New Views of Old News

by Jarrod Campbell

In this timely collection of stories, Jarrod Campbell further explores the absurdity and alienation of modern living and the extreme ways people try to deal with the repercussions. Here, a young woman realizes too late why not to put so much stock in fairy tale kisses; a man finds solace in nature while living in the city, doing a perfectly natural thing to unwind; a racist is inadvertently assisted in perpetrating a hate crime by an unwitting accomplice; and in two stories, an unnamed narrator much like the author laments about two different men and his attempts to understand situations about being gay in the twenty-first century. Over the course of twelve stories, loneliness lives side by side with the highest of hopes, desire corrodes to become disdain. Each offering is full of human longing and hubris, naked in black and white, for anyone to see and read.

213 pages, Paperback

Published November 10, 2019

Reviews

[Eric Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are few literary endeavors that make me outright gasp at a passage, or put the book down to digest what I had read. Jarrod Campbell's New Views of Old News made me do both, and at times I sat stunned on the journey I'd been taken through. The stories in this collection are breathtaking; they are engaging, thought-provoking, and often heart-breaking. But there is also so much joy to be found as Jarrod's exquisite prose transfixes the characters and the world they inhabit, bringing them to life brilliantly. And each, regardless of the subject, is eloquently beautiful and compliments the others in the collection to craft a stirring and engaging read that you will not put down. It was a delicious treat to spend time in Jarrod Campbell's world, and I look forward to many a return visit.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great discovery!

Jarrod Campbell’s stories in ‘New Views of Old News’ are a joy for the senses and the mind and encompass a wide range of settings and style, always in tune with the intended mood and essence of the story: harsh, direct and confrontational, but also more symbolically poetic or ambiguously Proustian. Many of his razor-sharp sentences have the vigor to materialize our own unknown, raw, unprocessed thoughts and emotions.

The stories feature a great diversity of complex, flawed, bruised, but always very real human beings dealing to the best of their ability with the challenges of their present and past lives. Suffocating modern American life is a key personage, colliding with their minds, their emotions, their anxieties, their sins, and “a future that is forever just beyond [...] reach”. The stories are about their old and new views on these collisions, providing compelling vistas on themselves and their other “persons”. In the blistering heat of the relentless modern sun, they are longing for some rain, shade or shelter.

A relevant, contemporary and intriguing writer to keep track of!

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so lucky to stumble upon this work of art. A collection of short stories, kept me turning the pages wanting more. The stories have so many different topics and layers that you wonder if each story could become its own novel. Perfect summer read if you are into depth of thought and smart and snappy authoring. Looking forward to more of this writer's work.

[Cory Firestine · Rating 5 out of 5]

"New Views of Old News" is a great, powerful read with stories that everyone can relate to. Through the collection of short stories, Campbell tackles multiple topics of intrigue, each one its own vehicle that discusses issues such as love, loss, racism and issues afflicting modern-day gay men. Each story is unique, yet complementary to the whole. Another wonderful addition of literature by Campbell.