Ryan W. Bradley

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

I'm proud to count author Ryan Bradley, who's also the owner of Artistically Declined Press, as a friend of mine, which would make it an ethical conflict if I tried to pass off my review of his latest book, Code for Failure, as "objective;" I did however want to get a mention of it posted here online anyway, because this little book turned out to be really quite great, and I wanted to make sure it came to your attention as well. So consider my positive bias now announced! In reality a sneaky memoir of Bradley's time as a go-nowhere slacker at a small Oregon gas station, after leaving school but before taking up literature as a profession, it's designed as a series of one-page mini-stories about the weird and interesting experiences he had while there; but don't let these funny little anecdotes fool you, in that the manuscript added together paints a rather devastating emotional portrait of alienation, ennui and bad decisions, rife with the kinds of casual-sex disasters you would expect when sad small-town middle-aged women clumsily try to seduce beefy 22-year-old gas pumpers. Greater as a whole than as a sum of its parts, this fast-paced book affected me more profoundly than I was expecting it to, and I'm looking forward to the day that Bradley finally sits down and writes that masterpiece of a full novel that we all know he has in him. It comes strongly recommended today, despite my personal connection to the author.… (plus d'informations)