Bastille Day

Bastille Day, this third set of short stories by the author, who resembles a Murakami or even a modern day Kafka, in many respects, beautifully twists so-called reality until it becomes so preposterous and unbelievable that we see ourselves and modern day America in it. In The Culling, for instance, you have a Trumpian-like king and a public bereft of their wits and wisdom so much so that when he squats and defecates, with this ‘package’ being summarily thrown to the cheering crowd, they erupt in unison, and joyfully shout, ‘The King gives a shit! He gives a shit!’ Next, you have The Book of the Dead (2nd edition) and Knock, Knock, Knockin’ that are about the final steps of enlightenment and the eradication of the ego, so that the alchemical process yields gold and not the lesser metals. A Long, Long Time Ago deals, in contrast, with the time of Adam before God took one of his ribs – and created Eve! And lastly, since brevity is the soul of wit, Bastille Day is both prescient and prophetic in that today’s youth finally realizing that The Common Good is no longer good, and perhaps, has never been good, rightfully rebel and rob a bank from sheer desperation.