420 Characters
Lou Beach
HMH $22.00/Higher in Canada (it actually says that on the book)

The first thing you notice about this package is just how beautiful it is. A startling red cover, with a blurb from Jonathan Lethem on the belly wrap. It is also contains some of the most compelling short flahes of fiction that I’ve read in some time. Lethem is known for his stretch to compelling, whether it is in his non-fiction or some of his novels, Motherless Brooklyn is endlessly compelling. Is that what we are trying to do as writers, be compelling, engaging and magnetic? Why do people read? To be entertained? In this book, Lou Beach has used to parameters of 420 characters to draft a quick note, and some of them are accompanied by a beautiful color photograph.

This book was put together with these little stories that were written on a popular social networking site where the limit of the post was 420 characters. It is not the first time this kind of thing has been done. J. Robert Lennon did it with Pieces for the Left Hand, which is by far one of the most compelling books I have ever read. In it are stories that are a few paragraphs long, sometimes shorter. They are about town, or a place, people, dogs, cans, mailboxes, lives gone wild, lives very normal, weird sightings, whatever and all written while his child took a nap each day. Seek this book out, trust me, it is worth it.

It is not easy to sum up what you want to say in two or three sentences. Some of these pieces are too polished, but that’s okay, not all of J. Robert Lennon’s stuff worked either. It is like a jukebox at the diner, flip through until you find one you like. There is one that I particularly love, about a man falling to earth afer his parachute didn’t open. He hits a pigeon in his flight, and the bird dies pressed against his chest. The man can feel the birds heart beating it’s last beats as they fall to earth. Then there is the actor who can’t act, and vomits until he can vomit no more, leaving the stage hastily. Of course, J. Robert Lennon blurbs this book but he doesn’t make the cover like Lethem. There is the dead body in the back seat, and the girl driving the car is singing Slayer songs out loud. The narrator catches a glimpse of this body when he checks his teeth in the rearview mirrow for left over dinner stuck in his teeth.

This book goes on sale 12-6-11, and a little advance praise goes a long way. Act fast, this won’t be reprinted quickly…