BOB, or MAN on BOAT by Peter Markus
tentative publication date: June 17, 2008
Review:tentative publication date: June 17, 2008
Peter Markus is the author of three short books of short-short fiction, Good, Brother, The Moon is a Lighthouse, and The Singing Fish. In Bob, or Man on Boat, Peter Markus creates an obsessive, haunting rant about fish, fishing and fishermen. Oh, wouldn't it be sweet if it was that easy to figure out a Markus book.
This is the third book by Markus that has continued with the story of a man, water, mud and fish. It is so refreshing to finally have Markus dive into the back story of his main characters the way he does in this piece. We are not only introduced to Bob, but many people named Bob and the word "bob" used as a verb. Markus loves to play with language and does a fabulous job in this story. If you like tongue twisters, I dare you to try to read a page of this tome out loud. The words are beyond lyrical and extremely reminiscent of spoken word poetry with a splash of schizophrenic rants. This book is not for the literal thinker. I was having heart palpitations while reading and at times found myself turning the book down to catch my breath. The funny thing is, I wasn't even reading out loud, I was just breathy as my eyes raced through the pages. This is a one sitting read that actually took me small sittings to finish, due to the anxiety it produced. I cannot wait to hear more of what happens to the Bob's and hope that Markus decides to revisit their world.
His second title and fourth story collection overall being published by Dzanc, We Make Mud, comes out in March 2011. This collection will concentrate on his stories of two brothers, the dirty river they live near, mud, fish and stars. I look forward to reading more works by Markus and recommend him to all who are looking for something fresh and unpredictable.
