Book Review: Wormwood

Poppy Z. Brite's prose is poetic, luscious, intoxicating, and, most of all, addictive. This was a collection I could not put down, reading most of it in one sitting. It's one of those books where I feel sad now that it's over; I could have read so many more stories. Or maybe I wish I could reread these for the first time.

I can't say I actually liked all the stories, although I liked most. However, even the ones I didn't necessarily like, I couldn't put down. Brite's writing is simply so seductive that I couldn't help but love it, even if the overall story-the plot, the characters, etc.-was less appealing.

Brite has a way of writing that makes even the gruesome, the gross and grotesque, beautiful.

My favorite stories include:

"Angels"-I love Ghost and Steve. Their friendship reads honest and true even in the briefest of stories. In "Angels," Steve's car breaks down in a rural area, and Ghost leads them to a house and the two formerly conjoined twins who live there. These twins want nothing more than to be one again, and Ghost want to help them.

"A Georgia Story"-This one broke my heart. Our narrator returns to Georgia after years away. He reflects on his past life and friends and the heartbreak that ended their small paradise. Upon stopping at a roadside carnival, the narrator discovers something horrific that sends him rushing away from Georgia again.

"His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood" reminds me somewhat of Lovecraft's "The Hound," possibly my favorite Lovecraft story. Two friends turn to grave robbing to get their kicks, before discovering something that leads to a strange fate.

"How to Get Ahead in New York" brings back Ghost and Steve on their first trip to New York, which turns into a strange, terrifying odyssey for the two young men, as they try to navigate their way from the Port Authority station to the club where they are supposed to play that evening.

This is a beautiful, strange collection that I savored every minute of. I am hungry to read more Brite and will definitely be indulging in her other works soon.

This review is also published at Goodreads.