The collection kicks off with the title story “The Ends of the Earth”. A down-on-his-luck NY writer tries to get away from it all in Guatemala. He meets an alluring young French woman in a lonely tourist town, but has his advances blocked by a weed dealer who is trying to translate a native board game he found into English. The writer's advances eventually go too far, and the small town is turned on its fantastical head. Out of all the stories to choose to title the collection after, I'm lost why this is the one. It's a loosely developed, forced concept with random “fantasy” coming alive in a form that is intended to be horrific but doesn't go beyond cheap 80s slasher. If the idea was to ease readers in, one toe at a time, then fair enough. Because...
“Delta Sly Honey” is a landmark Shepard story and deserves a place in his personal 'best of'. A darker version of Good Morning, Vietnam, it tells of a radio dj who talks to ghosts in the jungle every evening, that is, until they come alive. A psychosis breaks loose on the army base thereafter, and with it fades the definition of 'enemy'. “Bound for Glory” is a cheap train ride to Horror/Weird-ville. A perfunctory story, it feels more like Shepard forcing a story than catching one and hanging on for the ride. It's a sloppier version of a Joe Lansdale tale—the master of Weird West.
Empathy is generally touted as a good thing, but in “The Exercise of Faith” a reverend with the gift of seeing his congregation's souls through touch instead uses his gift to expose and rile their darkest, most erotic fantasies. This is a bodice ripper with a lackluster ending that seems intended to have exposed the pits of humanity but needed a bit more development to achieve that. In “Nomans Land” two men are shipwrecksd on a Nantucket island previously used by the Air Force for bombing training, now abandoned. One man awakes on the shores to discover millions of tiny white spiders and a woman, who may or may not be an entymologist. This is straightforward, faceless horror.
Another of Shepard's greatest hits, “Life of Buddha” is, if anything, one of the most unique pieces of fiction you are ever to read. It tells of an incredibly bizarre encounter by a heroin-addicted Detroit bar bouncer at a friend's house to pick up some dope. Weirdly warm and warmly weird, it's almost psychedelic Pulp Fiction but only almost. It's more, too. And yet another home run, “Shades” is a ghost story set in Vietnam 15 years after the war. A soldier-turned-journalist returns to the village where a fellow soldier was blown to pieces to see his rumored ghost. The North Vietnamese use a strange bit of tech to force the journalist to see war through Vietnamese—reflecting like the titual sunglasses. The message here has been known for some time, and generally accepted, but the story still has some power.
“Delta Sly Honey”, “Life of Buddha”, “Shades”—these stories were recognized by readers and awards at their time of publishing. But the next story in the collection, “The Black Clay Boy”, was not. But that doesn't stop it from being one of Shepard's most powerfully evocative. The byline does not sell it (a poor, Midwestern beauty struggles to find meaning in life amid struggles with sexual addiction), but the amazing authorial tone, clever phrasing, and truly human conclusion, do. From razor sharp to balloon dull, “A Wooden Tiger” is the story of an aging actor who travels to kathmandu to meet a real-life goddess. Shunned at her village home, he sleeps on the dirt floor only to discover her sleep walking. Where she goes is a waking nightmare. A formulaic story—with uzis. Can't do anything spiritual in Nepal without uzis...
An
evocative title for a tense story, “Fire Zone Emerald” features a
manhunt on a Honduran jungle island between a future soldier and a
squad of ordinary grunts. Wearing super-armor, the soldier pops
ampules of stim while letting the psychology of the situation eat at
him to the point of making distorted decisions. Dark but real
ending. “ On the Border” is a classic border story—and a
peyote nighMexican man has taken a rich gringo's daughter hostage,
but must keep her safe from the cartels and bandits in the border
deserts. A fevre dream with bits of Stockholm syndrome, it's Jeff
VanderMeer meets Quentin Tarantino.
Second
published tale set on the massive corpse of the Dragon Griaule, The
Scalehunter’s Beautiful Daughter is tale of a decidedly different
tenor than “The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule”. Interior
rather than exterior, Catherine is a countryside girl raised on the
dragon’s haunch. Thinking to defend her from the evils of the
giant reptile, her father digs a hole deep enough in the corpse such
that Catherine can sleep with her head resting against the iridescent
beauty of one of the massive scales every night. Growing up wild and
free-spirited, she takes little heed of her choices, until one day
she is confronted by a tragedy which drives her into the mouth of
Griaule. Discovering a private hell within, the manner in which she
escapes requires as much acceptance as rejection. Great story.
The story closing the collection is as mundane
as the story opening it. “Surrender”
is grimdark Indiana Jones telling of beat-down journalist in
Guatemala who stumbles upon a government mutagen project being tested
on the local indigenous population. Shit hits the jungle fan, then
dries out in staid, expected fashion.
In the
end is as the beginning of this review. There are some standard,
mediocre stories here, but likewise, so too is there some of the
absolute cream of Shepard's crop. “Fire Zone Emerald”, “Delta
Sly Honey”, “Shades”, “Life of Buddha”, “The
Scalehunter's Daughter”, “The Black Clay Boy” are some of the
best stories of the author's oeuvre, not to mention the era. If you
are unfamiliar with Shepard, be aware he did not write short stories
in the literal sense. Most pieces collected here are novelette or
novella length, which means the collection
can be a challenge if you intend to sit down and read-read-read.
This is compounded by the fact Shepard rarely if ever changed his
m.o. After a short while, the formula becomes visible. Take foreign
setting X (50% chance central America), present some personal drama
(90% chance white male with middle-age problems), lean into the
setting's supernatural characteristics, then gently but steadily turn
the dial to 11 on emotions and the fantastic. The stories which
break this mold or perfect it are the best.
The following are the fourteen stories collected in The Ends of the Earth:
The Ends of the Earth
Delta Sly Honey
Bound for Glory
The Exercise of Faith
Nomans Land
Life of Buddha
Shades
Aymara
A Wooden Tiger
The Black Clay Boy
Fire Zone Emerald
On the Border
The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter
Surrender
No comments:
Post a Comment