Greg Halfman’s goal is to survive each day. Routine assails. Roommates annoy. His girlfriend tolerates. A showdown against nothing may or may not loom, but Greg struggles to cope either way.
Note: Halfman contains pervasive harsh language; also, some graphic sexual content and graphic violence.
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I rated this story as worth a look because it’s well-written, with excellent use of varied sentence length, unique and memorable descriptions, and other technical goodness.
I didn’t rate this story any higher, though, because the content of the story doesn’t interest me at all. It’s modern day fiction about Greg, who comes across as a very pathetic young man indeed, squeaking by life in a dead-end clerical job. He seems unable to handle the stress of even his low-key life, suffering from anxiety about almost everything (which is nicely shown in an understated way, rather than beaten into our heads). He retreats into frequent chemical abuse to cope with his anxiety and boredom. As the story progresses, Greg’s life is starting to come apart at the seams. It isn’t clear where this emotional roller-coaster will end up – because it isn’t clear to greg where he’ll end up – but the ride along the way isn’t pretty.
This story is more a literary piece than "genre" fiction in the way that excellent language is used to really delve into a single character study. I know many people do enjoy these types of intense studies despite the heavy side-dressing of depression, and for those people, I can recommend this story. For other readers, you may want to check it out for the writing, but don’t be surprised if you come away more frustrated than entertained.
3 of 3 members found this review helpful.
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