In the Absence of Predators

by Vinnie Wilhelm

Shot through with dark humor, desolate landscapes, and seemingly impossible plot turns, IN THE ABSENCE OF PREDATORS is a striking collection that haunts long after the stories have reached their outlandish conclusions. Here we discover the most captivating of human forms: dreamers, liars, thieves, murderers, and lovers—characters provoked to search, and those abandoned by their own fates and identities. Wilhelm’s narrative crescendos disclose the most terrifying corners of this world; there are wrecks, blizzards, asylums, agents, road trips, and an army of ghosts. IN THE ABSENCE OF PREDATORS is a masterful debut of five cracked and astonishing stories.

Vinnie Wilhelm was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the recipient of literary fellowships from the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center and the National Endowment for the Arts. Wilhelm's fiction has appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Harvard Review, Southern Review, and elsewhere. He lives in Philadelphia.

156 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[Devin G · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got brain rot reading this book

[Scot Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not nearly as impressed by this book as I'd hoped, based on what I've read in other reviews. I thought a couple of the stories were fairly good, but the others just didn't capture me.

1 - White Dog: 1 star. On the positive side, this story was short. I felt it to be a fairly underdeveloped, unimaginative take on the idea of prophetic dreams that never really went anywhere.

2 - The Crying of the Gulls: 4 stars. This was quite a good short story, and one I can in good conscience recommend. It is suspenseful, has a couple of interesting plot twists, and a surprising and unsettling ending.

3 - Cruelty to Animals: 4 stars. This was quite a good depiction of the descent into madness. I also recommend this one.

4 - Lord Fauntleroy's Ghost: 3 stars. This one didn't particularly impress or disappoint. I don't regret the time I spent reading it.

5 - In the Absence of Predators: 2 stars. I had high expectations going into this story, but they were not met. The author's attempts at profundity regarding man's relationship with animals fell rather flat in my opinion, and the ending was strongly disappointing.

The bottom line: If the price drops significantly and an ebook edition is released, this might be worth picking up for two of the stories, but I can't really recommend the others.

[Lady Reezy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic little book. Hopefully I will eventually post a link to my review of it in Front Porch. ::crosses fingers::

WOOT! http://www.frontporchjournal.com/200_...

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go Vinnie go.