Rumble, Young Man, Rumble
Benjamin Cavell
Language: English
Pages: 208
ISBN: 1400030358
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
In this widely acclaimed literary debut, Benjamin Cavell stalks the male ego, unleashing a ferocious volley of nine sharply written and deeply penetrating stories.
In Balls, Balls, Balls, we are introduced to Logan Bryant, the star member of the “fourth best paintball team in the tristate area.” Despite his knowledge of napalm recipes and his skill during Military Simulations—MilSim, for short—Logan’s armor shows fractures with every move he makes. In The Death of Cool, an insurance adjuster has come to realize much too clearly the range of threats that surround him. “Tired of trusting in the other guy’s morality,” he embraces his paranoia and leaves as little to chance as possible. The Ropes opens in a hospital room after Alex Folsom has sustained a devastating concussion. With both college and his boxing career behind him, he reunites with his father on Martha’s Vineyard to assess the damage--both physical and emotional. Rumble, Young Man, Rumble is a ground-shaking announcement of the next heavy hitter in American letters.
the same thing to you.” She sobs more loudly. She keeps shaking her head. Kelly looks at me. “I believe it.” I stand and walk around in front of Dexter. “It’s me,” I say. He squints at my face. “Jesus Christ,” he says. “You almost made me piss myself.” Kelly says, “Don’t think I didn’t mean what I said.” Dexter says, “What do you want?” “We need to talk,” I tell him. Dexter is sitting on the black leather sofa in his living room and wearing a white robe that pulls very tight across his
percent.” Her eyes leak tiny tears. “This isn’t personal,” I tell her. “Look at the numbers.” “Numbers say I kill my husband?” “Not necessarily. But you could have.” It’s not the dying that bothers me. Everybody does that and, mostly, it’s not as bad as you think. Some people just drop dead. (This is usually attributed to SCF, sudden cardiac failure, which accounted for 48.7 percent of last year’s heart-disease deaths.) But when you’re murdered, another person has become your God. They have
with him on the night he get killed and maybe you see something and then he don’t want to say. So we ask him again and he still don’t want to say.” He says something in Russian. Michael smiles. “So, we ask again and this time we really ask and this time he tell us. He say, he love Irina and she decide she want him to kill Sasha and pretend is some kind of gangster who kill him. Some kind of Marlon Brando. Okay, so he find this other man to help him and they take Sasha and they kill him and then
is. I mean, they say they know, but it’s just so fucking good.” “Yes,” I yelled at her, “it’s very good.” “It’s like Picasso. Or Middlemarch. Everybody always tells you how good they are. But they’re really, really good. It’s amazing.” “Are you studying English?” She nodded. “I think maybe I’d like to be a writer. I keep meaning to be disciplined about it.” “That sounds like a good idea.” “I’m going to Tahiti this summer. I’m going to see some of the places Gauguin painted. I spent last
come down,” I say. “Please,” he says. “I had to fly so much when I was playing, I could practically pilot one of those things.” The waiter returns with the drinks. “Should we order?” I say. “We’re waiting for Don,” my father tells me. “Will you tell one of your stories?” Chris asks him. “What do you want to hear?” “I’m not sure. I don’t know much about sports.” “Me neither,” he says and they laugh. He begins to tell her about Bobby Layne jumping into the pool at the Hyatt in Philadelphia