One Hour

One Hour by Todd Sullivan begins in a seedy urban world of drug abuse, teen angst, and violence. Some of the stories slip into the paranormal as one teen displays vampiristic tendencies and another succeeds in vanishing altogether. Though there are frequent allusions to magic, the stories contain much more of magical realism, evoking in the reader a sense of murky wonder at which events have truly occurred and which are lost in dreams and tortured perceptions. The sinister tone changes as the book approaches its central narrative. "One Hour" is a tale of beauty in unexpected places, and that's exactly how it feels as the author lovingly describes each whiff of curry and crackle of duck at the surreal restaurant only open for an hour each night. It's run by an individualistic Bohemian with marvelous insights on a happiness that reaches out from the pages themselves to embrace the reader. From there, the collection continues through sensuous poems of inspiration and creation startlingly unlike the earlier stories in their smooth beauty, and yet continuing the characters' search to escape corporate conformity. How can we refuse society's expectations to write beautiful prose for poor wealth and weak security, they ask and answer as one. The final novella is "The Great Escape Artist," moving tale of a specially-challenged boy's growth from determined suicide to aspiring artist. This collection devotes itself to inspiration and personal struggle, showing teens fighting overwhelming odds to create beautiful prose and master the angst in their personal lives. These are stories about writing, but also meta-narratives about the stories in the collection: Themes in the fiction and poems mirror each other, while character names in the poetry prepare readers for those same characters to resurface later. This is like a collection by Barth or O'Brian, whose stories all interlock and support each other, leading the reader on a post-modern journey from fragmentation to wholeness.

Todd Sullivan's "One Hour" is a chilling, and introspective collection of short stories, poetry, and a novella. Each piece has a fantastical element about it, and at the same time explores the nature of humanity through stories of struggle, success, loss, and identity. Not for the faint of heart (as it contains drug-related themes), "One Hour" is a quality read. The gems of the collection are the short stories "The Magician" (about a boy who discovers how to do magic beyond run-of-the-mill sleight of hand) and the eponymous "One Hour" (about a mysterious restaurant that is only open for one hour each night, and its proprietor). Each story shows both sides of Sullivan's work, the gritty surrealism of "The Magician" and the philosophy and search for meaning of "One Hour". The novella, "The Great Escape Artist", reminded me of Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye", but with a fantastical theme. The young narrator's search for self is an intriguing journey. Sullivan's prose is solid. His descriptions are vivid, as are his characters. My one criticism would be that his dialogue can sometimes feel heavy-handed. All in all, Sullivan paints a vivid set of characters and settings in "One Hour", making for an enjoyable read. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read stories that make them think.

I began reading this book a couple of weeks ago and I just finished it yesterday. I am currently in school and it was refreshing to read something that was so open and honest and made me think on another level. I think that this is one of the best books that I have read in a while, and the the path that the author took to get his point across was interesting and intriguing at the same time. I recommend this book to people all the time and I will continue to do so until everyone is made aware of this talented young man and a delight of a book. Thank you.

One Hour is a thought provoking look into the world around us. Not only the world around us but the world around us that we are afraid of looking into by ourselves. The premises behind the works in this compilation are refreshingly original. From the theoligical conclusion of "To Descend" to the feeling of hope lost by one and gained by another in "Distance Lost", page after page of One Hour nurtures epiphany while compelling you to read on. Definately a wonderful read. I look forward to more of this author's work.