Thursday, May 26, 2011

Every Shallow Cut - Tom Piccirilli

The plot of Tom Piccirilli’s short novel EVERY SHALLOW CUT is fairly simple: A failed writer, with his marriage broken up and his house lost to foreclosure, sets out to drive across country with his few possessions and his English bulldog Churchill to visit his brother, his agent, and an old friend.


Oh, and he has a gun, too, to go along with his despair.


If you’re a writer, this is one of the truest books you’ll ever read. I’ve been in many of the same places where Piccirilli’s unnamed narrator finds himself, and I’ve thought many of the same thoughts that go through his head. I’ve been luckier in many respects than this poor guy, but a lot of the feelings are the same and I suspect that’s true of most writers. EVERY SHALLOW CUT is one of those rare books that’s so good it hurts.


And that’s all I have to say about it except that you should read it, whether you’re a writer or not. But if you’re a writer, you really should.

4 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

That's high praise. I'll check it out.

jedidiah ayres said...

Every Shallow Cut was a fantastic one sitting read... sticks with me still

Anonymous said...

A terrific read. Tom's noirellas are outstanding.

Ron C.

JJ Stickney said...

One of those reads that I could not put down, finished it in one very late night session. A truly remarkable novella.