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Are We Not Men ?
The B-movie in the title story is the 1932 classic Island of Lost Souls. Charles Laughton plays a sadistic scientist whose experiments in the House of Pain have turned a tropical island's wild animals into a tribe of beast-men. Laughton tries to strengthen his piteous creations' tenuous grip on humanity by leading them in pep rallies. Their eyes frantic with a hunger for conviction and approbation, the beast-men repeat the refrain, "Are We Not Men? Are We Not Men?" You don't know if you should laugh or cry.
Spencer's stories make you do both. In a review of his first novel, The Lost Son, Kirkus declared that Spencer "achieves what most debut writers merely He gives personal experience universal meaning and makes small-town tragedy profound." Whether the setting is a failing farm, a prison yard, a leaky apartment complex, or an overflowing canal in Venice, these thirteen stories offer the full range of Spencer's gifts, establishing him as a master of the form and one of our finest comic writers. No one else could make a B movie not only profound, but profoundly, achingly funny.
All of Spencer's characters painstakingly construct their own Houses of Pain. They, too, are yearning for conviction and approbation, seeking the defining moments of their lives, "victims and perpetrators of a patriarchy in flux," as Marly Swick describes them. A few stories echo The Lost Son in their devastating yet redemptive depiction of blue-collar angst; others are exotic, urban, even urbane. What they share is Spencer's ability to make us care passionately about men and women fumbling with their self-delusions and self-discoveries, lost souls learning to do the best they can with the beast within.
Spencer's stories make you do both. In a review of his first novel, The Lost Son, Kirkus declared that Spencer "achieves what most debut writers merely He gives personal experience universal meaning and makes small-town tragedy profound." Whether the setting is a failing farm, a prison yard, a leaky apartment complex, or an overflowing canal in Venice, these thirteen stories offer the full range of Spencer's gifts, establishing him as a master of the form and one of our finest comic writers. No one else could make a B movie not only profound, but profoundly, achingly funny.
All of Spencer's characters painstakingly construct their own Houses of Pain. They, too, are yearning for conviction and approbation, seeking the defining moments of their lives, "victims and perpetrators of a patriarchy in flux," as Marly Swick describes them. A few stories echo The Lost Son in their devastating yet redemptive depiction of blue-collar angst; others are exotic, urban, even urbane. What they share is Spencer's ability to make us care passionately about men and women fumbling with their self-delusions and self-discoveries, lost souls learning to do the best they can with the beast within.
Hardcover
First published September 12, 1996
11 people want to read
About the author
Brent Spencer
7 books6 followersI’m an award-winning fiction writer whose work has been published in Best American Mysteries, The Atlantic, GQ, The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, and elsewhere. I’m the author of the novel The Lost Son, the story collection Are We Not Men?, and the memoir Rattlesnake Daddy. My most recent book is The Last of Her, a crime thriller. I teach creative writing at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and live in Ponca Hills, Nebraska with my wife, novelist Jonis Agee.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 19, 2008
This may be one of the best short story collections I've ever read. Brent Spencer is hilarious, but also has the ability to knock you flat with the longing and depth of his stories. The coolest thing is...the guy's from right here in Omaha! I met him a few times this past year. We ate finger foods at one of Jonis' readings. He's the nicest guy in the world. Possibly most talented? I know, I'm using hyperbole. If you like Raymond Carver and pop culture, check this collection out. He's also got a story in the "Best American Mystery Stories 2007." That one is great. I literally couldn't move after he read it at the Nebraska Summer Writers' Conference.
April 23, 2010
Spencer writes some great characters. Fiercely imagined and desperate. Captivating too. He definitely writes some interesting stories. Just not what I would expect. These stories have a great range. Stories like "The Hazards of Poetry" evidence a wonderful sense of humor while stories like "Babyman" show a delicate handling of pathos. This is an impressive collection.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews