couple's relationship on a failing cattle ranch, allowing us to see all the subcutaneous mental and physical violence they endure. As unceasing heat kills the couple's livestock, Di Blasi focuses a science writer's exactitude and a poet's charged restraint on the human cost of rural tragedy. Say What You Like offers an even more ruthless examination of a couple's deep-seated pain. Pared down to short, numbered sections, the relationship of a nameless ""He"" and ""She"" is laid bare by Di Blasi's unflinching skill with the scalpel. Debra Di Blasi is a daring young writer of the top order." Full Product DetailsAuthor: Debra Di BlasiPublisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation Imprint: New Directions Publishing Corporation Dimensions: Width: 13.20cm , Height: 0.80cm , Length: 20.30cm Weight: 0.107kg ISBN: 9780811213325ISBN 10: 0811213323 Pages: 89 Publication Date: 24 April 1997 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Out of stock  The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available. Table of ContentsReviewsOut of a bleak postmodernist vision of the Midwest come two desiccated husks of novellas, both about souring relationships and sex-as-violation, in a bone-dry debut. First story, Drought : June. Hot, no rain. House, peeling paint. Willa: painter. Pond, drying. Canoe, oar, a man: Kale. Kale drinks, drunk. Was writer, once. Like Willa's father now. Cows, calves dying. Buzzard bait. Kale shoots cans through bedroom window. Couples with Willa in moonlight. Hot, no rain. Kale goes to town, alone. Masturbates in car. Drinks, drunk. Turned on by cafe waitress, cicadas mating on the windshield, masturbates on way home. Kale sells herd, drinks. Rapes Willa, pregnant now. Hot, no rain. Willa shoots cans, then Kale. Drowns herself in pond. Rain. Second story, Say What You Like : Man in pain, woman in pain. His dog needy, her cat not. Man dreams of mother breastfeeding him while masturbating him. Man hits woman, scares her by driving fast, bangs her head against headboard during sex. Woman takes it, takes aspirin. Winter: Snow, long nights. More hitting, never on the face. Spring: Sun, crocuses. Woman asks, Do you love me? Man answers, No. Woman walks out. Man says, Boomerang. Conclusion: Aside from the memorable terseness of the prose, which in this case makes divinity of brevity, not much ground here hasn't been covered before - and better. (Kirkus Reviews) Author InformationTab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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