reading "The Reconstructionist" I had to check these stories out, Really, I liked them better, No offense to "The Reconstructionist," but I got into these stories even more, I found each of the stories somewhat machinelike in their methodicalness and at the same time very human, I'd be as hard pressed to find one I didn't like as I would to pick a favorite, I just found it to be a great collection all around, This was simply wonderful. Such weird, unsettling stories but with humanity at their centers which is what probably makes them so strange but realistic, Beautiful prose, really brilliant connections, imaginative in short, Must read, especially the stories Electric Fence, Commemorating, and Telescope, I found some of these stories much stronger than others, The low points to me were the historical stories "In the Electric Eden," "Aeronautics" and "Electric Fence, " "The Prototype" and "Take Your Child to Work" were wonderful and unique: definitely worth the time spent reading the less satisfying stories.
Confessions of a Nick Arvin Addict
Nick Arvin has published three books IN THE ELECTRIC EDEN being his first and a series of short stories instead of a novel as his subsequent immensely compelling ARTICLES OF WAR and THE RECONSTRUCTIONIST and each book draws the reader into Arvin's literary space more deeply.
It is always interesting to read mature works first and then return to early works: the seeds sown in these short stories matured from being seemingly struggles between man made machines and man avoided relationships.
The novels have more depth because they are extended journeys, well paced, sumptuously realized, perfectly arced works of literature, But then reading each of the stories in this collection and they should not be read in one sitting as they each require room for the after burn each produces in the reader emphasizes how much strength each contains.
Many readers focus on the title story of the book 'In the Electric Eden' a well crafted, quite bizarre tale, almost Poelike that explores the interaction of man and beast:
an inebriate man feeds a circus elephant a lighted cigarette throwing the animal into a fury that results in the man's traumatic death, all in the presence of a young lad who follow s the course of the elephant's fate to the animal's electrocution death, a grossly humanoid decision made by irrational people.
Granted that story has an aura of power, but it is quite well matched by the other stories in this collection: a Marine Corps practice invasion of the Florida beaches that disturbs the life of a vacationing couple, the launching of the first manned American hydrogen balloon in the eighteenth century, and this reader's favorite 'Telescope' a horrifying tale told in one unbroken sentence spread over three pages that is a stream of conscious response when a woman unsheathes a hidden telescope, an act that surges back memories of her family's experience so vividly that the story leaves the reader breathless.
Writers who matter, who have practiced their craft, who have something to say that once share can alter the world view of the reader writers like Nick Arvin are too few.
Reading Arvin's writing grabs the attention in at times a strangle hold until the author allows release at story and memory's end.
He is an important and significant American writer and these first published stories prove that the gift has been growing in him for over a decade.
Read his novels now, but keep a copy of these little gems handy to refresh the concept that there without doubt will be much more to follow.
Grady Harp
Deep and thoughtful stories but didn't live up to the superhyped blurbs Out of these I definitely had favorites and not so favorites.
I picked the book up on a whim at my library, Overall it was okay. Nothing I would pick up again, but most of the stories made me think, if not about life then at least how many pages were left until the next one started.
Although, my inner computer scientist does have to give props to the phrase "binary smile, " Skimmed to find stories for a library program Michigan related,
Found a couple, Such an amazing collection of stories, No two are a like, and each unique, Blazed through because I was so captivated, Many of our best novelists began by writing short stories in writing groups or workshops, Nick Arvin followed that path too, and published IN THE ELECTRIC EDEN, a collection of ten stories, many of which show, either directly or indirectly, his background in engineering and a curiosity about how things work.
But the most common theme in all of these stories is the mystery of the human mind and how it works.
"Prototype" is a curious story of a stunted cautious life and unrequited love, "Aeronautics" deals with the use of emerging scientific engineering discoveries for death and destruction, during the American Civil War, in this case.
"Take Your Child to Work" was the piece I found most interesting about a divorced engineer, his exwife and the petty ways they try to get back at each other, even to using their young daughter to cause embarrassment and pain.
Arvin's first book is perhaps a bit uneven in its selections, but overall it is an absorbing look at that overused cliche, 'the human condition,' showing the author to be an astute observer of same.
IN THE ELECTRIC EDEN was a springboard to even better things for Nick Arvin, a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop.
His first novel, ARTICLES OF WAR, was much praised, and deservedly so, His most recent book, THE RECONSTRUCTIONIST, continued Arvin's development as a writer, I'm glad I finally read this first book, It was a kind of a glimpse into the early developmental stages of a young man who has become a fine writer.
Writer and former engineer Nick Arvin layers his knowledge of technology, mechanical design, and human character into a collection of emotionally riveting stories.
With a subtle hand he transports readers through history and across America to ten poignant and utterly unforgettable places: a traffic accident in the middle of the heartland the electrocution of Topsy the elephant at Coney Island at the turn of the century the backyard of an old recluse a Marine Corps practice invasion of the Florida beaches a romantic tryst in a dismal corporate office the launching of the first manned American hydrogen balloon in the eighteenth century and more.
Constantly aware of how technology shapes the way we interact with each other and experience the world, Arvin uses these original settings and compelling characters to create a moving collection of stories that, though seemingly unlinked, comes together to form a stunning, aweinspiring whole.
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