An outcast is someone that who is cast out or refused acceptance by society. This person is looked down upon, ignored, or excluded in some way. He doesn’t fit in with normal society, which contributes to a sense of isolation.
Each of the stories in this outstanding and well-written book is about an outcast. Troubled marriages, jealousy, addictions, and vaccines are some of the things you’ll encounter in this interesting collection.
Below you’ll find a few sentences about some of the stories.
“A Dandelion for All Eternity” – This is a sweet story but not all of it is sweet. A young teenage girl has an overprotective and jealous older brother, one who does something that he deserves to go to jail for. No, that was not what I found sweet about it. When her “boyfriend” is killed, she mourns, but it’s the way she finally realizes that life goes on that I find sweet.
“Valley of Darkness” – Sam has a gambling problem, a huge gambling problem. Nothing is able to take the desire away from him. Nothing. And I will say the Baby Pawn Shop was a horrible and terrifying place.
“Nagin vs. Nagin” This has to be my favorite story. Nagin is tormented by his doppelgänger and goes to war with him for dominance; it is hilarious. I especially love how he manages to throw in the title of one of his books at the end, Butterflies Lost Within the Crooked Moonlight.
“The Visitation” – Uncle Seymour comes for an unannounced visit and tells an unbelievable tale, but could it be true?
“The Failure” – Bill has a major problem with credit cards, spending money he doesn’t have or make on his measly salary. But when the unexpected happens, what choice will he make?
“Song of Doom” – “I’m losing my mind.” That is an entry in the journal – dated June 24, 2024 through August 24, 2024 – of a man in prison for murdering his daughter. His state of mind and his ramblings is rather depressing as is the story, but it is very well-written. The man is crazy and has probably already lost his mind, but by the end, you’ll understand why.
“Get Your Implant!” – Kind of scary and a bit realistic. Reminds me of a time not too long ago when everyone was strongly urged to get the Covid vaccine or lose your job, your friends, your social life. A close relation of mine told me that he thought those who didn’t get the vaccine shouldn’t even be allowed in any of the stores. Whenever I would speak with him he would always ask me if I’d gotten my shot yet. Just like the guy in the story, my answer was always no. We obviously weren’t in agreement on this matter. I’m just glad that things didn’t turn out for me the way they turned out for the guy in the story.
But in this story it isn’t a vaccine that one is being manipulated into taking; it is something worse.
“Fed to the Crocodiles”– This story I really enjoyed. Rather than being a downer, it has a great ending. Zaylor learns that when you take a package from criminals to deliver, that you need to deliver it and not sell what is inside for yourself. But Zaylor isn’t the only one who learns something from this.
Favorite Sentences:
This was an instinct, a flash radiating across a grim sky, an otherworldly sense he followed as determinedly as a zombie on the hunt for fresh meat.
He had absurd dreams; in one he was a leprechaun, singing Irish ballads, dancing beneath a rainbow when a wolf consumed him in one ravenous bite.
Nothing spurred him on like the prospect of his own demise.
I immediately sensed he was an imposter intent on destroying my reputation and transferring all the attention my work had garnered to himself.
Is there anything more surprising than a strange guest surveying your trinkets and snorting over your cheese and crackers?
Amazon Link: The Book of Outcasts
Recommended Articles:
Butterflies Lost Within the Crooked Moonlight – a Review
Matt Nagin – Do You Really Need to Outline?
Do Not Feed the Clown – a Review
Notes From the Bonfire – a Review
This Book is Kind of Dark – Guest Post by Matt Nagin
New Words Learned:
amalgam – a mixture or combination
celerity – rapidity of motion or action
chichi – frilly or elaborate ornamentation
opprobrium – public disgrace or ill fame that follows from conduct considered grossly wrong or vicious
pyrrhic – achieved at excessive cost
virescent – slightly greenish
zaftig – describing a woman having a full rounded figure : pleasingly plump
zeitgeist – the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era
About the Author:
As a writer, Matt’s newest book is the short story collection The Book of Outcasts. His humor book Do Not Feed The Clown was published by Tenth Street Press and he’s also put out three poetry books (one of which Kirkus Review deemed “powerful verse from a writer of real talent”). Additionally, Matt’s story “The Failure” made Best of Across The Margin, and his poem “If We Are Doomed” won The Spirit First Editor’s Choice Award. Other work has been appeared in The Binnacle, NY’s Best Emerging Poets, and Rabbit Hole: Weird Stories Vol. 5. He also taught college writing at such institutions as Fordham, Long Island University, and Fashion Institute of Technology._
