A review by hilaritas
The Ice at the Bottom of the World: Stories by Mark Richard

3.0

Richard is an assured writer, I'll give him that. This short collection of stories is deeply grooved with the cadences of his distinctive voice, which bubbles up from the bayou and the shorelines of the South full of poverty, hillbilly canny, and black humor. He's clearly referencing Faulkner in many ways, and several of the stories have a rambling, backwoods storyteller tone that is masking very controlled and technical use of language. However, that often capped my enjoyment in reading, as Richard's sentences often feel belabored or overworked in my opinion. It's hard to lose yourself in the worlds they create when the hand of the creator rests so heavy. Despite that, there's plenty to enjoy here, including strikingly macabre images, emotional melodrama wearing a mask of nonchalance, and humor aplenty. Definitely worth a read but not among my favorite collections. I'd peg this one at 3.5/5.