What do you think?
Rate this book
Battering the Stem
It's going to be a long, hellish day on Utica Ave. The employees of Brooklyn's seediest soul food joint, Clayvon's King Prawn Chicken N' Biscuit, have a mysterious new patron: Edgerin. Called a “vagrant” and a “beggar”, he’s got a thing or two to learn them in the delicate art of begging…
Within twenty four tense, bloody hours, all the filthy secrets buried under the nail beds of the Clayvon staff are revealed in this darkly comic urban crime story from author Bob Freville.
Within twenty four tense, bloody hours, all the filthy secrets buried under the nail beds of the Clayvon staff are revealed in this darkly comic urban crime story from author Bob Freville.
125 pages, Paperback
Published December 5, 2016
1 person is currently reading
178 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 5, 2017
This was a wild card read for me. Sometimes I like to pick an author I have never heard of before and give it a shot. This is the case for Battering The Stem by Bob Freville. Admittedly, it wasn't too much of a risk since the book is being published by Journalstone/Bizarro Pulp Press.
Battering The Stem is one of those books you can't really categorize. It is definitely literary. Freville plays with language and creates some truly bizarre characters, The whole story goes down in a soul food restaurant in Brooklyn. It is comedic but also disturbing. There is even a crime/noir vibe to it. The story centers around the staff of Clayvon's King Prawn Chicken N' Biscuits and a vagrant named Edgerin, who appears out of nowhere after the King's County psych facility closes down. Edgerin starts out psychologically fucking with the staff until it eventually escalates into brutal violence. Freville brings some heavy satire in the over the top characters you meet in this story, but amongst the absurdity are some truly insightful things about society. That is the sign of good bizarro writing, at least for me. It is also why I trust Bizarro Pulp Press.
Freville doesn't shy away from taboo subjects and when I realized that I started having flashes of the first time I read Last Exit To Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr. One main difference is where Selby's Brooklyn had a lot of heart, Freville's Brooklyn seems more cynical. This is likely due to the time period in which the story is set. The dialog and action are highly entertaining and even laugh out loud funny in some parts. I would definitely recommend this to those that like other Bizarro Pulp Press releases.
Battering The Stem is one of those books you can't really categorize. It is definitely literary. Freville plays with language and creates some truly bizarre characters, The whole story goes down in a soul food restaurant in Brooklyn. It is comedic but also disturbing. There is even a crime/noir vibe to it. The story centers around the staff of Clayvon's King Prawn Chicken N' Biscuits and a vagrant named Edgerin, who appears out of nowhere after the King's County psych facility closes down. Edgerin starts out psychologically fucking with the staff until it eventually escalates into brutal violence. Freville brings some heavy satire in the over the top characters you meet in this story, but amongst the absurdity are some truly insightful things about society. That is the sign of good bizarro writing, at least for me. It is also why I trust Bizarro Pulp Press.
Freville doesn't shy away from taboo subjects and when I realized that I started having flashes of the first time I read Last Exit To Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr. One main difference is where Selby's Brooklyn had a lot of heart, Freville's Brooklyn seems more cynical. This is likely due to the time period in which the story is set. The dialog and action are highly entertaining and even laugh out loud funny in some parts. I would definitely recommend this to those that like other Bizarro Pulp Press releases.
February 18, 2018
I found this book a bit slow at the start but totally worth sticking to the end! It is crazy, funny, creepy, and grotesque with a little romance thrown in. All the discovered secrets seem to bring a couple characters closer during the story. Honestly it reminded me a little of working at a Bojangles off an interstate as my first job (minus all the insanity and gore). Great novel for a little taste of something....different.
December 1, 2020
Genre-defying, hard-boiled, grimy and beautiful... and that's just the prose itself. The actual story will keep you dithering between laughter, discomfort and that sneaking suspicion that someone is watching you.
did-not-finish
March 12, 2017Tag line: bad people have a bad day
I loved the news on the radio as a backdrop for the story. It set the tone for what was "normal" in the world.
I struggled with the accents (largely because I'm unfamiliar with them).
I loved the news on the radio as a backdrop for the story. It set the tone for what was "normal" in the world.
I struggled with the accents (largely because I'm unfamiliar with them).
February 4, 2017
Take the movie Clerks and throw it behind a restaurant counter ask 'em what kind of condiments they would like in your best urban street talk and you kinda have "Battering the Stem" in a nutshell.
Urban crime over the counter of a restaurant taste so good until all it's secrets are revealed. Freville's book is packed with dark comic, raw street dialect and an ending that sneaks right out the backdoor. Get your order in before all hell breaks loose.
Urban crime over the counter of a restaurant taste so good until all it's secrets are revealed. Freville's book is packed with dark comic, raw street dialect and an ending that sneaks right out the backdoor. Get your order in before all hell breaks loose.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews