Gravity Paperback – Import, 7 Jun 2017

Every story in this collection, from the flashes to the longer pieces, is gripping and memorable. Like Kazepis' debut work, The Long Lost Dog of It, he shows that he is an emerging voice that can write engaging world working-class literature. With Gravity, he makes the equivalent of a great EP that is catchy, short, and impressive. My only complaint is an EP is never as satisfying as an album. It’s a very short collection. I read it in about an hour and a half. I loved that it was all killer with no filler, but I would have loved it even more if there were three or four more stories of the same quality. Hopefully Kazepis doesn’t wait another three years to drop a new book, but I will read it whenever it does.

GRAVITY is Michael Kazepis' follow-up to his 2014 novel LONG LOST DOG OF IT, which I believe will be re-released sometime in the future with new artwork, and new interior design. GRAVITY is a short story collection with short stories ranging from his most early work and possibly unpublished work, to more recent work like the incredibly dark story "Minerva", and the sci-fi/Lynch-esque "Goodbye to the Holy Mountain".GRAVITY is comprised of nine short stories spanning multiple genres all the while avoiding the atypical tropes you'd see in lesser collections. In many ways GRAVITY seems like a love letter to the artists, writers, philosophers, films, directors, musicians, etc that have shaped Kazepis' life. For instance, Kazepis wears his Latin American Boom influence on his sleeve with his opening story "This Is A Horror Story" seeing the protagonist (likely to be Kazepis himself) visiting the grave of Cortázar in Paris, France. It's a short, somber story that encapsulates how much they mean to Kazepis, ending with the aforementioned visit to Cortázar's grave. Salvador Dalí makes an unexpected appearance in "Time In The Shadow Of The Thing Too Big To See". "Minerva" is practically oozing with nods to David Lynch, and Edgar Allen Poe, and Robert Bolaño.Kazepis makes unexpected turns in stories like "Thrush" examining the inner thoughts of an assassin as he stalks his target, and "A Song For Our Fathers" which follows a group of Russian, and Romanian ex-pats on an irradiated Earth committing some pretty horrendous crimes in order to survive.His writing is immediate in its intimacy, and raw to your nerve endings when dealing with the visceral:"He kept thinking about the woman inside, the cold body she was trying to warm, that special quiet king of love that builds between beings that can't talk to each other."—"The flesh had been carved out of his chest and stomach and now exposed an empty ribcage. His spine coiled down to where his pelvis had been. Blood filled two of the shit buckets they used."It's difficult to say more about GRAVITY because it's so short (coming in 126 pgs), but it has writing that will stick to your bones, scar you, and turn your insides out as your sanity spirals downward in the dark reaches of space. It's dedication "for nationless children" is apt as you feel each story carries pieces of our wide, confusing world and the diverse, multi-cultured people in it. A collection that demands to be read, and you'll be the better for it.

"They wanted to kill me before they knew who I was. But I think I gave them something real. And maybe they felt it and that's why I'm here and not in a canal."Gravity is a short collection. I took my time on it, as to avoid finishing it in one sitting. These nine stories span multiple genres while avoiding any typical trope. They're all quite good. My favorite is Minerva, a complex horror which reminded me of the best Argento films, and whose final page stayed in my mind long after finishing. This will be getting a re-read very soon. Here's hoping for more Kazepis in the near future.

Gravity is a swift read, It’s a slide show in a unnamed dirty room on an ancient projector that keeps speeding up and slowing down at random intervals creating a surreal show. You never get the whole story, just the bits that mattered at the time. He (Kazepis) shows you the sights from different skewed vantage points and allows you to judge the outcomes. There’s a lot going on in the pages, Henry Rollins shows up, an Argento inspired black-gloved killer, some post apocalyptic tailors, and there’s at least one spaceship and a nod to Jodorowsky… It’s good stuff and leaves you wanting.

This gorgeously designed book, while small, should not be consumed in one sitting. These stories are like quicksand. If you like punchy prose with deep themes and you like literary fiction with a genre mask, definitely pick up GRAVITY by Michael Kazepis.