This gem of a novelette is a delicious 69 pages of steamy narrative. The main character is a woman named Kip, who is successful in life but not in love. Her fantasies all centre around an old flame named Dylan who took her virginity and then spread the story around their high school. Nothing like "whore" being yelled at you during your valedictorian speech to ruin any fond memories you may have had of your senior school years. Despite her resentment of him she still uses the blue eyed hunk of man meat as lead male in her solo love sessions…eight years later. Chapter one ends beautifully with an intense masturbation scene in an SUV. Here's a little glimpse:
"To hell with hesitation! She’d wriggle out from under him and demand that he get naked, now. No, in fact, she’d peel his clothes off under the Christmas tree herself, like a kid on Christmas morning hyped up on cocoa and candy canes. Kip hadn’t been fucked—really fucked—like she’d wanted it in a long, long time. And, damn it, this was her fantasy and Dylan would be lucky if he got out it without suffering from exhaustion. He owed her."
She actually pulls over in a snow storm to rub one out on her way to her family's cabin for Christmas. She's spending Christmas there alone with her pink dildo, to drink wine, eat comfort food and diddle in peace. That's self-pleasuring dedication (I love this woman). After buying a Christmas tree and getting set up she realizes that she has no firewood and desperately tries to find someone in town who will deliver on Christmas Eve in a blizzard… and then the fun begins.
 SPOILER ALERT! The cabin is located in Dalton Run where she went to high school, so of course the rugged plaid-wearing hunk who knocks on her door is none other than Dylan. He's sexy, single and has quite the sassy mouth on him. The truth about the past is revealed, and without giving away any of the drama that unfolds I will end with the last line of the book- possibly the best closing line ever: "She sucked him until his hard length was slick with her saliva and then climbed on top of him and rode him to her first of many orgasms that Christmas day." Xx Thanks @PiperTrace. Looking forward to more from you!
 March 10, 2012
Four D - Gregory Morrison
6/10
Well, this has never happened to me before. I am confused as hell, which doesn't feel totally bad, but I also feel like I've read a book I'm not intelligent enough to understand. It's exactly how I felt after watching the movie Donnie Darko….
..confusion mixed with the overwhelming feeling that I was so close to grasping a concept so profound but that my feeble mind couldn't/wouldn't be able to fully absorb its true meaning.
It's like waking up from a dream so vivid that it takes you a moment to realize that you are awake, and when you focus on the details they make just enough sense that you get goosebumps but not enough sense that your conscious mind can unravel the overall meaning. This explains exactly how I feel right now.
Now this sounds bad, but I'm not sure it is.
The first chapter of Four D is a complete mystery to me. It almost put me into an early grave, I kid you not I almost didn't make it through. It was like reading the thoughts of a crazy person. Here is one example (verbatim) from the chapter :
She changed her underwear and pulled her hear back with a hair band. “Are you resisting?” “It’s my imagination.” I took her bra off, and her breasts hung over my face. I blushed; somebody was thinking of me. It had been two hours already, and she was still hungry for my love. “You’ve aged so much.” I was surprised to hear that from her. “What did you expect?” Space. “Me? Nothing!” and then she asked. “Where were you today?” “I don’t remember. At work, went to visit my mom.” “Sometimes I’m jealous too!” That was something new. “Now we are alike!” Space pushed me. Forget it! Don’t listen to her. “Do you think I don’t get emotional?” “I love you, and that’s enough for me.” Somehow, she quickly changed her mood. Only girls can do that. “Shall we go on?” “Hold me tight!” Only with her can I read books; it’s so wonderful.
But I realized that the story must become clearer as I read on…
There are four chapters to this book with four different stories. Some stories seem like they may be interconnected but I couldn't tell you for sure. It got easier to read from the second chapter and even my simple mind could pull meaning from the stories. I took a pile of notes and quotes and had prepared to explain my interpretation of the inner workings of the book, its characters and its potential message but I have decided against this for a few different reasons. Mostly, that after several failed attempts I have admitted defeat and realized that I am here to write a "review" (and I use quotes because I am not convinced that this is actually a review) and not the psychology behind the meaning of the book. Also, I would have a better chance at describing fog, the meaning of life, or why some people insist on cutting in on a bus cue instead of waiting in line like everyone else…
You may be surprised that I am recommending that you read this book. You will just have to read it to understand (or not). It's a chaotic mess of fucked up people, keys, sexy women, nature, multiple personalities, blow, manipulation, death, shadows, destruction, love and the number four. Utter madness and confusion mask fleeting moments of clarity. Psych students wanting to stroke their own egos will be tickled analyzing this book. For the rest of us, we may have to go to bed wondering what the fuck, and later come to the realization that we read someone's worst nightmare. One can only hope that Mr. Morrison will come out with an annotated version.
My advice? Be patient. I was, and in the end I am glad I read it.
Here are some quotes from the book:
“It figures!” I was thinking aloud. “The first room...the dark room...hallway. The yellow room... bedroom. Next to it was the sitting room! And the mirror room, the bathroom and the kitchen!”
"It said that scientists had proved the human brain was divided into four parts and not two as previously believed. This discovery was called 'Four Rooms.'"
"You died just in your dream! Understand this: you die twice. The first time in your dream and you come alive in your real life. The second time you die here, and that’s for real. The end of the dream—the beginning of life, the end of life, and the beginning of the endless dream.”
“Remember—this is very important, it is a big secret!—everything in life you have to do by yourself!”
"She opened her eyes wide, stretched her arms in front of her, and, having jumped up, pronounced several incomprehensible words. Big, brown sweet cherries started to fall out of her dark eyes; their number grew bigger and bigger, so that she couldn’t hold them in her hands…. However, as soon as I had finished, she immediately opened her mouth broadly, and I saw her pull- ing a pear out of it. 'This is for you. See, I can bear fruit too.' I felt a firm and juicy pear in my hands."
Just some of the quotes referencing the number four:
He pulled out the right disk and put it in the player. He selected song number four.
“Okay, that’s sorted then. He’ll be here around four; let’s meet outside,” he confirmed with Linda.
The rest of the time, he walked back and forth in the office, killing time.
They went outside. There were four company cars by the entrance.
He felt very peaceful and comfortable deep inside; he saw the world through pink glasses, not boring at all, and it took just four days.
Number four doesn’t belong to anyone and is not considered important. That’s why people like parks so much.” She said.
The Fire Song
by K. Bannerman
The Fire Song by K. Bannerman is an excellent read. Gods and half giants who walk amongst men, Hell, earthquakes, magical harps, and mystery all packed into a short well written novel. The female protagonist, Maja Turner, is easy to like and identify with. I'd like to meet her actually, in my head we're already friends. She's a shaman who owns a bookstore. That is literally my dream in life, both actually, so I was crapping myself a bit as I was reading it. As you learn more about her, she is witty, strong and very mellow, even in the face of danger and uncertainty; she is a superhero really. Maja is even unique in how she deals with her husband's infidelity. Here's a sweet little tidbit from the text (Maja speaking about her husband Nick):
"I think it’s cute, in a strange way, how he sneaks around like a little boy who thinks he’s being clever. The first affair broke my heart, but when I put the pieces back together, I found I’d lost the part that had adored Nick. Without that little shard, it was easy to like him, sleep with him, and live with him, even with the knowledge that he was screwing around behind my back. If he wasn’t going to be faithful, it didn’t mean we couldn’t still be friends."
Very interesting indeed.
The characters are well developed and interesting, especially Maja's grandmother, Aiti, who's all sassy and mischievous. But what I really love is how Maja lives between the world of humans and this overlapping spirit world that slowly reveals itself throughout the book. Anytime I find myself wanting to leave my reality to live in one created in a book I know I have found a winning story. The Fire Song left me wanting to crawl into Maja's world and not just to live with her but AS her. Well done K. Bannerman, well done.
But before I continue, I'd like to suggest you download the ebook before you continue reading so I don't spoil anything for you.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~ ~ ~ ~
... and welcome back. Sweet read eh? Glad you downloaded it aren't you? Gunna listen to momma Cara from now on, right? ;)
So let me continue... Maja's magical harp is damaged, and the mystery builds as we try to figure out who did it and why. Magical doesn't quite cut it though, this harp is one powerful little instrument when used by the right person. Here's a bit more info on Pike the harp:
"Well, my little Nordic witch, let me let you in on a little secret. It isn’t just the playing of your precious Pike that starts the war, but WHAT you play on it. While you’ve been banging out cheap imitations of 80’s love ballads and 90’s grunge rock on these precious strings, we’ve been honing our talents at perfecting the Songs of the Dead, which will split the world in two
if played upon an instrument of magical inclinations."
So you see how losing the harp has major potential for some disastrous consequences.
But this has left me with one small problem K... (Pun intended). Is there a sequel? Can I read it now? How about now? What's going to happen next with Maja, Nick, Luka, and... well.... you know (Hugh?!) I may have to call you personally and find out! I will not give away the ending or what happened, but I will say that it has left us with a few holes that need to be filled with juicy pieces of long descriptive narrative. The sooner they can be filled the better (you knew this was gunna turn dirty at some point).
As I sign off I'll leave you with one last quote from the book, I hope it resonates with you as it did with me:
“Trust me, my grand-daughter, the shaman
singer,” said Aiti, “Every end is only a beginning in disguise.”
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