I just finished reading Stephen Graham Jones’s The Bird is Gone: A Manifesto. Or at least I think I did. I’ll just put it out there that it was a total mind-fuck. I’ve read some difficult books in my time, but this one was sincerely trippy, and in all the right ways. I have no idea what was going on in the story, but I know it was good. Jones can write.
I wish I read it slower, but at the same time I know it wouldn’t have helped. The book will have to be reread, but at the same time I’m not sure if I’ll understand it any better.
All I know is that I really liked it. A lot. And I won’t even waste my time trying to explain what it’s about, other than it’s a post-modern (haha) murder mystery set in the future with confusing narration.
Stephen Graham Jones is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I’ve read his Demon Theory, All the Beautiful Sinners, and his short collection Bleed into Me, along with some of this other assorted shorts (the dude’s published all over the place), and all I can say is I haven’t been disappointed yet. All great stuff. Now I can’t wait to get my hands on his two new books (both just out this month): Ledfeather and The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti (he wrote Dugatti for a three day novel competition—yeah, three days).
So if anyone wants to read some good stuff, check out Stephen Graham Jones. Demon Theory and All the Beautiful Sinners are both good places to start off. But if you want to go headlong into the craziness of The Bird is Gone, then by all means. Just don’t blame me when your head explodes.
Tags: All The Beautiful Sinners, Bleed into Me, Demon Theory, Ledfeather, mind fuck, Post-modern, Stephen Graham Jones, The Bird is Gone, The Long Trial of Nolan Dugatti
