Reviews

Death and So Forth: Stories by Gordon Lish

michellethebookcritic's review

3.0

I would first like to thank Dzanc books for giving me an ARC! I won this during a giveaway and I was really excited to see what was going on in Lish's mind. Apparently, some of the stories just didn't go right with me. Maybe it was the writing style, maybe it was something else, idk.

Either way, 3/5. It's a decent read :)

beardedbarista's review

3.0

This is my first time reading Lish. I'll be honest I think the only reason I gave it a 3 star and not lower was that I feel like it's above my knowledge base and I am intimidated by how difficult it was. I struggled to finish each story. The last few stories saved the book for me. But that may have also been because I was finally starting to acclimatize myself to his style. It makes sense that he edited Barry Hannah because it reminded me of him.
I love Dzanc books and am ever grateful that they sent me this book to read and review.

tinamayreads's review

3.0

DEATH AND SO FORTH by Gordon Lish is a new collection of short fiction including eight new fictions. I’ve never read any Lish before but right away while reading this book I could tell he has quite the way with words. I really liked the stories where he was a character and the way he dealt with the recurring theme of death and loss. My fave stories were In September, Grace and Watch Out! I especially liked In September where he as a character talked about his kids. I really liked how in that piece he used poetry and repetition to create a nice flow in his writing. My least fave was Does This Mean Anythugng? because it was confusing and hard to read. Maybe it was trying to be funny and I didn’t get it? I’d definitely be interested to read more Lish now!

Thank you to Dzanc books for this ARC!

kylefwill's review

"Walking away from Death and So Forth, the most memorable thing will be the language: its rhythms, recursions, its playfulness. It is, perhaps, language for language’s sake — which would be unsurprising for a man who once wrote a grammar textbook. Gordon’s “admission” may only be that he is entirely unrepentant."

Full review on Full Stop: https://www.full-stop.net/2021/06/08/reviews/kyle-williams/death-and-so-forth-gordon-lish/