Deleted Scenes

by Kevin Catalano

Kevin Catalano’s collection of stories, Deleted Scenes delights because, as an editor might cut scenes from a film, those cuts assembled into a montage become far more enthralling than the film.  The “deleted scenes” become the bonus, as in “Ghost in the Womb” when the expected gothic horror of blood bubbling up from the shower drain seems normal because the plumber says it is   “Son, you know what I’ve found in people’s pipes?”  So, we get coffee.  In such a montage, it is possible to lose virginity twice, to become royalty, despite “eczema and constant smell of fried chicken and sausage gravy,” and the “measure of man” was his ability to “take it.”  The stories are wild, innovative and unabashed.”

150 pages, Paperback

Published April 7, 2020

About the author

Kevin Catalano is the author of the dark thriller, Where the Sun Shines Out (Skyhorse), and of the short-story collection, Deleted Scenes and Other Bonus Features (Stephen F. Austin University Press). His other work has appeared in places like PANK, storySouth, Booth, Gargoyle Magazine, Fanzine, and Aethlon: a Journal of Sport Literature. He earned his MFA from Rutgers University-Newark, where he currently teaches writing.

Reviews

[Kevin Catalano]

I’m proud of these stories. They are nearly everything I’ve ever published in some form since I started sending out my work in 2005. When I re-read them for editing, it was like going through a time capsule: I recalled who I was, where I was, the shit I was going through when I worked on the story (which would often be YEARS for a single piece).

I realize that that’s how I measure time, not in years or experiences, but in what I was working on.

That I get to publish these in a single collection makes me a lucky son of a bitch.

Anyway, thanks to all of the editors who originally published and edited these stories, all of my teachers and mentors, and friends and family who encouraged me.

[Joe Starnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read these stories when they were published individually and I read again in this book and I'm keeping it by my bedside so I can go back and read again. "Diagonal" is one of my all time favorite stories by any writer, and so many others in here too are excellent.

[Addison V · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely well-crafted and compelling collection of short stories. It is also a very eclectic one; one can see traces of a variety of authors here: Donald Barthelme, Cormac McCarthy--even H.P. Lovecraft. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in high-quality short fiction; there literally is something for everyone here.

[Marlena · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I had to choose one word to sum up this collection of short stories it would be raw. There is an abundance of passion and grittiness behind his stories.

My favourites were:
1. An American Seeker
2. Homo Erectus
3. Good Student Good Teacher
4. The Bad That Can Happen The Day Jesus Rose From The Dead

I thoroughly enjoy reading Kevin's work and look forward to reading more in the future.

[Al Kratz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 but I’m stingy with the 5’s :-).

This is an eclectic collection and incredible in its range of premises and themes and forms. You really can’t say it’s like anything else can you? Maybe Barthelme. I saw that in one reviewer and can see that in ways it’s probably postmodern or in ways that it’s able to make surrealism look like realism. I don’t know. I’m looking forward to writing up a review on this one and will be sharing it soon.