Time no longer exists, eternity takes forever to pass, and I am trapped in a late night which will never end. And so ends the first story in New Orleans native Todd Sullivan's collection of short stories, poems and novella titled One Hour. The book is a journey through the world of drugs, party scenes and the supernatural as seen through the eyes of a writer willing to take an unusual look at everyday life. Sullivan s poetry is haunting and encompasses the fears and anxieties that fill us all. His poem Distance Lost, is about a boy's fear of the Boogie Man and their trading places. The boy,/ looking,/ staring,/ accepts, / trades places, and the first soul he has that day, for breakfast,/ instead of cereal,/ is his mother's/ son's/ imposter. The author s discussion of drug culture intermingled with party life is about as frank and honest as it gets. It s so frank in fact that it may be a bit upsetting to some weak-hearted readers used to turning the pages of baby-mama-drama novels. On his website, Sullivan stated during a writing workshop he attended with Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina, she gave some advice: every good first novel is autobiographical. So is the novella at the end of the book, The Great Escape Artist. The Great Escape Artist is definitely an embellished biography of the past 24 years of my life, he said. I am indeed a Pisces, I grew up in New Orleans one mile from Pontchartrain Park, my mother is a teacher, my father is a stock broker and most importantly of all, I am a dreamer. Pisces are supposed to be the supreme dreamers, but I think everyone can identify with the main character of 'The Great Escape Artist, Lore Simmons. No matter how reality minded a person is, they dream, even if their dreams are only allowed to flourish while they sleep. Overall, One Hour is a welcome diversion from the mundane cookie-cutter books saturating the market today. But buyer beware: only read this one if you re not going anywhere for a while because you won t want to put it down. - Xavier Herald, by L.M. Aaron

Anyone who writes or does any type of art. Anyone who reads and wants to be read. Anyone who parties, has partied, and misses partying. Anyone.

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Created Nov 03, 2008 at 10:24pm • Submit your own review...