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Hamartia
ALL FOUR EJO NOVELS ARE ON SALE FOR .99CENTS APRIL 17-24: **BUT THE ANGELS NEVER CAME, FARMERS AND CANNIBALS, JUST AFTER THE FALL, and THE CHURCH PEAK REVISITED
A woman has been killed, the murderer is known, and nothing is done about it.
Hamartia is a short story centered on the villain of James-Olson's debut novel, Farmers and Cannibals. The action takes place within the same world and sheds additional insight into the fiendish character of "Big" Frank.
"Big" Frank is by no means a tragic hero in the classic sense of the term, nor does his hamartia or mistake lead to a downfall in a strictly physical sense. As the story unfolds Frank is hypnotized by a cubist painting, so terrible, so ugly, yet so abstract that his thoughts travel further and further away from the terrible crime he has committed, into the future, into his dark past, into the lives of people he has known and those he has yet to meet. Frank is a terrible man, and yet, his flaw, his inevitable downfall isn't dissimilar from the mistakes we as people make every day. Reality is in front of him, but he does not see. He has gotten away with murder, but he is not free.
Just a taste of the EJO novel series, "Hamartia" is an excerpt from the book The Church Peak Revisited.
A woman has been killed, the murderer is known, and nothing is done about it.
Hamartia is a short story centered on the villain of James-Olson's debut novel, Farmers and Cannibals. The action takes place within the same world and sheds additional insight into the fiendish character of "Big" Frank.
"Big" Frank is by no means a tragic hero in the classic sense of the term, nor does his hamartia or mistake lead to a downfall in a strictly physical sense. As the story unfolds Frank is hypnotized by a cubist painting, so terrible, so ugly, yet so abstract that his thoughts travel further and further away from the terrible crime he has committed, into the future, into his dark past, into the lives of people he has known and those he has yet to meet. Frank is a terrible man, and yet, his flaw, his inevitable downfall isn't dissimilar from the mistakes we as people make every day. Reality is in front of him, but he does not see. He has gotten away with murder, but he is not free.
Just a taste of the EJO novel series, "Hamartia" is an excerpt from the book The Church Peak Revisited.
33 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Eric James-Olson
12 books76 followersEric James-Olson writes novels and short stories. His first five books, But the Angels Never Came, Farmers and Cannibals, Just After the Fall, The Church Peak Hotel: Revisited, and Whom Cain Slew (November 2016) exist within the same fictional universe and are written by the same fictional author. Currently, James-Olson is working on a coming-of-age novel set in central Maryland.
In addition to writing, James-Olson is a high school English teacher, an outdoor enthusiast, and an amateur woodworker. He lives with his wife and daughter in West Virginia.
Check out the website: http://ericjamesolson.com/
And don't forget the Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/ericjamesolson
In addition to writing, James-Olson is a high school English teacher, an outdoor enthusiast, and an amateur woodworker. He lives with his wife and daughter in West Virginia.
Check out the website: http://ericjamesolson.com/
And don't forget the Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/ericjamesolson
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 27, 2016
I downloaded this for my kindle because it was free and I enjoyed reading the novels by this author.
Hamartia is a short story centered around the bad guy from Farmers and Cannibals, Big Frank.
I found that this short story was much different from that novel. While the novel used fairly straightforward storytelling, this short story took a much more unique approach. The story itself was centered around a cubist painting titled Hamartia. I looked that word up. Apparently it means mistake or error in judgment. The story begins with Big Frank who is standing above the dead body of his wife. Instead of looking down at his wife he stares at the painting. It seemed pretty weird at first but as the story progressed different aspects of the painting were described. As the abstract images are described, flashes from different parts of Franks life are revealed, as well as, flashes from the life of an investigative reporter who is looking into the death of Big Frank's wife. I found the ugliness of the painting to be particularly interesting. It looked nothing like the cover picture, but seemed to serve almost as a window into Frank's soul, kinda like that Oscar Wilde story, The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Even though the narration jumped around a lot I thought it was cool because it reflected the image of the painting that Big Frank was looking at throughout the length of the story. I sometimes have a hard time with stories that are written this way but not with this one. I thought it was pretty easy to follow.
I thought it was cool how the story ended in the exact same way that it began. It was as if it started with Big Frank reading the title of the story and clearly, it ended with him reading the title. I found it ironic that Frank spent the story looking at an ugly painting titled "mistake" instead of looking down at the real mistake he had made lying in a pool of blood at his feet.
Structurally this story was much different than others written by this author. I know this type of story isn't for everyone but I really liked it. I think it shows how talented this author really is.
Hamartia is a short story centered around the bad guy from Farmers and Cannibals, Big Frank.
I found that this short story was much different from that novel. While the novel used fairly straightforward storytelling, this short story took a much more unique approach. The story itself was centered around a cubist painting titled Hamartia. I looked that word up. Apparently it means mistake or error in judgment. The story begins with Big Frank who is standing above the dead body of his wife. Instead of looking down at his wife he stares at the painting. It seemed pretty weird at first but as the story progressed different aspects of the painting were described. As the abstract images are described, flashes from different parts of Franks life are revealed, as well as, flashes from the life of an investigative reporter who is looking into the death of Big Frank's wife. I found the ugliness of the painting to be particularly interesting. It looked nothing like the cover picture, but seemed to serve almost as a window into Frank's soul, kinda like that Oscar Wilde story, The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Even though the narration jumped around a lot I thought it was cool because it reflected the image of the painting that Big Frank was looking at throughout the length of the story. I sometimes have a hard time with stories that are written this way but not with this one. I thought it was pretty easy to follow.
I thought it was cool how the story ended in the exact same way that it began. It was as if it started with Big Frank reading the title of the story and clearly, it ended with him reading the title. I found it ironic that Frank spent the story looking at an ugly painting titled "mistake" instead of looking down at the real mistake he had made lying in a pool of blood at his feet.
Structurally this story was much different than others written by this author. I know this type of story isn't for everyone but I really liked it. I think it shows how talented this author really is.
January 13, 2014
I think it was Christian Siriano who brought the term "hot mess" into the current pop culture lexicon. The dictionary defines "Hamartia" as a fatal flaw, a mistake, or a lack in judgment. I'm not sure why Erric James-Olson chose Hamartia for the title of this short story. If his intent was to label this material as a fatal flaw or lack in judgment, I would have to agree with him, although I'd have settled for Hot Mess as an equally appropriate description for what is between the pages of this story.
The description of Hamartia tells me that this small portion is supposed to be an add-on for material covered in James-Olsons other books which apparently make up a series. It's supposed to give us more insight into the characters James-Olson has previously created. I thought reading **Hamartia** would be a good place to begin with this author, who I'd never read before. Well, using the definition I've cited here, **Hamartia** was most definitely my Hamartia. I can't say this material was unreadable, but it sure did come mighty close.
There was little to no structure to the plot line of the story of Big Frank Stanley. I gathered he was supposed to be the bad guy, but it was hard to be sure of that because whenever I thought I was finally getting somewhere in understanding what point was being made, the book took off in another direction with different people. There were paragraph markings, so it wasn't impossible to figure out that we were no longer on one subject but had broken into the middle of a completely different conversation with a different set of characters.
We are given glimpses of Big Frank's character or lack of it, along with journalists, fixers, and a friend who may not really be a friend. The only strong presence in this story was a painting hanging on the wall in Big Frank's dining room. He's sharing space with a corpse practically at his feet, but he simply cannot take his eyes off that painting. The description of this work of art again brought one phrase to mind - Hot Mess. I believe the image on the book cover is supposed to represent that canvas.
Eric James-Olson has also written **Farmers and Cannibals** along with a sequel to that. I have not read either of the other two books in the series, but I have to say after reading the mash-up **Hamarta** turned out to be even though I did buy F&C, I'm not in any big rush to read it. I've had my Hamartia for the day... I don't think I'm ready for another one just yet.
The description of Hamartia tells me that this small portion is supposed to be an add-on for material covered in James-Olsons other books which apparently make up a series. It's supposed to give us more insight into the characters James-Olson has previously created. I thought reading **Hamartia** would be a good place to begin with this author, who I'd never read before. Well, using the definition I've cited here, **Hamartia** was most definitely my Hamartia. I can't say this material was unreadable, but it sure did come mighty close.
There was little to no structure to the plot line of the story of Big Frank Stanley. I gathered he was supposed to be the bad guy, but it was hard to be sure of that because whenever I thought I was finally getting somewhere in understanding what point was being made, the book took off in another direction with different people. There were paragraph markings, so it wasn't impossible to figure out that we were no longer on one subject but had broken into the middle of a completely different conversation with a different set of characters.
We are given glimpses of Big Frank's character or lack of it, along with journalists, fixers, and a friend who may not really be a friend. The only strong presence in this story was a painting hanging on the wall in Big Frank's dining room. He's sharing space with a corpse practically at his feet, but he simply cannot take his eyes off that painting. The description of this work of art again brought one phrase to mind - Hot Mess. I believe the image on the book cover is supposed to represent that canvas.
Eric James-Olson has also written **Farmers and Cannibals** along with a sequel to that. I have not read either of the other two books in the series, but I have to say after reading the mash-up **Hamarta** turned out to be even though I did buy F&C, I'm not in any big rush to read it. I've had my Hamartia for the day... I don't think I'm ready for another one just yet.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews