Refresh, Refresh: Stories

Great short stories.. Out of the ten stories in the book, five are really, really oustanding! Refresh, Refresh The Caves in Oregon The Woods Meltdown When the Bear Came I randomnly came across this book and took a chance on it, well worth the cover price! This is Benjamin Percy's 2nd novel of short stories, his 1st book, "The Language of Elk" I have not read, but all the reviews are good!! I've never read anything with the type of vivid descriptions that Percy uses in his stories. He is a young, very talented writer who isnt really well known (yet) and I will definitely read his next book....

There is something etched, something rough, something raw about these stories, but nothing unfinished or unturned. There are no weak stories, however my favorite is "Meltdown" and I hope to see the characters and setting again. Benjamin Percy's writing is worthy and powerful.

"Refresh, Refresh" is rock'n'roll in form of short stories. It is an instant page-turner and you will be re-reading the stories more than once. The only other authors which gave me the same buzz were Stephen King, Ray Bradbury and Raymond Chandler. Percy's language is brutally honest and polished, two qualities that are hard to come by in the space needed to deliver a short story. Don't forget to get "Language of Elk" along with "Refresh, Refresh."

Anyone who grumbles that contemporary fiction is in the toilet, that short stories are dead, that the "younger generation" has not produced anything of real literary value, should shut up and read Benjamin Percy.

Benjamin Percy possesses a narrative voice that can only be described as hard, imaginative and haunting. At least two of the stories in this collection are good enough to be among the greatest short stories I've ever read. I highly recommend this book, especially for those who enjoy a very masculine voice that relies heavily on imagery and metaphor and for those who enjoy authors like Cormac McCarthy and Phil LaMarche, who have similar styles.