Leaving the Sea is a collection of stories from my favorite experimental writer. It's structured like an avant-garde sandwich, with surprisingly traditional stories at the beginning and end and the well-nigh incomprehensible ones in the middle. Although the stories come from many different publications over the course of a decade, they work together quite well.
My favorite stories were the ones that most resembled Marcus' novels Notable America Women and The Flame Alphabet. Many of the stories treat bodies as disposable costumes and heads as empty bones filled with air and bad thoughts. Characters often speak into bags or fabrics.
"First Love" has just the right balance between creative language, off-kilter ideas, and emotional warmth; "Origins of the Family" strikes a similar tone. "Rollingwood" is my favorite of the loneliness quartet that comprises Part 1.
My favorite stories were the ones that most resembled Marcus' novels Notable America Women and The Flame Alphabet. Many of the stories treat bodies as disposable costumes and heads as empty bones filled with air and bad thoughts. Characters often speak into bags or fabrics.
"First Love" has just the right balance between creative language, off-kilter ideas, and emotional warmth; "Origins of the Family" strikes a similar tone. "Rollingwood" is my favorite of the loneliness quartet that comprises Part 1.
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