Darling Endangered

by Carol Guess

The voice narrating Carol Guess’ newest book is that of a playfully effusive but meticulous cataloguer of our darker inquiries and oddities, a suburban former dancer with the inner life and vision of an epic librettist. Darling Endangered is nothing short of exceptional, a rare breed of hybrid that works between the “flash” of short fiction and the swift bite of the lyric. From the dizzying, battered nostalgia of youth remembered to the experiential trappings of maturity, Guess’ collection maps the journey of a singular, sensitive existence through an ever-illuminating world of wayward hawks and track star meth addicts, avalanches and hot dog carts, zombie buildings, the works of Balanchine and Pachelbel, and the promises of love and love’s disorders. You will not read another book quite like it.

77 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2011

Reviews

[Joe Pan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book of short stories. Quick, delightful shorts that crackle and whip. Some real depth of vision, very quirky, steeped in personal resilience.