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Jack Hansen - Small Man of the Big City: A Day Like Any Other
Last Free Dates: 30th Mar 24 to 3rd Apr 24
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A series of vignettes about Jack as he has the day from hell, which also appears to be the same as every other day he is facing. Woken from a dream by his friend Gary and another conquest, he locks himself apartment. While rushing for the train, he ruins his clothes and has his watch stolen. While at work, he is taken on a double date with his co-worker Miles, who is after a brunette who is paying more attention to someone else and which ends disastrously. The day ends when he finally gets home and realises he has completely forgotten about his pet rabbit.
This is a humorous short story that jumps from scene to scene as it follows Jack on his tragi-comic passage through the day from one misstep and mishap to the next. Little of it is his own fault, it just seems that events keep overtaking him and he is caught in the whirlwind that follows. Although very little is used to describe the characters, they all feel realised from the way they interact or from what you see them doing. I did read through it a couple of times, as I did find the writing style a little difficult to parse when I first read it, but it was well worth a second read through, as I realised I was following along and just seeing the events around instead of there being the plot and story that I was expecting to happen. The writing style fits the haphazard nature of the story, sometime jumping unexpectedly, but still keeping your interest from scene to scene as the individual threads start to overlap and be completed. By the end of the story, it’s surprising how much interaction has been fitted in to such a short story as there is little scene setting and prose, but plenty of action allowing a reader’s imagination to picture the scene for themselves.
The formatting of the story is fine, indeed it is only the front cover and the story contained within it. No author notes or contents although the story itself doesn’t really need it. The breaks between the sections can be a little difficult to decipher but, once you understand how it’s laid out, it makes enough sense as you read along.
Overall, it is a quirky story that is well worth giving a chance to follow the trail of disaster.
Rating: TBCReviewed by
Reviewed on: 2023-05-19
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