author: Bill Callahan

name: Steev

average rating: 3.76

book published: 2010

rating: 4

read at: 2012/06/17

date added: 2012/06/17

shelves: fun

review:
This is a weird and fun book, and also profound. For an author who I already know via his lyrics is really smart and creative and a little twisted, it's cool to see another view or angle on his talent. The book is in the form of a series of letters to a woman who the narrator has evidently become very fond of, but we don't see any of the letters back. The backdrop to his life is rather surreal - he works as some sort of scientist or technician who makes measurements on something called The Vortex. Nothing is ever really explained about what this Vortex is or what the organization is that he works for, but they seem to have an almost Orwellian control over his life. However, against this otherworldly, science fiction setting we have the narrator addressing very personal and deep issues and concerns about his life, his friendships and relationships, in poignant and moving ways. It had me wondering, of course, how much of it was autobiographical, and led me to a variety of questions, including "how much does Bill Callahan drink?" and "Does he treat women poorly or not?" The book will never tell us the answers, and perhaps that's for the best.