I finally got around to checking out the last (sad face) issue of Thuglit and, as always, they delivered. One of my favorites from this issue is by an Irish writer whom I hadn't heard of before, Dermot Owens.
This kind of story is right up my alley. There are two things I always dig: contained stories that build to a single point and stories that deal with the mental/psychological aspect of crime. And if you've got a phenomenal title like Confetti from Hell, so much the better.
Liam is a reluctant member of a rebel Irish military group that (to this uneducated American) seems a lot like the IRA. He parks a Ford Focus loaded with explosives in front of a bakery, as he's been directed to, but he's not sure if he wants to go through with the bombing and questions the very basis of using violence to effect political change.
I love how Owens keeps putting his character in uncomfortable situations. When Liam--very nervous, about to commit his first act of large-scale violence--sits down at a busy cafe to make sure everyone is evacuating, a woman sits down across from him, and he begins to chat with her almost against his will. It's an excrutiating and perfectly executed scene. I'll be on the lookout for more of Owens' work in the future.
and from now on, so will I.
ReplyDeleteJust a word on the passing of THUGLIT. It's been a major player and we're all crossing our fingers, I'm sure, that it makes a return in some form in the future. Hats off to Todd and all the gang.