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The House That Smelled Like Urine and Other Short Stories
Special Agent Harold Leonard has spent his entire career chasing a suspect who has eluded him at every step. When he finally reaches the end of his road he learns... there are many more roads and nothing is what it seems. Join Leonard as he embarks on a life-questioning adventure throughout the spectrum of space and time. Be there as he discovers the true meaning to life, the universe and a whole lot of nothing.
142 pages, Paperback
First published June 5, 2013
3 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Giovanni Russano
10 books16 followersGiovanni Russano is an asshole, at the very least, asshole adjacent. Born somewhere in New Jersey, Giovanni has
spent the last 3 decades in search of something... substantial. Forever walking
down dark avenues seeking light. An optimistic-nihilist, Mr. Russano has a very
unique world-view which makes for writing that can be sometimes hostile,
sometimes hopeful but always honest. Having worked on the outskirts of the
horror film industry for years and then spending even more years traveling the
country with nothing but good company and goodwill as a political activist and
self-proclaimed revolutionary, it may have seemed odd when he settled into a
job in national politics working alongside some of the biggest political celebrities
of our time. It would seem even more odd if you knew he was also a fugitive
from the law for nearly a decade during all of this for stopping a hate crime. Now, after
resolving his legal issues and settling into a life of quiet solitude as a New
Jersey Housewife, he has finally put together a series of work to be proud of... The
House That Smelled Like Urine and other short stories, They Call Me Jesus & The 6 Novella Series Meet the Moseleys, all currently available
as a paperback on Amazon.com and other online retailers and bookstores. Some works are available in the Kindle store as well. He's also got an exciting horror parable novel called Goblin coming this year to be on the lookout for. So, why is he an
asshole you ask? Because he waited this long to get things started. That and
despite his good qualities, he's quite unpleasant to be around.
spent the last 3 decades in search of something... substantial. Forever walking
down dark avenues seeking light. An optimistic-nihilist, Mr. Russano has a very
unique world-view which makes for writing that can be sometimes hostile,
sometimes hopeful but always honest. Having worked on the outskirts of the
horror film industry for years and then spending even more years traveling the
country with nothing but good company and goodwill as a political activist and
self-proclaimed revolutionary, it may have seemed odd when he settled into a
job in national politics working alongside some of the biggest political celebrities
of our time. It would seem even more odd if you knew he was also a fugitive
from the law for nearly a decade during all of this for stopping a hate crime. Now, after
resolving his legal issues and settling into a life of quiet solitude as a New
Jersey Housewife, he has finally put together a series of work to be proud of... The
House That Smelled Like Urine and other short stories, They Call Me Jesus & The 6 Novella Series Meet the Moseleys, all currently available
as a paperback on Amazon.com and other online retailers and bookstores. Some works are available in the Kindle store as well. He's also got an exciting horror parable novel called Goblin coming this year to be on the lookout for. So, why is he an
asshole you ask? Because he waited this long to get things started. That and
despite his good qualities, he's quite unpleasant to be around.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 29, 2013
In spite of its title, The House That Smelled Like Urine and Other Short Stories is not dark humor. It is serious, something-is-going-to-kill-you, unapologetic horror.
This quirky anthology weaves short, standalone stories with a longer tale, a move that helps create a continuity of tension for the book as a whole.
Russano's writing reminded me of a marriage of Richard Laymon and Elmore Leonard - dark, gruesome, tense - but with a touch of the sardonic. He is a writer whose career I will follow with interest.
This book is not suitable for children, church librarians, or people who like to read about crime scenes where only the chalk outline of the corpse remains. You will be part of the crime scene when reading Russano's books.
This quirky anthology weaves short, standalone stories with a longer tale, a move that helps create a continuity of tension for the book as a whole.
Russano's writing reminded me of a marriage of Richard Laymon and Elmore Leonard - dark, gruesome, tense - but with a touch of the sardonic. He is a writer whose career I will follow with interest.
This book is not suitable for children, church librarians, or people who like to read about crime scenes where only the chalk outline of the corpse remains. You will be part of the crime scene when reading Russano's books.
September 28, 2013
The House That Smelled Like Urine and Other Short Stories is disturbing and brilliant, all at the same time. It is a collection of very dark horror stories interspersed between a story about a detective named Leonard, making for a rather disjointed tale.
The writing is fast paced, somewhat manic at times, but overall entertaining. However, I would have liked the foul language toned down a bit, which would not take away from the gritty realism of these stories.
I read an e-book version of the story and found the formatting to be in need of some work. The multiple blank pages between stories didn't add anything to the read, and the book as a whole could have stood a better editing job.
Overall, Geovanni is an excellent writer. I believe he is more than capable of writing a straight detective story, garnering himself a large audience. This book, however, isn't it.
The writing is fast paced, somewhat manic at times, but overall entertaining. However, I would have liked the foul language toned down a bit, which would not take away from the gritty realism of these stories.
I read an e-book version of the story and found the formatting to be in need of some work. The multiple blank pages between stories didn't add anything to the read, and the book as a whole could have stood a better editing job.
Overall, Geovanni is an excellent writer. I believe he is more than capable of writing a straight detective story, garnering himself a large audience. This book, however, isn't it.
October 7, 2013
The House that Smelled Like Urine and Other Short Stories is a demented fun-house of strangeness, definitely not for the squeamish or easily offended! My reaction to this work is mixed, as I felt the writing was of inconsistent quality, so I've broken my review down into parts for clarity.
THE FORWARD:
The book opens with a forward by the author giving some history of his writing career and background information. If I'm being honest, the forward very much rubbed me the wrong way. It made me approach the story with more dread than enthusiasm, which is not an ideal mindset to begin a book. The majority of this introduction is devoted to a bizarrely vindictive rant against a grade school English teacher, which struck me as rather petty. It seems unfortunate that, rather than having someone to thank, this author has someone to condemn. (Admittedly, the fact that I am myself an English teacher of sorts may be in play here). But the part that ultimately bugged me the most was the post script, in which the author (with a level of tongue in cheek) blames this teacher for his not knowing how to use a comma. I suppose I should thank him for the warning, as the punctuation throughout the entire work is consistently and distractingly incorrect. It was galling to trip over error after error and know, because of the forward, that the author is entirely aware of the issue!
THE BEGINNING:
The work is at its strongest in the beginning. The first person, slightly disjointed style of the first Leonard segment had me in mind of a a Noir film voice over. This goes away later, which is a pity as I found it engaging. Next, we get the namesake story, The House That Smelled Like Urine, which is by far the highest point of the collection. It is a gruesome, disturbing, and violent tale that is very much like the car crash you can't pull your eyes from. It is full of wonderfully troubling and disgusting imagery, and had a kind of filthy American gothicism that felt in the same vein as the great Flannery O'Connor.
THE MIDDLE AND END:
For me, the book never really hits its stride again after The House that Smelled like Urine. There is a lot going on--action, gore, and big questions. It certainly is never dull, but nor is it ever as vividly rendered or affecting as the opening. (Though I did enjoy checking back in with one of those characters later on) A lot of strange things happen and there are many questions raised. Had this all come together in some mind-blowingly well-crafted conclusion, I might have loved it. Instead, I finished the book and felt rather as I did after watching the series finale of Lost. Don't expect everything to come together and make sense here.
THE WRITING:
The quality of the writing is inconsistent. At times, it sings. It's vivid and the word-choice is interesting. At other times, it feels unpolished and slapdash, over-reliant on narrative summary. Frequently, the dialogue is followed up by unnecessary and redundant exposition, often glaringly so as in this quote: "'I don't understand,' he really doesn't understand." And, as I mentioned before, the pervasive punctuation issues were rather like a pebble in my shoe.
So, in conclusion, while there are moments of greatness here, the weaknesses make it hard for me to wholeheartedly recommend.
THE FORWARD:
The book opens with a forward by the author giving some history of his writing career and background information. If I'm being honest, the forward very much rubbed me the wrong way. It made me approach the story with more dread than enthusiasm, which is not an ideal mindset to begin a book. The majority of this introduction is devoted to a bizarrely vindictive rant against a grade school English teacher, which struck me as rather petty. It seems unfortunate that, rather than having someone to thank, this author has someone to condemn. (Admittedly, the fact that I am myself an English teacher of sorts may be in play here). But the part that ultimately bugged me the most was the post script, in which the author (with a level of tongue in cheek) blames this teacher for his not knowing how to use a comma. I suppose I should thank him for the warning, as the punctuation throughout the entire work is consistently and distractingly incorrect. It was galling to trip over error after error and know, because of the forward, that the author is entirely aware of the issue!
THE BEGINNING:
The work is at its strongest in the beginning. The first person, slightly disjointed style of the first Leonard segment had me in mind of a a Noir film voice over. This goes away later, which is a pity as I found it engaging. Next, we get the namesake story, The House That Smelled Like Urine, which is by far the highest point of the collection. It is a gruesome, disturbing, and violent tale that is very much like the car crash you can't pull your eyes from. It is full of wonderfully troubling and disgusting imagery, and had a kind of filthy American gothicism that felt in the same vein as the great Flannery O'Connor.
THE MIDDLE AND END:
For me, the book never really hits its stride again after The House that Smelled like Urine. There is a lot going on--action, gore, and big questions. It certainly is never dull, but nor is it ever as vividly rendered or affecting as the opening. (Though I did enjoy checking back in with one of those characters later on) A lot of strange things happen and there are many questions raised. Had this all come together in some mind-blowingly well-crafted conclusion, I might have loved it. Instead, I finished the book and felt rather as I did after watching the series finale of Lost. Don't expect everything to come together and make sense here.
THE WRITING:
The quality of the writing is inconsistent. At times, it sings. It's vivid and the word-choice is interesting. At other times, it feels unpolished and slapdash, over-reliant on narrative summary. Frequently, the dialogue is followed up by unnecessary and redundant exposition, often glaringly so as in this quote: "'I don't understand,' he really doesn't understand." And, as I mentioned before, the pervasive punctuation issues were rather like a pebble in my shoe.
So, in conclusion, while there are moments of greatness here, the weaknesses make it hard for me to wholeheartedly recommend.
August 31, 2013
4.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic read, August 31, 2013
By Allison kohn "story teller" (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The House That Smelled Like Urine: and Other Short Stories (Paperback)
The Preface had me laughing and wanting to hear more from this author. the quotes following the preface were from an existentialist point of view. The first installment of Leonard is a fast paced thriller. The first short story is an unrealistic horror story of the worst thing that could happen as a result f incest - it ends with a moral of sorts. Starting with Leonard 2, the pace takes him into another dimension, with vampires that suck ... instead of blood - and so the story goes on, into more dimensions .... with no end and no resolutions. Edger Allen Poe evolved into the new millennium.
July 17, 2013
'A series of short, initially seemingly non-related stories, which ultimately are woven together through events and characters. A dark and disturbing series, where death is frequently a resolution, and reality is often hidden behind a mask.
A heady cocktail combing vibes from X-files, Men in Black, The Exorcist and Twin Peaks. A roller-coaster of things nightmares and bizarre dreams are made of.
Through turmoil, the phoenix ultimately rises from the ashes.
Definitely one for anyone interested in human psychology and psycho-analysis, as troubled characters battle their demons and seek truth from imagery.'
A heady cocktail combing vibes from X-files, Men in Black, The Exorcist and Twin Peaks. A roller-coaster of things nightmares and bizarre dreams are made of.
Through turmoil, the phoenix ultimately rises from the ashes.
Definitely one for anyone interested in human psychology and psycho-analysis, as troubled characters battle their demons and seek truth from imagery.'
July 30, 2013
I love a book that makes me want to read rather than click through television channels in search of entertainment. This is one that did just that for me. Giovanni Russano is a terrific writer, and he's created characters that will stay with you long after you've finished the book. This book had me hooked from the first paragraph and I was unable to put it down! The story is fantastic, the characters are very relatable, and the twists actually shocked me! Wickedly unexpected twists and turns right up until the very end. Could not put it down--kept me in suspense throughout the entire book. This is a book that hooks you early on and as the plot unfolds, it's hard to stop reading. An excellent story and really well told.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews