I used to troll the shelves of the public library for the most obscure ss collections I could find, believing every writer needed a few unknowns in their repertoire to recommend to people, deposit in conversation. The moment I saw the retro, borderline-cheesy cover of Rick DeMarinis’s The Voice of America, I was in love. I never would have guessed I’d love the stories inside even more than the cover. The opening short, “Safe Forever”, is an all-time favorite coming-of-age story. The first paragraph is a killer:
“More people had been blown up or burned to death in 1945 than ever before in history thanks to aerial bombardment. I was eleven years old and in love with aerial bombardment. What could be more elegant than a squadron of B-29s unloading five-hundred-pound bombs or clusters of incendiaries on Tokyo, Nagoya, or Yokohama? My nightly prayer to Jesus included a plea that the war last at least until 1952 so that I could join it. I wanted to be a pilot or bombardier aboard a stratosphere-skimming Superfortress, our first true strategic bomber. So, when VJ Day came on August 14, all my dreams were vaporized in mushroom clouds of despair.”
Despite the questionable motives behind its discovery, DeMarinis’s book is among the ones I turn to most often for inspiration. I’m so grateful for John McNally’s post; I had no idea DeMarinis has a book of selected stories still in-print. I’ll be waiting on the stoop for the package.
Ravi Mangla blogs here: ravimangla.blogspot.com.
Ravi: DeMarinis has a new-ish collection title Apocalypse Then. I would imagine it's still in print, though I don't know. I was introduced to his work through his wonderful novel The Burning Women of Far Cry, which also has a fantastic opening. Glad to see another DeMarinis fan out there!
Posted by: John McNally | May 11, 2009 at 03:44 PM