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readers of gillis
, December 31, 2006
Diane Goettel, editor The Adirondack Review: Gillis' work is unflinchingly human, full of surprisingly familiar details. The uniqueness of his narrative lens is as undeniable as the quality of his writing.
Steven Gillis adores language, grasps what makes and breaks a family, and loves to squeeze things until they shatter. He's the one catapulting your new plasma tv set down the street to see what happens. Richard Bausch and John McNally come to mind with a splash from John Cheever's clever martini. Moves of these characters lives are train wrecks in progress. Yet you, dear reader, will get off on the surreal glow from their deer-in-the-headlight eyes. - Richard Peabody, Editor of Gargoyle Magazine
In this uncommon collection of short stories, one of Steven Gillis' characters says: "Just not into normal, is that it?" Yeah, that's it exactly. Steven Gillis' strength and virtue as a writer is that he's just not into normal.
- Ellen Parker, Editor FriGG Magazine
Gillis' stories are illuminatingly strange, filled with power, electric, and will stay with you long after you think you've gone to sleep. - Stephen Elliot
The stories by Steve Gillis ring so true they are scary; scary in the sense when I read one of his stories I lose myself the way a good movie can pull its audience, where it takes me days to shake off the feeling, "Its only a story." Gillis has accomplished that most difficult feat of "artful doctoring" where I am utterly convinced every bit of it happened, or did it? - Mia Nan, Editor of Tryst
Today's entertainment is too often filled with what's-next tells and cookie-cut storylines. Boring. Steve Gillis offers freshness and originality not only in every one of the stories in this collection, but in every sentence. Each of Gillis' stories delivers such delicately sweet, intelligent whimsy that it's hell to pull yourself away and go back to the real world. - Todd Zuniga, Editor of Opium
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