The Skin Palace

I had the pleasure of meeting Jack O'Connell prior to reading any of his work (he's a gentleman, by the way). THE SKIN PALACE is the first book of his which I've read, but it most certainly won't be the last. Jack O'Connell may very well by my new favourite writer (or at least in my top three). His storytelling is everything that I need in a book - compelling, addictive and defiantly character rich. The world in which he sets his stories is gritty and colourful, like a Mardi Gras festival from hell itself. His characters are varied and definitive, each of their stories drawing together at the conclusion of the novel before the final curtain falls, leaving you both sated and wanting in equal measure. This is a great tale of merry woe.

I am sure this book is about Worcester, Massachusetts. It is about what happens under the pavement of an old industrial town in New England, about the secrets of previous lives, about the separation of the rich and the poor, the established and the Bohemian in American society, mixed with faint memories of the German experience in the great War of generations past and about the persecution of Jews and artists now and then.

I love Jack O'Connell. Love his characters, setting (especially), and the strange way he tells a story. Read one and you will read them all. I know you will...if you like a quirky set of characters, a David Lynch way of presenting a story, you will love this. Take me to the Combat Zone where midgets, lesbians, and just about anyone you can imagine RULE!

O'Connell is the intelligent reader's Elmore Leonard. A writer with an eclectic vision that dangerously intersects with contemporary reality.This writer deserves a huge following. I have no doubt that it will come eventually.

I am a big-time O'Connell fan. I had to special order Box 9 because it was out of print. I can't wait until the next O'Connell book comes out. He has a wonderful way of telling a quirky story. It includes dwarfs, porno houses, strange photos, lesbian groups, unusual mail carriers, and God knows what. If you are a fan of Tom Robbins or William Kotzwinkle, you will love Jack O'Connell.