Dark Rides: A Novel in Stories

by Derek McCormack

A gay teenager named Derek McCormack describes life in a small town in 1952. Unable to voice his forbidden desires to himself or anyone else, Derek moves like an automaton through a world that notices him only when he self-destructs. He is an ephemeral being obsessed with ephemera - fireworks, midway rides, holiday ornaments, country music stars. Illustrated with period photographs of midways, Dark Rides is an unprecedented exploration of the production of identity and the machinery of desire.

Genres: Fiction

99 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1996

Reviews

[Joel Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book that references the Red Dog in Peterborough is a good one to me.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Derek McCormack lives at the austere intersection of Denis Johnson and Flannery O'Connor. Uniquely dark and unforgettable short fiction.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful, funny, sometimes heartbreaking, but often reflective. Dark rides was a joy to read.

In this collection of short vignettes, we follow the anecdotes of a gay boys, all named Derek McCormack as they navigates their homosexuality in rural Canada in the 1950s. Sometimes Some have erotic escapades with another local boy, one goes to Toronto for conversion therapy, sometimes they're with a girl, but longing for a boy. Many are unpleasant people, but they also often faces unfairness despite. This was an endearing series of stories that kept you thinking and empathizing with our flawed main characters.

Despite seemingly being a standard short story collection, this was quite experimental. All stories followed characters with the same name, all named after the author. The stories took place in the same geographical area, but all had different characters. It was intriguing, but didn't linger on any speculation for this stylistic decision. Many of these short stories were quite short, just 4-5 pages, so there wasn't a ton of time to dive into any one in serious depth, but still some managed to pack a punch. I'd definitely pick up more by the author.

[Liv Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to be a trapshooter but now I’m a pyrotechnician

[Anna Lancry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect stories.
Although the annoying foreword by Lisa Robertson in the 30th anniversary edition almost put me off the whole thing

[r. fay]

Godrek McCorgod does it again, like he always does!! all eyes on Pilot Press by the way, doing what no one else seems to be able to do: identify real talent!!!

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly captures the small town gay experience of yesteryear...a strong companion piece to BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not uninteresting, but it's quite a stretch to call this a novel. Even if all of the stories are about the same character it's difficult to put together a coherent timeline that would have them all happening to the same person. And in any event there's no narrative or thematic throughline connecting the stories - no story leads to the next; there's no difference in the character or his situation at the end of the book from the front of the book. To me this really read as a collection of very brief and minimalist short stories and not as the coherent story of a single person.
I do find the project interesting - i.e., telling the story of a gay teenager in a rural 1950s environment and through a gothic and sometimes violent style - so I was predisposed to get something out of this. However, none of the individual stories landed with me. At least it's a quick read!

[Yureka Eric Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

so trauma

[Paula Glancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Burning house books February Bookclub pick.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short but good read. Short stories about gay kids in the 50s. Enjoyed lots other than there was a woman on the bus who wouldn't stop shouting the entire time

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is, like, 80 pages long or something, told in a dozen or so short stories, so I'm still trying to understand how the author can call it a novel. But I did enjoy McCormack's choppy, poetic writing style.