What the Dead Remember

There are few writers today able to capture those literary qualities that make southern gothic fiction so special. These stories are usually tragic or grotesque, told in a languid, poetical style that perfectly evokes the damp and sultriness of the Deep South - the heat and rot are characters as palpable and tangible as their human counterparts."Why We Never Danced the Charleston" and "What the Dead Remember" by Harlan Greene are perfect recent examples of this genre - and expand on themes and styles developed by writers such as Flannery O'Connor and James Purdy."What the Dead Remember" is a feast for the reader - so much more than a simple coming-of-age story or an AIDS-story. It is multilayered. Where the author succeeds most profoundly, is in the articulation of feelings, which are beautifully realized. I can't recall reading a novel where I recognized as many feelings and situations so close to my own experience. This one should not be overlooked.

Harlan Greene dredged up memories I had long ago allowed to gather dust and cobwebs. As a fellow southerner, I found myself remembering the same lonely feelings of disassociation as I grew into purberty. I remembered my longing for being one of the gang. However, I have to confess, that Greene's book took several turns I never thought it would. The ending is so mind boggling that I wouldn't have dared to guess the story's outcome. This is no Stephen King or Jeffrey Archer novel, with simple writing done for the brain dead. The prose in this book is very reminescent of Catcher in the Rye. You really have to love to read and to love discovering a book to fully appreciate Greene's work. While I'm bored to tears with the typical gay AIDS era novel - this one is different - leaps and bounds beyond any other I've ever read. If you can secure a copy, you'll have a real treasure.