Book Review: Short Stories by Bruce Holland Rogers

There’s a marvelous scene in the Alexander Payne film Sideways in which Miles, the wine connoisseur and would-be writer played by Paul Giamatti, is speaking with his literary agent. “They love the book, Miles” his agent assures him, “the problem is they don’t know how to market it.” Miles dejectedly folds his cell phone, certain the marketing excuse is just a polite brush-off. But in these days of low book readership, marketing is a large consideration among small and large publishers alike, and thousands of young American writers struggling to become the next Theodore Dreiser or Jackie Collins may want to consider taking business classes along with the mélange of college literature and humanities courses.

Fortunately, Bruce Holland Rogers has discovered an unconventional marketing strategy for his writing. For a thin $10 subscription price, Rogers will email you 26 finely honed short fiction pieces a year. Not bad when considering the current price of gasoline and the nausea one experiences making a visit to one of the ponderously boring mega-chain bookstores.

Rogers work falls into fantasy/morality tales sprinkled with an arid humor that deserves several reads to catch on to. But more importantly, Rogers offers his readers extremely challenging, experimental material that often surpasses the boundaries of understanding the world around us. Rogers relishes revealing that his characters, which are more often metaphors, are not always what they seem to be. In this way, Rogers contests conventional wisdom and philosophy in an effort to stretch the readers’ conceptions of those philosophies. And his interpretations pack an amazing wallop.

So this is not the kind of fiction just anyone can pick up and appreciate. In order to follow Rogers fantastical journeys, one must already have traveled some down the path he leads you on. My only problem with Rogers' stories is the limited description of setting, time, and characters. Without the colorful detail inherent in most fiction, it’s difficult to embrace Rogers’ creatures, regardless of their metaphorical value.

Article Author: Larry Sakin

Larry Sakin is a former music executive and non-profit medical organization administrator. He advocates for literacy issues and provides advocacy training for grassroots and non-profit groups around the country.

Visit Larry Sakin's author page — Larry Sakin's Blog