FICTION

Hello Devilfish!

Hello Devilfish! Three Rooms. Oct. 2014. 148p. ISBN 9780989512565. pap. $15.95. F
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"Plots are for babies and geezers." If this novel by experimental writer Dakron (infra; Newt) has a mission statement, it's that quote from the titular narrator. The story follows a Godzilla-esque monstrous manta ray that rises periodically to destroy Tokyo for kicks. During his latest rampage, the ray is attacked and pursued by a love-struck lady monster squid that wants to mate with him, which is an inconvenience to his city-destroying plans. Hello Devilfish! (as the monster is called) doesn't just wreck Tokyo; he also tramples all over the fourth wall, detouring into several asides that rail against modern writing, classic literature, his own author, and the audience reading his book. To add to the disorientation, the story is told using Manglish, a language that approximates a bad Japanese-to-English translation.
VERDICT For readers with a high tolerance of the unconventional, this is an audacious, laugh-out-loud novel that is brilliantly committed to its conceit. For more traditional readers, the kind despised by giant kaiju (monster) protagonists, it will be the literary equivalent of a headache. Recommended for fans of absurdist fiction authors such as Patrick Wensink and Carlton III Mellick.
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