Here is my review of This Other Eden, the new book by Michael Hemmingson, published by Dybbuk Press, NY. Later in the week, I'll be posting a video review of the book to my web site. I'll keep you posted.



First off, if you aren’t familiar with Michael Hemmingson’s work yet -- where’ve you been!!?? He’s been at it already for several decades: poetry, plays, screenplays, nonfiction, and some of the most memorable fiction you’re likely to read. For most people, reading Hemmingson’s fiction is an experience not easily forgotten. I knew a college freshman once in New York City who was so freaked out by a Hemmingson short story collection I’d loaned him that he threw the book across the room and didn’t want to touch the book again.

Ah, but that was Nice Little Stories Jam-Packed With Depraved Sex & Violence; a notorious book whose stories far surpassed the depravity promised in its title. It was not This Other Eden.

This Other Eden is a collection of 3 short stories and 3 novellas that are somewhat interconnected in that all the characters within are not so much down on their luck as much as ignorant of what up might mean, or that there even is an up. As is typical of most of Hemmingson’s fiction, foreboding is everywhere. He is a master at creating a plodding sense of doom -- an inexorable descent into the wasteland of wretchedness. Which is why it might feel refreshing to discover that a lot of the stories included in Eden actually lead to an uplifting end; a sense that the characters you’ve invested your attention (or morbid curiosity) in, survive the dense mediocrity of their lives and the often inexplicable ill-will of others to, in fact, triumph. And while the victories here are often simple and spare, they are so hard-won that their very simplicity makes these triumphs all the more human and profound.

The back cover copy of Eden promises “terrorism, crack cocaine, rape, failure, miscarriages, and suicide”; it promises that “here is Hemmingson at his most brutal.” While technically this could be true it is only because Hemmingson’s deft use of language is so streamlined and precise, the resulting impact is often not easy to take. There is no buffer between you, the reader, and the story being told. And more often than not, bad things are happening to unsuspecting people. But Hemmingson navigates the mire of helplessness and ignorance with skill; creating characters that we want to see rewarded with some sort of peace. And when the peace is at last bestowed upon them, we experience that peculiar chill shooting straight down our spines; that tiny shout of rejoicing.

For that very reason, my favorite story in this collection was the novella, Now That I Know What Happened, Could You Hold Me, Please, and Say This Is Love? where the protagonist, Paul Augustine, searches ever-onward for something -- anything -- that might make sense in his world. He misplaces his affections in the lovelessness of empty women; he even loses an eye. But in the end, his determination to survive his struggles lead him to the simplicity of a loving family, finally, and the birth of his first son. It was a beautifully balanced story whose hopeful ending was crafted with a confident touch. For me, that’s what stands out about this entire collection: Hemmingson is a damn good storyteller who will carve his way into you with considerable skill.

© 2010, Marilyn Jaye Lewis

This Other Eden, by Michael Hemmingson; published by Dybbuk Press, NY; May 2010. Available now at Amazon.com