What do you think?
Rate this book
Overnight
When a mysterious stalker arrives on a movie set in the middle of the night and offers the overnight security guard easy cash to procure him souvenirs from a starlet's trailer, a cascade of events is set into motion that ends in depravity, scandal, death, and revenge.
OVERNIGHT opens a world into the dark backdoors of the film industry in which every-day grunts get paid to protect the world-famous, and degenerates will do anything to open a vein into their most twisted fantasies. But at what cost?
OVERNIGHT opens a world into the dark backdoors of the film industry in which every-day grunts get paid to protect the world-famous, and degenerates will do anything to open a vein into their most twisted fantasies. But at what cost?
44 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 16, 2018
3 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Philip Fracassi
74 books1,873 followersPHILIP FRACASSI is the Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award-nominated author of the novels A Child Alone with Strangers, Gothic, Boys in the Valley, The Third Rule of Time Travel, and The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre. He is also the author of the story collections Behold the Void, Beneath a Pale Sky, and No One is Safe!
His stories have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Black Static, Best Horror of the Year, Nightmare Magazine, Interzone, and Southwest Review.
Philip lives in Los Angeles and is represented by Copps Literary Services, Circle M + P, and WME. You can find him on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky, or visit pfracassi.com.
His stories have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including Black Static, Best Horror of the Year, Nightmare Magazine, Interzone, and Southwest Review.
Philip lives in Los Angeles and is represented by Copps Literary Services, Circle M + P, and WME. You can find him on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky, or visit pfracassi.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 28, 2018
To my way of thinking a book review usually consists of any or all of the following factors, the author, the story, the physical book itself or the publisher. Sometimes these factors complement each other, although it seems mostly the focus of many readers is on the story. I guess we could purchase ‘blank books’ or diaries and write our own stories. Fun for some, but it’s not sharable by a much wider audience.
In his latest book “Overnight” by the recently prolific Philip Fracassi, author of “Fragile Dreams” , “Sacculina”, “Behold the Void” and six or seven other stories gives the reader a view of how being a security guard, working the night shift on a working movie set might leave the set and its stars vulnerable to the unscrupulous. It should be noted that the author also has his own IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) page, as his day job is not only as a screenwriter whose feature film credits include "Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups," (2012); "Girl Missing," (2015) he currently works as ‘location manager’ of “Silicon Valley” the TV series (among others).
The Publisher of the book is new to me. I had never heard of “Unnerving” then, upon some googling, I discovered “Unnerving Magazine”, now apparently on its eighth issue. The magazine, which accepts short story submissions of horror, dark science fiction (light), dark fantasy, crime, thriller, suspense, and dark literary. Generally leaning strongly toward horror over other genres. Sex, gore and violence are welcome in moderation. This appears to be their first venture into book publishing with a pair of books. The magazines are available on Amazon. The books need to be ordered directly from the publisher.
As to the book itself, the buyer receives what is listed as a seventy three page book. Unfortunately about thirty of those pages are intentionally blank, and at best have the chapter number in a large font in the middle of the page. Oh don’t get me wrong it certainly is a pretty, well-crafted, and presentable example of book making, but the high price of the book itself makes one wonder who is making all the profit here. I’m sure the book will become highly collectible over the years, as Mr. Fracassi’s star is sure to rise and the small print run of this book will insure it’s collectability factor in the market.
Overall I think I would have much preferred to read this story in a magazine or collection. But now that I’ve forked out the bucks, I am glad I own the physical book.
This hardcover edition is numbered 29 of 60 published and is signed in gold ink by Phipip Fracassi.
In his latest book “Overnight” by the recently prolific Philip Fracassi, author of “Fragile Dreams” , “Sacculina”, “Behold the Void” and six or seven other stories gives the reader a view of how being a security guard, working the night shift on a working movie set might leave the set and its stars vulnerable to the unscrupulous. It should be noted that the author also has his own IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) page, as his day job is not only as a screenwriter whose feature film credits include "Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups," (2012); "Girl Missing," (2015) he currently works as ‘location manager’ of “Silicon Valley” the TV series (among others).
The Publisher of the book is new to me. I had never heard of “Unnerving” then, upon some googling, I discovered “Unnerving Magazine”, now apparently on its eighth issue. The magazine, which accepts short story submissions of horror, dark science fiction (light), dark fantasy, crime, thriller, suspense, and dark literary. Generally leaning strongly toward horror over other genres. Sex, gore and violence are welcome in moderation. This appears to be their first venture into book publishing with a pair of books. The magazines are available on Amazon. The books need to be ordered directly from the publisher.
As to the book itself, the buyer receives what is listed as a seventy three page book. Unfortunately about thirty of those pages are intentionally blank, and at best have the chapter number in a large font in the middle of the page. Oh don’t get me wrong it certainly is a pretty, well-crafted, and presentable example of book making, but the high price of the book itself makes one wonder who is making all the profit here. I’m sure the book will become highly collectible over the years, as Mr. Fracassi’s star is sure to rise and the small print run of this book will insure it’s collectability factor in the market.
Overall I think I would have much preferred to read this story in a magazine or collection. But now that I’ve forked out the bucks, I am glad I own the physical book.
This hardcover edition is numbered 29 of 60 published and is signed in gold ink by Phipip Fracassi.
August 14, 2018
A nicely done quickie from the warped mind of Philip Fracassi.
That was a compliment by the way.
That was a compliment by the way.
August 21, 2018
4.5 stars!
OVERNIGHT is the third novella I have read by author Philip Fracassi, and his ability to wield words still amazes me. He can make a statement that sounds entirely commonplace and innocent at face value, turn itself over in your mind until it becomes something more insidious and sinister in meaning. On the surface, the premise of OVERNIGHT sounds simple enough. A nightwatchman on location at an empty movie set is offered a bribe to bring a small memento from there, out for a fevered fan. Easy enough, with no harm done, one would think. However, turn that over in the "right" mind for a while, and the deed becomes so much more . . . mentally life changing.
". . . The world could surprise you with its greed."
Our main character is Pete, a former gang member, now a respectable husband and father, doing his best to support his loving family. His job is to simply monitor the empty set for a movie filming--Abaddon--starring a controversial starlet named Holly Pages. With a decent job and calm demeanor, he represents a good family man--though one who can see past the "masks" and the baser nature of all the people around him.
" . . . the public--a squalling nest of open-mouthed baby birds with a collective attention disorder--to whom even the worse things . . . rarely had a life-span of more than a few days."
This is where Fracassi's writing style really shines through. The picture his words plant in your mind is normal and commonplace enough. Pete could be your neighbor, your uncle, even yourself in such a situation. There's nothing singular that stands out about him. He's just an honest man earning an honest living, right?
What the reader may catch themselves wondering, however, is what it is that lies between the lines we read. What--if anything--is the author not saying?
". . . Debated . . . whether he'd let something crucial slip through his fingers . . ."
Then there's the obsessed fan. We don't have much to go on with him. For all that's stated, he could be anyone with an interest in a certain celebrity. Is there anyone out there who hasn't been in that state at some point in their lives? Is he really so different than you or I?
". . . More . . . there's always more."
Again, this is a simple, straight-forward story at first glance.
It's that second glance and subsequent thoughts that come to our minds afterwards that make us realize how much more it really is . . .
That is what I find so intriguing about this author's books. They are NOT what I'm expecting. They are nothing I'm able to predict. The words are fluid and simple enough, but their meaning will hit you like a sledgehammer. It is his ability to shock the reader when they least expect it, that sets him apart.
"Don't you want to see the credits? . . ."
Isn't that what we're all looking for in a good horror story?
Highly recommended!
OVERNIGHT is the third novella I have read by author Philip Fracassi, and his ability to wield words still amazes me. He can make a statement that sounds entirely commonplace and innocent at face value, turn itself over in your mind until it becomes something more insidious and sinister in meaning. On the surface, the premise of OVERNIGHT sounds simple enough. A nightwatchman on location at an empty movie set is offered a bribe to bring a small memento from there, out for a fevered fan. Easy enough, with no harm done, one would think. However, turn that over in the "right" mind for a while, and the deed becomes so much more . . . mentally life changing.
". . . The world could surprise you with its greed."
Our main character is Pete, a former gang member, now a respectable husband and father, doing his best to support his loving family. His job is to simply monitor the empty set for a movie filming--Abaddon--starring a controversial starlet named Holly Pages. With a decent job and calm demeanor, he represents a good family man--though one who can see past the "masks" and the baser nature of all the people around him.
" . . . the public--a squalling nest of open-mouthed baby birds with a collective attention disorder--to whom even the worse things . . . rarely had a life-span of more than a few days."
This is where Fracassi's writing style really shines through. The picture his words plant in your mind is normal and commonplace enough. Pete could be your neighbor, your uncle, even yourself in such a situation. There's nothing singular that stands out about him. He's just an honest man earning an honest living, right?
What the reader may catch themselves wondering, however, is what it is that lies between the lines we read. What--if anything--is the author not saying?
". . . Debated . . . whether he'd let something crucial slip through his fingers . . ."
Then there's the obsessed fan. We don't have much to go on with him. For all that's stated, he could be anyone with an interest in a certain celebrity. Is there anyone out there who hasn't been in that state at some point in their lives? Is he really so different than you or I?
". . . More . . . there's always more."
Again, this is a simple, straight-forward story at first glance.
It's that second glance and subsequent thoughts that come to our minds afterwards that make us realize how much more it really is . . .
That is what I find so intriguing about this author's books. They are NOT what I'm expecting. They are nothing I'm able to predict. The words are fluid and simple enough, but their meaning will hit you like a sledgehammer. It is his ability to shock the reader when they least expect it, that sets him apart.
"Don't you want to see the credits? . . ."
Isn't that what we're all looking for in a good horror story?
Highly recommended!
July 24, 2018
This time around Fracassi takes us on a noir ride through the after-hours of a film set, where a night security guard meets a mysterious stranger and contends with temptation and an offer he can't refuse. I love how simple the story was, and how relatively innocent it all is at first. In the beginning I can see anyone agreeing to what Pete does. But as we all know, that's how it all starts. It's a short novelette with n anxiety-ridden ending and I love how much is left unsaid, but there are enough nuggets and details dropped for the reader to glean character motivations. I actually just got off set myself and said bye to the security guard and thought about this story; wondering what will happen after-hours!
August 19, 2018
Philip Fracassi does it again! This is a short enough work that I don't want to get into specifics, but like his other work, you'll find yourself being led in one direction and you think you know where you're going but then something else happens. The ending was very satisfying.
I have no complaints. I wish that the work were longer (but not novel length).
I can't wait to see what Philip Fracassi comes up with next.
I have no complaints. I wish that the work were longer (but not novel length).
I can't wait to see what Philip Fracassi comes up with next.
June 12, 2018
Click here to read my full review at Signal Horizon Overnight introduces us to Pete, a working class security guard on movie sets in Los Angeles. Pete has a bit of a rough past, but he is now a working father and husband pulling down the night shift for a barely adequate wage. What is great about this character and this setting is that Fracassi knows them both front and back- he has been working in Hollywood in a variety of roles for years. It is much less about showing off some kind of insider knowledge and much more about adding the nuance and authenticity that really brings this story alive. It feels real and it feels alive, because Philip Fracassi has lived it and likely known a ton of people in a situation like Pete finds himself.
Fracassi finds a way to blend the tone of classic horror with a vibrant and timely setting. Throw in strong characters that are both interesting, creepy, and morally conflicted and you get a great story that is yet another stellar addition to the growing body of work both for Philip Fracassi and the short genre fiction scene. Those familiar with Fracassi's work should definitely pick this one up and horror fans not yet reading his work will find this an excellent entry point based on its shorter length and low price point.
Fracassi finds a way to blend the tone of classic horror with a vibrant and timely setting. Throw in strong characters that are both interesting, creepy, and morally conflicted and you get a great story that is yet another stellar addition to the growing body of work both for Philip Fracassi and the short genre fiction scene. Those familiar with Fracassi's work should definitely pick this one up and horror fans not yet reading his work will find this an excellent entry point based on its shorter length and low price point.
August 3, 2018
A night security guard on a film set meets a peculiar stranger with an unusual request...
This was an intense book that I read in one sitting, Philip's writing grabs and pulls you along a dark path towards an unexpected ending. The tension and dread I felt reading this was so effectively done that when I finished it felt like I had surfaced from a subterranean chamber. I'd wholeheartedly recommend this!
This was an intense book that I read in one sitting, Philip's writing grabs and pulls you along a dark path towards an unexpected ending. The tension and dread I felt reading this was so effectively done that when I finished it felt like I had surfaced from a subterranean chamber. I'd wholeheartedly recommend this!
July 16, 2018
Overnight by Philip Fracassi isn't so much a horror story as it is a parable about paying the consequences of one's actions. That said, I feel the story has a lot of unmet potential, particularly because it feels rushed. After Pete falls into the grip of avarice, a story unfolds that is largely void of any action.
Coming in at only sixty-seven pages, Overnight promises to be rife with "depravity, scandal, death, and revenge." Unfortunately, many of these elements are not present in the story, and if they are, they make up a minuscule amount of the content. In fact, it wasn't until around eighty-five percent into the novella that things felt like they were picking up. It's here that we truly see Fracassi's talent for madness, and it is perhaps because of this last, small bit and the hint of far greater prose that I'll look for more of this author's work.
The characters in Overnight are superficial. There's no depth to them and, aside from the main character, Pete, there's no history. This puts the perspective in third-person limited and creates a dreadfully static atmosphere.
I do feel the need to commend Fracassi on that ending, though. While it didn't make up for the rest of the book, it certainly helped a little.
This book is an Indie Horror Book Award submission. As a 2018 judge, I received a free copy from the author and/or publisher. All content of this review is unbiased.
Coming in at only sixty-seven pages, Overnight promises to be rife with "depravity, scandal, death, and revenge." Unfortunately, many of these elements are not present in the story, and if they are, they make up a minuscule amount of the content. In fact, it wasn't until around eighty-five percent into the novella that things felt like they were picking up. It's here that we truly see Fracassi's talent for madness, and it is perhaps because of this last, small bit and the hint of far greater prose that I'll look for more of this author's work.
The characters in Overnight are superficial. There's no depth to them and, aside from the main character, Pete, there's no history. This puts the perspective in third-person limited and creates a dreadfully static atmosphere.
I do feel the need to commend Fracassi on that ending, though. While it didn't make up for the rest of the book, it certainly helped a little.
This book is an Indie Horror Book Award submission. As a 2018 judge, I received a free copy from the author and/or publisher. All content of this review is unbiased.
July 20, 2018
The horror of a family man beguiled by greed
This was a gripping and tense read. Fracassi is known for creating very believable and relatable characters and he doesn't disappoint here. We've all been in the position where some more money would make our lives a little easier. That's what happens with Pete in this story. Only he has the opportunity to make some extra money, albeit through some very questionable means. And he pushes it just a little too far.
The author does a great job of building up the tension before a heart-stopping finale. Highly recommended.
This was a gripping and tense read. Fracassi is known for creating very believable and relatable characters and he doesn't disappoint here. We've all been in the position where some more money would make our lives a little easier. That's what happens with Pete in this story. Only he has the opportunity to make some extra money, albeit through some very questionable means. And he pushes it just a little too far.
The author does a great job of building up the tension before a heart-stopping finale. Highly recommended.
July 16, 2018
Another intense read by Philip Fracassi!
July 19, 2018
Though this was a well-written story, it failed to hold my interest (I struggled to finish it) and the ending felt like it belonged to a different tale. Even though this didn't work for me, Fracassi clearly has talent and I might try one of his other works.
May 9, 2019
If you peg yourself as a big horror fan yet and have not tried the short fiction of Philip Fracassi, then you really are missing a trick. Over the last couple of years, he has become one of the most reliable writers of short story and novella length weird fiction in the business. Fracassi’s tales often layer supernatural elements upon what could be every day dramatizations; a few of my favourites include Shiloh (weird goings on during a major Civil War battle), Sacculina (barnacle type creatures invade a small fishing boat after a cagey family reunion) and MOTHER (a loveless marriage which will stop you from ever taking the plunge!). His tremendous collection of short stories Behold the Void is also a varied read and it is no surprise that big names in the horror genre often name-check him. So, Philip Fracassi has a lot of great stuff out there and his latest, Overnight, is a fine addition to his catalogue. Pulling in at a slight 44 pages, and published by Unnerving, Fracassi excels at crafting fiction of this length, however, it could also have been fleshed out into a fully-fledged novella such as those mentioned above.
You can read Tony's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
You can read Tony's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
July 19, 2018
"Overnight" was a terrific way of spending seventy suspense filled minutes, with a cleverly shrouded plot which heads into darkness and tragedy. A short of cash (and luck) security guard is the night watchman of a Hollywood movie set. Apart from his financial worries he has a great life, with loving daughter and wife at home. But what if the chance to make some easy cash comes along? One cold night a stranger turns up looking for a movie prop in exchange for $200 USD.... Easy money? Maybe not.... Before long things begin to escalate.... This was a really enjoyable story, decent twists, leading to a terrific ending. Highly recommended.
August 28, 2018
Philip Fracassi's Overnight kicks off with an endearingly unlucky protaganist stuck all on his own in a crappy movie lot security job. He doesn't exactly jump at the chance to get involved when an opportunity to make a little money under the table comes along, but after temptation gets the better of him he soon finds himself in over his head.
Fracassi's interesting, skilfully handled setup takes a disappointing turn in its third act. Part of the problem is probably the story's length. If Overnight were a full-length novel as opposed to a novella, maybe we'd get a better idea of the consequences the main character faces for the choices they make earlier in the piece. Without that room to breathe, the story is over too quickly and wraps up a little neater than is strictly necessary.
Criticisms of the plot aside, Fracassi writes well, with sympathetic characters and a focused approach to storytelling. I'm very interested to check out some of his other work, particularly after some of the recommendations I've received.
Fracassi's interesting, skilfully handled setup takes a disappointing turn in its third act. Part of the problem is probably the story's length. If Overnight were a full-length novel as opposed to a novella, maybe we'd get a better idea of the consequences the main character faces for the choices they make earlier in the piece. Without that room to breathe, the story is over too quickly and wraps up a little neater than is strictly necessary.
Criticisms of the plot aside, Fracassi writes well, with sympathetic characters and a focused approach to storytelling. I'm very interested to check out some of his other work, particularly after some of the recommendations I've received.
August 8, 2018
Spooky story! This contains creepiness, and guilt plays apart here! Enjoyed it!
January 13, 2019
A disturbing, taut glimpse into a slice of the movie biz, with Lynchian notes, from a writer who knows how to build the tension.
January 27, 2021
nullimmortalis August 29, 2018 at 1:44 pm Edit
1.
“Pete had been around enough shitheads to know a shithead when he saw one,” – yet is Pete to be sucked in by one, I ask? Fracassi is another nifty author who captures rather than captivates his reader. But he does both, of course. Here, Pete, a family man, is security guard on shiftwork at a wayside movie set, with all its gear to protect. He prefers the solitary watch. Not “overtime”, as such, that, we’re told, film companies have to pay when they don’t do the right planning of man-power, no, not overtime, but ‘overnight’. Meanwhile, I promise, no spoilers, here. Just appreciation. No need to be alarmed.
nullimmortalis August 30, 2018 at 9:08 am Edit
2.
“After a while, stars, like other royalty, get used to being treated with kid gloves, and eventually they become kids.”
Pete, our loving family man, bends rules amid the public’s attention span of celebrities’ lives, and our own attention span, too, watches him agog like baby birds in a nest, and his knowledge of the movie-set site and that “Each trailer had a hide-a-key.” Every worthy work of fiction has one, too. Meanwhile, we want a direct sample of a star, too, such as an author’s signature or saliva in a drink’s dregs. A page-turner, this book, but we are eking it out, against the grain, as it were. Slowly savouring over time, resisting it overnight.
nullimmortalis August 31, 2018 at 8:53 am Edit
3.
“Uh-uh… you’re in the movie, Daddy. Like a movie star.”
Pete’s young budding artistic daughter talking to him when he is off-duty, as it were. A lesson in what this family man is all about, when away from the Devil’s temptation or pact regarding past objectification of celebrity body-residua, residua cast back into real-time. Appropriate — when Pete is back on duty, at the overnight movie site, a tableau we all contemplate between the words describing it — that, after he daydreams overnight about his own youthful past and a crowbar’s “jimmy”, he is tempted again…this time harvesting a thong not a mug.
“Part of him felt like he was being watched; another part of him felt like he was watching himself,…”
nullimmortalis September 1, 2018 at 9:08 am Edit
4.
“The shower couldn’t get hot enough, and he stayed under the beating water ten minutes longer than usual, hoping to feel refreshed, hoping to feel himself again.”
Amid deceptively simple, compelling narrative, of the wear and tear of family life’s accoutrements and Pete’s temptation of dilemma at work, this chapter makes me think that this book is about the ultimate Reliquary — one’s own vulnerable, unnerving body as a gestalt not as the piecemeal relics and other used or leaking accoutrements of self. Whatever one’s susceptibilities to celebrity. Straddling the night.
nullimmortalis September 2, 2018 at 9:41 am Edit
5.
“Did you follow my rules? I swear to god,…”
All formal religions — if not exactly like the cult of Hollywood, HOLLYwood depicted in these pages, but like Christianity and its Eucharist, like any belief in a Revelation or the Reliquary as the embodiment of its Star, indeed any belief in sacrifice as a way to Heaven — all have rules of sorts. On another level, this is a compelling character-driven narrative, with a manic dread and hindsight inevitability. Tell you more, and you will risk seeing below the movie set’s fabrication, I guess. Instead of the suspended disbelief of faith? Fundamentally, though, it is arguable that this book is not about religion at all! Or does not wish to be revealed as such.
nullimmortalis September 2, 2018 at 10:39 am Edit
6.
“But you have to get past the guilt.”
Pete’s wife says that to him, their daughter a shared loved one. But to get past the guilt, one needs to get past the silver screen as an object-correlative, then into what sits behind it. As a coda or epilogue to the book, this chapter now represents, for me, the bespoke religion, as all formal religions are bound to become for each maturing individual, whether bespoke as fiction or truth. It also represents that manic dread now become real in real-time, an absurdist gestalt, a fine nightmarish finale to the action that makes you think about this book perhaps even more adventurously than I hoped to make you think about it. Fracassi has seen through the likes of me, perhaps. He has got past the guilt, got past not only the screen but also my dreamcatching behind it. Meanwhile, this physical Book of Holy Pete (holy as holism or gestalt) is designed like a heavy-duty prayer missal. I almost believe I shall now finger, if not lick, the relic of its author on the title page’s label! But whatever your own views, it is a great compelling read, about a family man in a manic dilemma of temptation.
end
1.
“Pete had been around enough shitheads to know a shithead when he saw one,” – yet is Pete to be sucked in by one, I ask? Fracassi is another nifty author who captures rather than captivates his reader. But he does both, of course. Here, Pete, a family man, is security guard on shiftwork at a wayside movie set, with all its gear to protect. He prefers the solitary watch. Not “overtime”, as such, that, we’re told, film companies have to pay when they don’t do the right planning of man-power, no, not overtime, but ‘overnight’. Meanwhile, I promise, no spoilers, here. Just appreciation. No need to be alarmed.
nullimmortalis August 30, 2018 at 9:08 am Edit
2.
“After a while, stars, like other royalty, get used to being treated with kid gloves, and eventually they become kids.”
Pete, our loving family man, bends rules amid the public’s attention span of celebrities’ lives, and our own attention span, too, watches him agog like baby birds in a nest, and his knowledge of the movie-set site and that “Each trailer had a hide-a-key.” Every worthy work of fiction has one, too. Meanwhile, we want a direct sample of a star, too, such as an author’s signature or saliva in a drink’s dregs. A page-turner, this book, but we are eking it out, against the grain, as it were. Slowly savouring over time, resisting it overnight.
nullimmortalis August 31, 2018 at 8:53 am Edit
3.
“Uh-uh… you’re in the movie, Daddy. Like a movie star.”
Pete’s young budding artistic daughter talking to him when he is off-duty, as it were. A lesson in what this family man is all about, when away from the Devil’s temptation or pact regarding past objectification of celebrity body-residua, residua cast back into real-time. Appropriate — when Pete is back on duty, at the overnight movie site, a tableau we all contemplate between the words describing it — that, after he daydreams overnight about his own youthful past and a crowbar’s “jimmy”, he is tempted again…this time harvesting a thong not a mug.
“Part of him felt like he was being watched; another part of him felt like he was watching himself,…”
nullimmortalis September 1, 2018 at 9:08 am Edit
4.
“The shower couldn’t get hot enough, and he stayed under the beating water ten minutes longer than usual, hoping to feel refreshed, hoping to feel himself again.”
Amid deceptively simple, compelling narrative, of the wear and tear of family life’s accoutrements and Pete’s temptation of dilemma at work, this chapter makes me think that this book is about the ultimate Reliquary — one’s own vulnerable, unnerving body as a gestalt not as the piecemeal relics and other used or leaking accoutrements of self. Whatever one’s susceptibilities to celebrity. Straddling the night.
nullimmortalis September 2, 2018 at 9:41 am Edit
5.
“Did you follow my rules? I swear to god,…”
All formal religions — if not exactly like the cult of Hollywood, HOLLYwood depicted in these pages, but like Christianity and its Eucharist, like any belief in a Revelation or the Reliquary as the embodiment of its Star, indeed any belief in sacrifice as a way to Heaven — all have rules of sorts. On another level, this is a compelling character-driven narrative, with a manic dread and hindsight inevitability. Tell you more, and you will risk seeing below the movie set’s fabrication, I guess. Instead of the suspended disbelief of faith? Fundamentally, though, it is arguable that this book is not about religion at all! Or does not wish to be revealed as such.
nullimmortalis September 2, 2018 at 10:39 am Edit
6.
“But you have to get past the guilt.”
Pete’s wife says that to him, their daughter a shared loved one. But to get past the guilt, one needs to get past the silver screen as an object-correlative, then into what sits behind it. As a coda or epilogue to the book, this chapter now represents, for me, the bespoke religion, as all formal religions are bound to become for each maturing individual, whether bespoke as fiction or truth. It also represents that manic dread now become real in real-time, an absurdist gestalt, a fine nightmarish finale to the action that makes you think about this book perhaps even more adventurously than I hoped to make you think about it. Fracassi has seen through the likes of me, perhaps. He has got past the guilt, got past not only the screen but also my dreamcatching behind it. Meanwhile, this physical Book of Holy Pete (holy as holism or gestalt) is designed like a heavy-duty prayer missal. I almost believe I shall now finger, if not lick, the relic of its author on the title page’s label! But whatever your own views, it is a great compelling read, about a family man in a manic dilemma of temptation.
end
June 14, 2020
Jak to się dzieje, że jedno drobne zejście ze ścieżki dobra może doprowadzić do tragedii i koszmaru? W tym opowiadaniu znajdziecie odpowiedź.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews