​STIRRING THE SHEETS BY CHAD LUTZKE

BY KIT POWER

I became aware of Lutzke’s work thanks to his novella Of Foster Homes and Flies, which I thoroughly enjoyed, as my review of the time made clear, so when a review copy of his latest effort became available, I was eager to get my hands on it.

Stirring The Sheets concerns Emmett, a recent widower reconciled to his loss, who is employed as a mortician. The story focuses on his few remaining relationships - one young, hostile neighbor, one elderly, friendly one, and his co-worker/trainee - and his own internal thoughts and emotions, as he tires to navigate his life adrift from the anchor of his marriage.

All of the admirable qualities from Lutzke’s prior work is present and correct. The prose is eloquent but unfussy and plain spoken, and flows effortlessly, and the whole tale is infused with poigionancy. Emmett is also well drawn, and both his voice and internal misery are superbly realised. 

The story as a whole is a meditation on grief, and indeed Emmett’s grief is almost a character in it’s own right - a force that both haunts and controls his life, leading him to make decisions he knows are poor, and clouding his judgement. This particular personal hell will be well familiar to anyone who has experienced depression, I think, yet it goes remarkably underrepresented in fiction. Lutzke manages to express it well, giving insight into the mentality that allows (or do I mean compelles?) a person to commit acts they know are self harming. This aspect of the storytelling shows remarkable depth and maturity, and I found it to be very impressive.

The only element that didn’t really work for me was the opening. While I understand the attraction of a ‘grabby’, in media res style prologue, in the case of this story I felt it gave too much away, leading me to understand a large part of what was going to happen in the narrative some way ahead of the events themselves. That may have been the intention of the author, and of course reactions to it will differ as a matter of taste, but my own reaction was one of mild disappointment, as I felt it robbed some of the tension from the middle of the book.

That said, this is undoubtedly another impressive outing from Lutzke, with strong characterization, compulsively readable prose, and a raw empathetic heart. He remains an author to watch, and a refreshing and distinct voice in the horror field.

KP
29/5/18




 


Become a Patron!

​DRACULA 2000 – A MOVIE THAT MATTERS BY ROY BRIGHT