The Reclusives

Great blast of carefully crafted absurdity - terrific!

With The Reclusives, Mark Puckett has written a gem of a collection. Each story is what a writer might scrawl on the backs of rejection letters for submissions that followed the rules set by workshops and literary journals. The language is impatient and emphatic, stating directly those first associations of image and meaning that come from the creation of narrative made of the observed absurdity of daily life. Freer and more open to asymmetric logic than the typical short story, each reflects the psychology of their protagonists, who, while recluses, are not rejects. Rather Puckett's characters are recluses from the hypocrisy of the cliches that construct the go-nowhere 9-to-5 work-a-day world. Their inability to remain tidily numbed by the sedative of no-meaning makes them unable to just be. A salary man discovers the cubicles of his office have the internal logic of a multi-floor crossword puzzle. A novelist finds success only by writing unpublishable novels in the voice of a Czech literary figure who does not exist. A Willy Lomanesque businessman has his moment of self discovery in the halls of a dog show among artificially coiffed poodles. And in the extended final piece, "Pool Man", Puckett lets rip an ecstatic freebase of an odyssey with twist after twist through an absurdist but eminently logical landscape that folds one moment upon the next. All the while, Puckett manages to maintain a sweet regard for his "reclusives", allowing each character the opportunity within their story to achieve a certain uneasy peace with themselves, their positions in this whacked out world, and move on into whatever awaits them beyond. The results are frequently curious, never quite what is expected and always very smart. I can heartily recommend his work to those for whom the status quo feels a bit more like a straight-jacket. This is a good book and one worth taking for a swim.

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The Reclusives by Mark Damon Puckett is an exquisite adventure i

The Reclusives by Mark Damon Puckett is an exquisite adventure into the uncanny lives of his characters. In nine snapshots, the reader is introduced to satirical twists and situations in seemingly ordinary lives. We see mundane events uncovered for their contemplative nature. Evoking the surreal, each leap into the extraordinary asks the reader to consider their own daily routine as the characters find self-realization in show dogs, porn, and pool cleaning. Each character's personality is easily relatable with their apparent uncertainties and search for meaning. Puckett creates a collection of introspective human emotion. A must read for those seeking an honest approach to fiction with a philosophical edge.

Brilliant. Entertaining. Provoking. In The Reclusives, Mark Dam

Brilliant. Entertaining. Provoking.

In The Reclusives, Mark Damon Puckett takes the gray area between reality and illusion, and makes it colorful. It's a collection of amusing stories that will open your eyes wide, and leave you craving for more.

Great Read

This is simply a great read! Too often, short stories are so driven by theme that they fail to pull the reader in through the characters. As a writer of novels and a reader who likes to be pushed and pulled on an emotional level as well as an intellectual one, I found Mark Puckett's collection a pleasure. The writing is exceptional, but where the Reclusives truly shines is within its quirky and haphazard assortment of human beings. This book will make you think and feel and laugh out loud as you see myriad parts of yourself, and everyone you've ever met, come to life. These are stories that will stay with you long after the book has been read.

The Reclusives- It Moves like We Move

The Reclusives by Mark Damon Puckett, had me laughing out loud, in public places. Every story is unique insight into the beauty of our internal thoughts as individuals living in a very externally driven world. The stories acknowledge a shallowness that exists in people and our way of living everyday conversation but the way they acknowledge it, is by great depth. Provocative, puzzling, and bizarre, but always honest and vivid. It moves like we move.

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