In the Valley of the Kings

Alright, this one was In the Valley of the Kings by Terrence Holt. It was a collection of short stories (and reading short stories is a square on my library bingo card, yeah!).

Holt writes these stories that are all fascinating and a bit macabre, definitely off their collective rockers. He writes like Edgar Allen Poe, a bit, though I didn't like all of his stories as much as I tend to like Poe... So anyways. One story is about a guy whose dad is literally just a beating heart (?) that he carries around in a mayo jar... he can hear the heart talking, moving, laughing, and the heart responds to him. It's... weird. My two favorites were the first one, the title of which I can't write unless I learn how to write in Greek, and the title piece, the short story In the Valley of the Kings. The first was about a girl who has a word printed in bruises all over her body, and it was heartbreaking and endearing. In the Valley of the Kings was also heartbreaking, but extremely relatable... and majorly creepy. At least, I thought so.

So, while I really liked some of the stories, I'll be honest. I didn't "get" some of the others. I would kind of love to read this with some other people and really dissect the stories, a la high school and college English classes. But just reading them through left me scratching my head a bit, you know?

The good news is that I absolutely recommend this. I think Poe is considered a "classic" author so people say they like him, but if you reallllly enjoy the twisted mind that comes through in his work, read these stories immediately. They're thought provoking and wondrous. If you only know Poe for marrying his 13-year-old cousin, well then, you might want to pass.

So, what are your thoughts? Would you read these? Know of any authors like this? Happy reading!