cover image The Consummation of Dirk

The Consummation of Dirk

Jonathan Callahan. Starcherone (Consortium, dist.), $16 trade paper (328p) ISBN 978-0-9837405-7-5

Callahan perplexes with this collection of experimental narratives which, when anthologized, reveal an unsettling repetitiveness. Many of the stories feature a primary character who is a problem drinker, a miserable expatriated American teaching English in Japan, a misunderstood genius struggling in obscurity while feeling he deserves better, or some combination of two or more of these. If the writer is following the old instruction to "write what he knows", then to see these themes visited so often in such few stories makes it difficult to read this as anything but autobiographical. This voyeuristic feeling is enhanced by the amount of page space dedicated to conveying the characters' self-obsessed inner monologues, making the book feel like a cathartic exercise. There are exceptions though; more pleasurable pieces delve into the fantastical, particularly the title story, which relates a mystical journey featuring NBA star Dirk Nowitzki. The collection's strength is its preponderance of unusual narrative techniques. Callahan is a clever stylist with many ideas in his toolbox, and while not all of these experiments succeed, they are each peculiar and thought-provoking. (Apr.)