#743 Jack/July- Victor Lodato
You cannot always tell what a story is about from the first sentence, or what kind of characters you might encounter. But a good first sentence can set a tone and announce to the reader that the author enjoys a certain type of language. It’s a language shared between the writer and the avid reader, one that says literature is more than merely telling a story. Like good food, language can be savored. That’s the thought I’m left with after reading the first sentence of this story. I love a good opening sentence.
“The sun was a wolf. The fanged light had been trailing him for hours, tricky with clouds. As it emerged again from sheepskin, Jack looked down at the pavement, cursed.”
The story is less glorious than the language, being about a meth-head, but no less entertaining. Jack is deep into a binge, up for days. His mind cannot imagine structures of time and fact. As emotions flow through him he is reminded of good things, and he can't remember if they are real or imagined; whether they occurred yesterday or last year. To himself he is merely going through life looking for joy. To others he is a menace and a nuisance. There are many stories about drugs and their misuse, this was a good one with a few poignant quotes about drug use:
-Soon he knew the freak would come, the soul suck, if he didn’t get one of two things: more crystal or a sound sleep.
-Running out of crystal was like running out of time, sinking back into the mud that was your life.
Notable Passage: “It was so easy to forgive those who betrayed you, effortless—like thinking of winter in the middle of July. It cost you nothing.”
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