Severance

As one of the publisher reviews points out, Severance is really a series of prose poems, which is made obvious by the explicit device of keeping them the same length according to the formula (1.5 minutes x 160 words/minute). In the sense that they are meditative more than narrative, they work better when thought of as poetry. Then you can see the variety of language possible within the form, which shows the different kinds of reflections of the characters depicted using the form. These are, after all, meditations about language use in extremis (including what animals would say if they could speak and, pace Wittgenstein, what we would understand from them if they could speak), and together they create a haunting and beautiful depiction of lives remembered. If you had only 240 words to sum up your final thoughts, what would you say? Do it in a minute and a half, knowing they're your last seconds on Earth. That kind of evanescence--not necessarily rushed, not necessarily resistant to death--is what Butler captures so well. The set of poems has pathos without sentimentality, and charm without preciousness. Read it, and be glad your time is not yet up, and your head is still on your shoulders.

Robert Olen Butler is such a fine, creative writer that his works can always be trusted by even the most discerning reader. The intial impact of his latest book SEVERANCE - from the strange but hauntingly beautiful cover art to the premise of the book - may put some readers off: has Butler found a writing gimmick for the sole purpose of getting another novel out on the stands while his glimmer of greatness still is alight? The answer is easily resolved by reading a few of the vignettes that comprise this remarkable book. Butler takes his concept from two postulates: 'After decapitation, the human head is believed to remain in a state of consciousness for one and one-half minutes. In a heightened state of emotion, people speak at the rate of 160 words per minute.' Fascinating information this and Butler takes it and runs - but with his usual skills and care for the English language and his tireless imagination coupled with historical investigation. What follows are black pages of introduction of people who have been decapitated from Mud man ca. 40,000 BC through the Roman times with the likes of John the Baptist and St Paul, the dragon slain by St George, the multiple beheadings surrounding King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth, through the French Revolution guillotine victims such as Robespierre, Marie Antoinette and Andre Chenier, to some grisly 19th century machine beheadings, black slaves, Vietnamese, the artist Mishima who requested beheading as part of his ritualistic disembowelment, down to more contemporary times such as the accident that made Jayne Mansfield lose her head to Saddam Hussein's machinations and unknown victims and ending with Butler giving his own elegy from his future beheading in 2008!, and after the black introductions are terse 240 word pieces of thoughts as these people died. If this sounds like a series of 240 word essays on the horrors of dying then the reader has not read much Robert Olen Butler. What he has given us is a minute and a half flashback of history of each victim that traipses through the highlights of living and the expectations and disappointments that could so easily be imagined 'as your life flashes in front of you' at the time of death. Brilliantly written and endlessly informative and fascinating, this is a book not to be read at the rate that beheaded people speak: this is a series of moving pages of lives condensed and poetically arranged for perusing at various times when the reader hungers for something refreshingly new. Grady Harp, November 06

Butler has created an incredibly interesting portrayal of human life and death in one amazing book. The book is based on the premise of Dr. Dassy D'Estaing in 1883 that after decapitation, the human mind remains conscious for 1 ½ minutes. In addition, people speak at approximately 160 words a minutes when in a heightened state of emotion. Based on these premises, Butler creates a series of stories that represent the thoughts of real people who have been decapitated and their thoughts in the 90 seconds following that decapitation. These people are in fact real people who had been decapitated. Most of them were decapitated via the guillotine. Some of the people Butler portrays in the book are as follows: Marie Antoinette, King Louis the XVI, Jayne Mansfield, John the Baptist, The Apostle Paul, Sir Thomas More, Lady Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn, Mary Queen of Scots, Robespierre, Robert Kornbluth, Nicole Brown Simpson and many more. Each story is exactly 240 words; representing the amount of words that would be spoken in 90 seconds, post decapitation. The stories are in essence the distillation of an entire lifetime, through the eyes of the deceased person. The elements of their life that are of significance to the victim are presented by Butler to the reader. The book is experimental in its form. And the creation of the stories and their content are uniquely fascinating. Butler has in fact created a truly brilliant concept in this book. The people are mostly recognizable by name, but also Butler gives a very brief comment on each one of them indicating who they were. The book is highly recommended for readers who enjoy unusual and expertly written short stories with a surreal content that tickles the imagination. Severance is truly a cerebral experience for those readers who wish to be intrigued by what might flash before a person's eyes upon the knowledge that their death is imminent.

Robert Olen Butler has inspired writers in many ways over many years: via webcasts, workshops, lectures, readings, in manuals, and by the example of his work. "Severance" is the latest distillation of his talent and creative wit, served up for us as a gruesome but gorgeous imagining and garnished with bookmaking craft excellence. Any way one, well, slices it, "Severance," the book, is an object of haptic and visual beauty; "Severance," the stories (or, better, vignettes), is a master work of concept, research and passionate prose. As I did, you will read it quickly then find yourself going back for more, often. As a Writer and a Reader, I highly recommend "Severance" to those familiar with Butler's short stories, collections (Good Scent, Tabloid Dreams, Had A Good Time) and novels, but I especially envy those who pick up this book and discover the voices of Bob Butler for the first time!