Mark Pritchard is notorious for his smart and smutty zine "Frighten the
Horses." In his first collection of short stories, Mr. Pritchard
reveals himself to be a literary writer with a seriously perverted mind.
The scenarios here are fairly contemporary and straightforward: a man
leads his
brother to a nightclub, where he tricks with a drag queen, then comes
home to masturbate next to him while he's sleeping. A man visits a
bordello
in Japan and comes to a different understanding of pleasure and
exploitation through the graces of a Southeast Asian call girl. An
effeminate man loses a bet with his lesbian buddy and has to turn butch.
What distinguishes Mr. Pritchard's work is his prose, which has a carnal
and matter-of-fact quality to it. He is good at unveiling the power
dynamics beneath sexual relations, exposing what informs our desire
rather
than taking desire as a given, essential quality of his characters. This
is
a promising introduction to his work, and at times, Mr. Pritchard's
writing
is reminiscent of Mary Gaitskill's unsparing prose. These short stories
are
urbane, informed, and exciting.
-- Lawrence Chua
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