By Esther Callens
Carolyn Cooke takes it to the limits with her latest release. Amor and Psycho, its title, is a collection of short and peculiarly fascinating stories. Taking the imagination to places that are never visited, Amor and Psycho really lives up to its moniker.
The settings for these fables run the gamut – from the upscale district in Manhattan to the farmlands of California and any number of places that lie within or outside these boundaries. The only constant is the topics. Carolyn Cooke has a certain panache when it comes to writing about death, sex, violence, insanity and life’s idiosyncrasies that many will dare to think about, let alone speak upon. She does this with an edgy passion that’s riveting.
Psycho and Amor consists of 11 tales. The characters that Cooke created appear typical until you peel away the layers and then what’s left is beyond surprising. Included among the titles are: She Bites (this definitely sheds a new light on what or shall I say who should be considered a pet?), The Snake (ironically – mix one part psychiatrist with a severe dose of commitment issues) and The Boundary (a very strange May- December relationship). There is also the young writer and her boss – the eccentric millionaire pornographer, the young slam poet with ex-boyfriend that cuts his wrist, the castoff lover that finally gets booted and several others. Written in a profoundly witty manner, Carolyn Cooke is not afraid to expose a side seldom seen when dealing with issues that are seldom discussed.
Considered one of the best novels of 2011 was Carolyn Cooke’s Daughters of the Revolution. The PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, PEN/Hemingway Award finalist and others are a number of accolades she has amassed. Her short stories have appeared in numerous publications such as AGNI, The Best American Short Stories and The Paris Review. She teaches the MFA writing program at the Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. She makes California home.
