A review by erinray82
Paper Lantern by Stuart Dybek

4.0

This book had a haunting quality that made the subject of love, or rather the art of love, feel like an ethereal journey, somehow both perilous and exhilarating, like being caught up in a tremendous tide. It has an element of the terrifying as well as the hypnotic beauty that is infatuation and captivation combined, imbued with an air of true devotion. There is a sense of confusion at times, bitter disillusionment, and tremendous beauty all wound up with stark ugliness and woe. Somehow it's all entwined in expensive sheets that smell of pricy perfume, cigarettes, and some wonderfully aged liquor. This book makes me taste cherries and rich sauces, smell sandalwood, feel the weight of furs, and picture silk stockings on the line. It tells secrets and stokes the fires of deceit. There are shadows on every page, and thus, mystery lurks around every corner. Somehow the prose itself feels both seedy and extravagant all at once. It is the epitome of wealth and fluidity, even when it features subtlety, the common, the low. Decked out like some classy broad, the writing makes you work, makes you think, but ensures that you enjoy the entire process. My favorite stories were Seiche, Four Deuces, If I Vanished, and Waiting (my favorite of them all). When I sat this book down at the end I stared at it as if I had devoured some alcohol infused exotic cake in one sitting, wondering how I did it, feeling both a little sick and deeply satisfied, and monstrously, monstrously full.