Oikos

by Adam Moorad, P.H. Madore (Producer), xTx (Reader)

(editorial review)

Oikos accurately captures the woe of everyday life for a generation without a common gripe. Lamb should not be seen as one person but as a composite image of every man born between 1982 and 1989: mostly distant, lost, and wondering what our parents had that we do not. This novella could, through one darker prism, be seen as a letter in response to the American dream handed down to us by parents whose Great Cold War disallowed them the ability to think straight and so drove us willy-nilly into more than one real war. It could be seen as a laundry listing of emotions experienced by anyone trapped in a cooling romance. However it is seen, Oikos' craft garners a certain respect for accurate description, and that is enough reason to rank it among the better novellas of the new decade.

166 pages, Paperback

First published November 24, 2010

About the author

Adam Moorad's writing has widely appeared in print and online. He is the author of The Nurse and the Patient (Pangur Ban Party, 2009), Prayerbook (wft pwm, 2010), I Went To The Desert (Thunderclap Press, 2010), Oikos (nonpress, 2010), and Book of Revelations (Artistically Declined Press, 2011). He lives in Brooklyn. Visit him here: adamadamadamadamadam.blogspot.com

Reviews

[P.H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What did I think? I thought it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I edited the thing, so I can only say so much without sounding like a prick. In fact, I wrote this review, and it suffices:

Oikos accurately captures the woe of everyday life for a generation without a common gripe. Lamb should not be seen as one person but as a composite image of every man born between 1982 and 1989: mostly distant, lost, and wondering what our parents had that we do not. This novella could, through one darker prism, be seen as a letter in response to the American dream handed down to us by parents whose Great Cold War disallowed them the ability to think straight and so drove us willy-nilly into more than one real war. It could be seen as a laundry listing of emotions experienced by anyone trapped in a cooling romance. However it is seen, Oikos' craft garners a certain respect for accurate description, and that is enough reason to rank it among the better novellas of the new decade.

[Jason Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Oikos, Adam Moorad excels at two things in particular: characterization and conveying the minutiae of everyday life. Moorad does an excellent job at explaining protagonist Lamb's train of thought, how Lamb'll be thinking of one thing, which leads to another, which leads to another, and so on, until he's crafted a faux-scenario that has little to do with the original thought. This is strikingly similar to what we as humans actually do. Regarding gripes, I wanted a more intense plot, and the text does meander from time to time. Still, Oikos is a solid effort all around.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

i saw the word "oikos" on a container of yogurt the other day. i thought that the book oikos and the yogurt oikos must have something to do with each other. you should read oikos while eating vanilla yogurt, they both seemed to be saying to each other.
while i read the book i had feelings parading before my emotion box like the candy and popcorn on vintage advertisements before movies at movie theaters that never existed.