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Damned If I Do
An exceptional new collection of short stories by Percival Everett, author of the highly praised and wickedly funny novel Erasure
People are just naturally hopeful, a term my grandfather used to tell me was more than occasionally interchangeable with stupid.
A cop, a cowboy, several fly fishermen, and a reluctant romance novelist inhabit these revealing and often hilarious stories. An old man ends up in a high-speed car chase with the cops after stealing the car that blocks the garbage bin at his apartment building. A stranger gets a job at a sandwich shop and fixes everything in sight: a manual mustard dispenser, a mouthful of crooked teeth, thirty-two parking tickets, and a sexual-identity problem.
Percival Everett is a master storyteller who ingeniously addresses issues of race and prejudice by simultaneously satirizing and celebrating the human condition.
People are just naturally hopeful, a term my grandfather used to tell me was more than occasionally interchangeable with stupid.
A cop, a cowboy, several fly fishermen, and a reluctant romance novelist inhabit these revealing and often hilarious stories. An old man ends up in a high-speed car chase with the cops after stealing the car that blocks the garbage bin at his apartment building. A stranger gets a job at a sandwich shop and fixes everything in sight: a manual mustard dispenser, a mouthful of crooked teeth, thirty-two parking tickets, and a sexual-identity problem.
Percival Everett is a master storyteller who ingeniously addresses issues of race and prejudice by simultaneously satirizing and celebrating the human condition.
208 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
66 people are currently reading
1,126 people want to read
About the author
Percival Everett
71books6,898followersPercival L. Everett (born 1956) is an American writer and Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California.
There might not be a more fertile mind in American fiction today than Everett’s. In 22 years, he has written 19 books, including a farcical Western, a savage satire of the publishing industry, a children’s story spoofing counting books, retellings of the Greek myths of Medea and Dionysus, and a philosophical tract narrated by a four-year-old.
The Washington Post has called Everett “one of the most adventurously experimental of modern American novelists.� And according to The Boston Globe, “He’s literature’s NASCAR champion, going flat out, narrowly avoiding one seemingly inevitable crash only to steer straight for the next.�
Everett, who teaches courses in creative writing, American studies and critical theory, says he writes about what interests him, which explains his prolific output and the range of subjects he has tackled. He also describes himself as a demanding teacher who learns from his students as much as they learn from him.
Everett’s writing has earned him the PEN USA 2006 Literary Award (for his 2005 novel, Wounded), the Academy Award for Literature of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (for his 2001 novel, Erasure), the PEN/Oakland-Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature (for his 1996 story collection, Big Picture) and the New American Writing Award (for his 1990 novel, Zulus). He has served as a judge for, among others, the 1997 National Book Award for fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 1991.
There might not be a more fertile mind in American fiction today than Everett’s. In 22 years, he has written 19 books, including a farcical Western, a savage satire of the publishing industry, a children’s story spoofing counting books, retellings of the Greek myths of Medea and Dionysus, and a philosophical tract narrated by a four-year-old.
The Washington Post has called Everett “one of the most adventurously experimental of modern American novelists.� And according to The Boston Globe, “He’s literature’s NASCAR champion, going flat out, narrowly avoiding one seemingly inevitable crash only to steer straight for the next.�
Everett, who teaches courses in creative writing, American studies and critical theory, says he writes about what interests him, which explains his prolific output and the range of subjects he has tackled. He also describes himself as a demanding teacher who learns from his students as much as they learn from him.
Everett’s writing has earned him the PEN USA 2006 Literary Award (for his 2005 novel, Wounded), the Academy Award for Literature of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (for his 2001 novel, Erasure), the PEN/Oakland-Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature (for his 1996 story collection, Big Picture) and the New American Writing Award (for his 1990 novel, Zulus). He has served as a judge for, among others, the 1997 National Book Award for fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction in 1991.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
December 3, 2017
Words cannot always convey the meaning of what we want to say. This is going to hold true with this review. My first exposure to this author, and I am dazzled. This book of short stories is a wonderment.
The logic of dreams, a most extraordinary fish, a lion, a tiger, a woman complaining with her facial expression rather than with words. Colorless food being served by waiters with no faces. Two elderly friends, one near-sighted, the other far-sighted. Working together living their lives, relying on each other. A nondescript man surfaces, he can fix things. All you need to do is ask. It's complicated.
I readily admit there were a couple of these stories that were over my head, my old lady brain failed to allow me to connect the proverbial dots. No matter, I was completely taken with it. Thank you to my GR friend Betsy, who brought this collection to my attention.
The logic of dreams, a most extraordinary fish, a lion, a tiger, a woman complaining with her facial expression rather than with words. Colorless food being served by waiters with no faces. Two elderly friends, one near-sighted, the other far-sighted. Working together living their lives, relying on each other. A nondescript man surfaces, he can fix things. All you need to do is ask. It's complicated.
I readily admit there were a couple of these stories that were over my head, my old lady brain failed to allow me to connect the proverbial dots. No matter, I was completely taken with it. Thank you to my GR friend Betsy, who brought this collection to my attention.
November 16, 2017
I'm beginning to believe Percival Everett knows everything there is to know about being a human. And his ways of expressing it astound me. Damned if I Do, a short story anthology, is my fourth Everett book and it is just as unique as the three novels I've recently read, and within it, the stories are each unique animals. I wrote the following briefs immediately after reading each story:
In the first short story, "The Fix," which could have been written by Shirley Jackson, I felt the full weight of our neediness. It was strange to feel such a crushing weight and, at the same time, relief at having it dramatized and exposed.
There is no way to describe "House" without spoiling it. Different people will understand or not understand it differently. But for me it is a dark expression of our helplessness to control or stop this dream we call life. Enough said.
"Alluvial Deposits" is a slice-of-life Western story about the separation between people.
"True Romance" was a true romance, but it has nothing to do with lovey-dovey stuff. It was a loner ranch guy's story. To say more would ruin it, and I love it so much it is requiring all my self-control to shut up. If you are a writer, I predict you will be in love with this story. If you are a reader only, maybe you too, but I could be wrong. For me, it embodies all my writer's longing for purity, and the fantastic ending is the fantasy victory over all that corrupts. I had to stop reading after this one; I needed savoring time before imbibing more.
I read the title "Age Would Be That Does" repeatedly. I tried it backwards and still can't make sense out of it. If somebody else reads this story and understands the title, please enlighten me. Despite my bafflement, I had no problems with the story about two aging men who keep each other going. Lovely.
"The Appropriation of Cultures" settles it for me: Percival Everett is a genius. By the end I realized I'd been mouth-breathing, practically panting, for the entire story. This is positively brilliant. I nominate Percival Everett for President of the United States!
In "Warm and Nicely Buried," a body disappears, cops look for it, and resolve the mystery. But this is really a slice-of-life mood story more than a whodunit. It works well coming after "The Appropriation of Cultures" which has such a solid plot. Right pace, right feel. Boy, this collection is well done.
Three cowboy types and a horse occupy "Afraid of the Dark." It's another slice of life, but the title gives you a metaphor to think about.
"Epigenesis." I had epigenesis mixed up with epigenetics. After looking it up, I understand the story better. According to Wikipedia, it is the "process by which plants, animals and fungi develop from a seed, spore or egg through a sequence of steps in which cells differentiate and organs form." There is also a character named Alan Turing who is not the guy who developed computers and coding. "Epigenesis" is a fish tale about a guy in a midlife crisis. Yes, there's a talking fish for part of it. And there is development of character equivalent to epigenesis. I like this story, and I suspect if I let it silently grow inside me without talking about it, it will develop into a love organ.
I can't understand a word of the very short graphic (yes, there are pictures) short story "The Devolution of Nuclear Associability," except to say that it has something to do with our complete inability to express what we mean. And it made me laugh.
"The Last Heat of the Summer" starts like a nostalgic tale of boys' youth—the kind of thing Stephen King writes without horror. You have no idea what's coming. Is this a story out of sequence? Is this real? It feels like an ancient folktale, retold for now. One must be attuned to metaphor for this writing. I am. I was. And therefore I recognize myself here. I'm glad I'm willing to admit that.
Mostly in my life I've done the right thing. This is not only because I have a moral code that directs me, but it is also a sense that doing the wrong thing can be a slippery slope with no return. Doing the right thing is pleasurable to me, but I gave vent to the consequently repressed inner wrongdoer in my last novel, and it was euphoric. In the last story of this anthology, "Randall Randall," Percival Everett writes the worst nightmare of this bad choice slide for an ordinary pissed-off person—just like most of us. I never thought of this kind of story. I'm glad he did.
The guy can write!
In the first short story, "The Fix," which could have been written by Shirley Jackson, I felt the full weight of our neediness. It was strange to feel such a crushing weight and, at the same time, relief at having it dramatized and exposed.
There is no way to describe "House" without spoiling it. Different people will understand or not understand it differently. But for me it is a dark expression of our helplessness to control or stop this dream we call life. Enough said.
"Alluvial Deposits" is a slice-of-life Western story about the separation between people.
"True Romance" was a true romance, but it has nothing to do with lovey-dovey stuff. It was a loner ranch guy's story. To say more would ruin it, and I love it so much it is requiring all my self-control to shut up. If you are a writer, I predict you will be in love with this story. If you are a reader only, maybe you too, but I could be wrong. For me, it embodies all my writer's longing for purity, and the fantastic ending is the fantasy victory over all that corrupts. I had to stop reading after this one; I needed savoring time before imbibing more.
I read the title "Age Would Be That Does" repeatedly. I tried it backwards and still can't make sense out of it. If somebody else reads this story and understands the title, please enlighten me. Despite my bafflement, I had no problems with the story about two aging men who keep each other going. Lovely.
"The Appropriation of Cultures" settles it for me: Percival Everett is a genius. By the end I realized I'd been mouth-breathing, practically panting, for the entire story. This is positively brilliant. I nominate Percival Everett for President of the United States!
In "Warm and Nicely Buried," a body disappears, cops look for it, and resolve the mystery. But this is really a slice-of-life mood story more than a whodunit. It works well coming after "The Appropriation of Cultures" which has such a solid plot. Right pace, right feel. Boy, this collection is well done.
Three cowboy types and a horse occupy "Afraid of the Dark." It's another slice of life, but the title gives you a metaphor to think about.
"Epigenesis." I had epigenesis mixed up with epigenetics. After looking it up, I understand the story better. According to Wikipedia, it is the "process by which plants, animals and fungi develop from a seed, spore or egg through a sequence of steps in which cells differentiate and organs form." There is also a character named Alan Turing who is not the guy who developed computers and coding. "Epigenesis" is a fish tale about a guy in a midlife crisis. Yes, there's a talking fish for part of it. And there is development of character equivalent to epigenesis. I like this story, and I suspect if I let it silently grow inside me without talking about it, it will develop into a love organ.
I can't understand a word of the very short graphic (yes, there are pictures) short story "The Devolution of Nuclear Associability," except to say that it has something to do with our complete inability to express what we mean. And it made me laugh.
"The Last Heat of the Summer" starts like a nostalgic tale of boys' youth—the kind of thing Stephen King writes without horror. You have no idea what's coming. Is this a story out of sequence? Is this real? It feels like an ancient folktale, retold for now. One must be attuned to metaphor for this writing. I am. I was. And therefore I recognize myself here. I'm glad I'm willing to admit that.
Mostly in my life I've done the right thing. This is not only because I have a moral code that directs me, but it is also a sense that doing the wrong thing can be a slippery slope with no return. Doing the right thing is pleasurable to me, but I gave vent to the consequently repressed inner wrongdoer in my last novel, and it was euphoric. In the last story of this anthology, "Randall Randall," Percival Everett writes the worst nightmare of this bad choice slide for an ordinary pissed-off person—just like most of us. I never thought of this kind of story. I'm glad he did.
The guy can write!
March 16, 2021
Many of the stories in Damned If I Do are laced with a hint of the strange or absurd. Occasionally, this is overt, as in the first story, ‘The Fix�, wherein the owner of a sandwich shop takes in a stranger who possesses an uncanny ability to fix everything: a fridge, a car, a marriage, teeth... ‘The Last Heat of Summer� begins as an achingly nostalgic coming-of-age tale, then takes a sudden turn when a tiger escapes from the circus. In the sharp and funny ‘Epigenesis�, Alan Turing (no, not that one) experiences a personal revelation when a fish begins to speak to him.
Other stories have a warm, rambling feel, offering up compassionate and nuanced portrayals of working-class lives. In ‘Alluvial Deposits�, a hydrologist visits a small, unfamiliar town, where he must obtain the signature of a woman who is reluctant to allow him to access her property. This is a story in which the protagonist experiences violent, potentially fatal racism, but it also highlights the camaraderie and support he encounters among others. An unexpected favourite was ‘Warm and Nicely Buried�, a meandering crime story in which a body is stolen from a funeral home.
Perhaps the strongest story in the collection is ‘The Appropriation of Cultures�, a smart satire in which a black man decides to reclaim the Confederate flag � an action that proves to have far-reaching consequences. It encapsulates the strengths of Everett’s writing: humour, sharp observations, instantly authentic characters.
I received an advance review copy of Damned If I Do from the publisher, Influx Press.
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Other stories have a warm, rambling feel, offering up compassionate and nuanced portrayals of working-class lives. In ‘Alluvial Deposits�, a hydrologist visits a small, unfamiliar town, where he must obtain the signature of a woman who is reluctant to allow him to access her property. This is a story in which the protagonist experiences violent, potentially fatal racism, but it also highlights the camaraderie and support he encounters among others. An unexpected favourite was ‘Warm and Nicely Buried�, a meandering crime story in which a body is stolen from a funeral home.
Perhaps the strongest story in the collection is ‘The Appropriation of Cultures�, a smart satire in which a black man decides to reclaim the Confederate flag � an action that proves to have far-reaching consequences. It encapsulates the strengths of Everett’s writing: humour, sharp observations, instantly authentic characters.
I received an advance review copy of Damned If I Do from the publisher, Influx Press.
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July 15, 2014
Percival Everett is one my favorite writers, even if he's relatively ignored by the literary establishment. I would have given damned if i do four stars, but "The Appropriation of Cultures" is a great story - thus the extra star.
A year or so ago, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. did a piece on PBS about a black family taking part in a Confederate Civil War celebration. When he asked them why they were participating in it, their reply was that it was part of their culture. At first, that seemed crazy to me. Then I remembered Percival Everett's story.
A year or so ago, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. did a piece on PBS about a black family taking part in a Confederate Civil War celebration. When he asked them why they were participating in it, their reply was that it was part of their culture. At first, that seemed crazy to me. Then I remembered Percival Everett's story.
Read
June 12, 2023As ever, Everett writes exceptionally well. Some of these stories are perfectly constructed gems, others feel like the openings of novels I want to read.
January 6, 2025
Each of these stories is well crafted, unique, and awakened my senses. They enriched my thought life and caused me to reflect.
1. The Fix. As I was reading several thoughts came to mind. One is that we need to broaden our thinking to include contemplating possible consequences to our proposed actions before we act. Another is that we are all broken.
Quotes that illustrate these thoughts: “If you irrigate a desert, you might empty a sea,� and “I am the empty sea.�
2. House. This story takes place in a hospital ward. Quote: “My normal sadness might put your great sadness to shame.�
3. Alluvial Deposits. The theme of this story is adaptation. The following quote is quite thought provoking: “Indians accepted the natural condition of things and so were nomadic, going to where water, food, and agreeable climate promised to be. The settlers, refining and reaffirming the American character, preferred to sit in one place and wait for nature to change.�
4. True Romance. This story made me think about what is important in life.
5. Age Would Be That Does. A story about old friends and a cougar.
6. The Appropriation of Cultures. I appreciated the wry humor of this story and thought about the power of music.
7. Warm and Nicely Buried. Quote: “The morning that came was as quiet as sleep, the layer of snow smothering the sounds of daybreak.�
8. Afraid of the Dark. Moving a horse can be an adventure!
9. Epigenesis. Quote, which could be the key to the heart of this story, “Do you believe that people create their own worlds?�
10. The Devolution of Nuclear Associability. An explanation of the meaning of life perhaps.
11. The Last Heat of Summer. This story horrified me and made me ponder its meaning.
12. Randall Randall. Key sentence: “You just made the wrong choice.� It’s truly amazing how your life can change based on one decision. Notable quote: “He left the arcade and decided the public library was a good place to hide and keep warm.�
1. The Fix. As I was reading several thoughts came to mind. One is that we need to broaden our thinking to include contemplating possible consequences to our proposed actions before we act. Another is that we are all broken.
Quotes that illustrate these thoughts: “If you irrigate a desert, you might empty a sea,� and “I am the empty sea.�
2. House. This story takes place in a hospital ward. Quote: “My normal sadness might put your great sadness to shame.�
3. Alluvial Deposits. The theme of this story is adaptation. The following quote is quite thought provoking: “Indians accepted the natural condition of things and so were nomadic, going to where water, food, and agreeable climate promised to be. The settlers, refining and reaffirming the American character, preferred to sit in one place and wait for nature to change.�
4. True Romance. This story made me think about what is important in life.
5. Age Would Be That Does. A story about old friends and a cougar.
6. The Appropriation of Cultures. I appreciated the wry humor of this story and thought about the power of music.
7. Warm and Nicely Buried. Quote: “The morning that came was as quiet as sleep, the layer of snow smothering the sounds of daybreak.�
8. Afraid of the Dark. Moving a horse can be an adventure!
9. Epigenesis. Quote, which could be the key to the heart of this story, “Do you believe that people create their own worlds?�
10. The Devolution of Nuclear Associability. An explanation of the meaning of life perhaps.
11. The Last Heat of Summer. This story horrified me and made me ponder its meaning.
12. Randall Randall. Key sentence: “You just made the wrong choice.� It’s truly amazing how your life can change based on one decision. Notable quote: “He left the arcade and decided the public library was a good place to hide and keep warm.�
August 28, 2024
The first Everett story collection that really works for me. I’ll always hate the form but PE is working within some priorly established settings here, making it feel somewhat of a return. Maybe that’s just the strength of his hold over me. I neither know nor care.
January 13, 2023
Even when Percival Everett writes short stories they stand out
March 4, 2021
I only listened to Alluvial Deposits through the LeVar Burton Reads podcast from this book collection. Everett is an evocative writer, he makes a town and its inhabitants come alive, so the town itself becomes a character. Robert, a Black hydrologist, needs to take water measurements in a small Utah town but runs across a racist older woman who runs him off her property but not before hurling racist insults at him. There are the required quirky small-town residents at the diner he frequents, and in the end, when he goes back with a sheriff to gain access to the property he has some compassion for the old bigot when he sees what a small life she lives. Healing and reconciliation are the themes of this short story gem.
August 18, 2022
Right out of the gate with this debut collection, Everett displayed the threads that would be found in almost all his future stories: respect for nature, science, fishing, horses, white buffoonery--and more. There's at least one metafiction here. The most famous story in the collection is "The Appropriation of Cultures." His works remind me very much of Barry Lopez--without the sanctimony. Everett knows how to play with a narrative. One of the most interesting American writers of our time.
June 24, 2014
If you're not an Everett fan, what the hell is wrong with you? Damned If I Do is possibly one of the most technical constructed story collections I have read. But I'm biased: I really do like everything this man writes.
January 22, 2025
A dozen short stories that work like an index of sorts for the author's novels from this period. One story, "Warm and Nicely Buried," reads like the original sketch for "The Body of Martin Aguilera." The protagonist of the novel "Watershed" re-appears in the short "Alluvial Deposits." Fishing and horses are common themes across many of the stores.
The best four stories here are:
* "The Fix," about a mysterious fellow who can fix everything, including dead people;
* "The Appropriation of Cultures," about a Black jazz musician who reclaims "Dixie" and the Confederate flag, much to the discomfort of racist whites and the state of South Carolina;
* "Age Would Be That Does," about two near-blind old guys who go hunting a mountain lion � and maybe even find it; and
* "The Last Heat of Summer," about a boy who closes out his summer vacation by going fishing and camping with a friend and their fathers and then goes to the circus, where he fantasizes about a tiger escaping.
The best four stories here are:
* "The Fix," about a mysterious fellow who can fix everything, including dead people;
* "The Appropriation of Cultures," about a Black jazz musician who reclaims "Dixie" and the Confederate flag, much to the discomfort of racist whites and the state of South Carolina;
* "Age Would Be That Does," about two near-blind old guys who go hunting a mountain lion � and maybe even find it; and
* "The Last Heat of Summer," about a boy who closes out his summer vacation by going fishing and camping with a friend and their fathers and then goes to the circus, where he fantasizes about a tiger escaping.
July 25, 2024
What an awesome collection of short stories written in a really unusual manner. Thought provoking.
Social commentary
I wasn’t sure how to write a review of this collection so looked up info on the author and this paragraph from Wikipedia sums up my reading experience pretty thoroughly.
“He has described himself as "pathologically ironic� and has played around with numerous genres such as western fiction, mysteries, thrillers, satire and philosophical fiction. His books are often satirical, aimed at exploring race and identity issues in the United States.�
Unusual but really interesting.
Social commentary
I wasn’t sure how to write a review of this collection so looked up info on the author and this paragraph from Wikipedia sums up my reading experience pretty thoroughly.
“He has described himself as "pathologically ironic� and has played around with numerous genres such as western fiction, mysteries, thrillers, satire and philosophical fiction. His books are often satirical, aimed at exploring race and identity issues in the United States.�
Unusual but really interesting.
May 19, 2024
Percival Everett can write. His two most recent stellar releases, and have catapulted him from being regarded as one of the most underappreciated/underpublicised authors, to deserved acclaim. This 2004 collection shows for how long Everett has been turning out compelling stories with his characteristically sardonic humour and his deftly subtle moral outrage.
I greatly enjoy Everett's writing, and in these short stories he shows his mastery at creating fully fleshed out characters with humour, tension, satire and unpredictability. A couple of these stories didn't work for me, they either petered out or failed to grab me like the crackers did. Many felt like the openings of novels that I wanted to continue and keep us in the world of his beautifully crafted characters.
There's a playfulness, an archness, and a world weariness about all his stories which drag you quickly into the narrative. There's also a lot of fishing.
Very close to a 4*.
I greatly enjoy Everett's writing, and in these short stories he shows his mastery at creating fully fleshed out characters with humour, tension, satire and unpredictability. A couple of these stories didn't work for me, they either petered out or failed to grab me like the crackers did. Many felt like the openings of novels that I wanted to continue and keep us in the world of his beautifully crafted characters.
There's a playfulness, an archness, and a world weariness about all his stories which drag you quickly into the narrative. There's also a lot of fishing.
Very close to a 4*.
July 9, 2024
“The tiger was asleep. It was late summer, just days before school would start and it was snowing in the desert. I walked a circle around the sleeping beast, kicking through the bones and flesh of my life, the parts of my friend and my mother and my father and of someone I did not know, but who had come to try to save me. The blood of my father stuck to the sole of my shoe and made a kissing sound. I stepped on my mother's delicate fingers.�
"I've got my books and my music."
"You need a job so you can be around people you don't care about, doing stuff you don't care about.
You need a job to occupy that part of your brain. I suppose it's too late now, though."
“Though I had studied water most of my adult life, I could never quite believe the fact that there is never really any new water. Water falls, drains, flows, evapo-rates, condenses, falls. The same water, different states.
That thought can be unsettling, given what we do to water, what we rinse with it, what we put into it. The tailing ponds of the mine up on Blood Mountain were dug into rock, but still the water leeched into the ground, finding the tributaries, finding the creeks. rivers, reservoirs, pastures, spigots.�
October 23, 2022
A great collection of short stories by Percival Everett. Everett writes with great wit and comes up with some of the cleverest phrases that have a subtle humor which can border on the absurd. There were some fantastic stories, of which, my favorites were: The Fix about a man who has an ability to repair anything, Alluvial Deposits about a man in Utah who has been sent to take some water samples and Afraid of the Dark about a couple of men towing a horse in a trailer. But, really, just about all of the stories were great with only a couple that were so so. Some of the stories ended without a true conclusion but they were written in such a way that the reader could guess the ending. Overall, a great read.
November 25, 2024
A fine set of short stories, many set in the West—featuring several different African American cowboys. One exception of these settings was my favorite story: “The Appropriation of Cultures.� It shows a young black man in South Carolina who likes to play jazz guitar. One night a group of drunken white frat boys challenges him to “Play Dixie!� Much to their chagrin, he not only plays it but makes it his own, in a sincere style and slow, thoughtful pace. They leave disgruntled, but this is just the beginning of the protagonist’s ideas for defying white Southern expectations. Many ironic, funny moments and a perfect ending, all packed into just a few pages.
January 13, 2025
Why is the goodreads cover of this a horse (jumpscare) When my copy is a nice one of a fish !?
I thought this was a novel so was surprised to find short stories but really enjoyed. Find it hard to rate short stories as I'm sure there were lots of themes running between them that went over my head but I would have enjoyed a full length novel of pretty much all of them so figure that's a good thing!
I thought this was a novel so was surprised to find short stories but really enjoyed. Find it hard to rate short stories as I'm sure there were lots of themes running between them that went over my head but I would have enjoyed a full length novel of pretty much all of them so figure that's a good thing!
March 9, 2023
3.5⭐️
damn Percival likes to write about fish
damn Percival likes to write about fish
April 30, 2024
*read for class
I specifically had to read the short story "Appropriation of Cultures." And wow... it proposes a lot to think about. Percival Everett writes stories that make you think and after reading this one short story from him, I want to read more from him. This story was literally reverse psychology in action.
I specifically had to read the short story "Appropriation of Cultures." And wow... it proposes a lot to think about. Percival Everett writes stories that make you think and after reading this one short story from him, I want to read more from him. This story was literally reverse psychology in action.
February 3, 2025
I really like Percival Everett� and having previously read The Trees, I really enjoyed this collection of short stories.
An engaging blend of cultural sensitivity, humour and darkness written in the way that Everett does so cleverly.
March 30, 2011
See my full review here:
This is a story collection about transactions -- the chafing encounters of negotiation; the risk and strategy of ordinary and un-ordinary days. Among these twelve tales, there is, for example, a hydrologist who needs the signature of a Utah woman to do work on her property, only to find himself shot at. There is the young black musician in South Carolina who purchases a vehicle with an enormous Confederate flag decal, as an attempt to turn it into a symbol of black power. There is another man, a romance novelist living outside of Taos. who is offered extraordinary amounts of money by a Hollywood producer for the use of his land and truck -- but he doesn't want it. And in the opening story, "The Fix," the owner of a sandwich shop encounters Sherman, a man who can fix anything -- the busted refrigerator, kids' toy trucks, your parking tickets, and the dead.
These are transactions of people pushing against one another, and of people pushing against the (usually) Western landscape populated by fish and lions, things seen and unseen, sensical and non. Racial presumption is juxtaposed with talking fish in Damned If I Do, and they appear equally absurd (albeit intriguing). Everett's humor and ease in moving into irrealities is tempered by a darkness in these stories -- a sort of grim abruptness in their telling. The endings of these stories often feel like abandonments, as if it is just no use to look any longer into these little worlds.
Everett's imagination is a powerful engine. Altogether, this is an engaging collection of stories that is fearless and evocative, easy to like if, for me, not particularly loved. Why not loved? I suspect it has something to do with the fact that the tight portals of these tales did not gain altitude, to paraphrase Flannery O'Connor. They situate themselves in an uncommon and fidgety place, and they stay there. While it's still a joy to meet them, I'm not taking them with me when I move elsewhere. Two brilliant stories are the exception to my withheld love: "The Fix" and "The Reappropriation of Cultures" -- the last of which was read by Reuben Santiago Hudson on PRI's wonderful "Selected Shorts" program, alongside "Bible" by Tobias Wolff and under the theme "Passions Run Deep."
This is a story collection about transactions -- the chafing encounters of negotiation; the risk and strategy of ordinary and un-ordinary days. Among these twelve tales, there is, for example, a hydrologist who needs the signature of a Utah woman to do work on her property, only to find himself shot at. There is the young black musician in South Carolina who purchases a vehicle with an enormous Confederate flag decal, as an attempt to turn it into a symbol of black power. There is another man, a romance novelist living outside of Taos. who is offered extraordinary amounts of money by a Hollywood producer for the use of his land and truck -- but he doesn't want it. And in the opening story, "The Fix," the owner of a sandwich shop encounters Sherman, a man who can fix anything -- the busted refrigerator, kids' toy trucks, your parking tickets, and the dead.
These are transactions of people pushing against one another, and of people pushing against the (usually) Western landscape populated by fish and lions, things seen and unseen, sensical and non. Racial presumption is juxtaposed with talking fish in Damned If I Do, and they appear equally absurd (albeit intriguing). Everett's humor and ease in moving into irrealities is tempered by a darkness in these stories -- a sort of grim abruptness in their telling. The endings of these stories often feel like abandonments, as if it is just no use to look any longer into these little worlds.
Everett's imagination is a powerful engine. Altogether, this is an engaging collection of stories that is fearless and evocative, easy to like if, for me, not particularly loved. Why not loved? I suspect it has something to do with the fact that the tight portals of these tales did not gain altitude, to paraphrase Flannery O'Connor. They situate themselves in an uncommon and fidgety place, and they stay there. While it's still a joy to meet them, I'm not taking them with me when I move elsewhere. Two brilliant stories are the exception to my withheld love: "The Fix" and "The Reappropriation of Cultures" -- the last of which was read by Reuben Santiago Hudson on PRI's wonderful "Selected Shorts" program, alongside "Bible" by Tobias Wolff and under the theme "Passions Run Deep."
June 18, 2024
Beautifully crafted stories with more than a little punch. Some endings are soft landings and some are left hanging, but none are predictable. Like when driving a curvy road and waiting for the next view around the corner, there is always at least a slight amount of tension. That keeps the reader engaged.
The best stories are:
The Fix
Alluvial Deposits (this one’s a real gem)
Age Would Be That Does
Epigenesis
Randall Randall
The best stories are:
The Fix
Alluvial Deposits (this one’s a real gem)
Age Would Be That Does
Epigenesis
Randall Randall
April 8, 2014
The Appropriation of Cultures is an amazing short story as well as a great example of satire. With most of the stories in this collection I'm reminded of the mythological trickster at play. Many pieces read like modern-day fables, leaving the reader to their own interpretations. This is illustrated beautifully in the stories Epigenesis, Randall Randall and The Last Heat of Summer.
Character is King in this collection. Everett also knows his away around an image. While fishing is not something that interest me in the least, the author's detailed descriptions transports me to the tranquility and introspection the fishing scenes and references symbolize.
The pieces in this collection also challenge what some might consider to be a short story. For me, it feels as if the structure of the collection comes more from the oral tradition rather than the written. One might go as far as to call these morality tales, but then that begs the question - whose morality, if morality does indeed exist?
Character is King in this collection. Everett also knows his away around an image. While fishing is not something that interest me in the least, the author's detailed descriptions transports me to the tranquility and introspection the fishing scenes and references symbolize.
The pieces in this collection also challenge what some might consider to be a short story. For me, it feels as if the structure of the collection comes more from the oral tradition rather than the written. One might go as far as to call these morality tales, but then that begs the question - whose morality, if morality does indeed exist?
August 14, 2015
A very fine collection of light short stories that humorously and slyly call into question many aspects of modern life, even troubling themes such racism. I liked especially, in light of the recent removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds, one story based in Columbia about one man's response to a sticker on a truck. I really enjoyed most of them, and think others will too.
November 30, 2020
2020 was not the year for me to read this book. Although it’s cleverly written and full of ironies, it wasn’t a book that took me away from the realities of this year. The stories kept me in a state of frustration. The characters were a bit annoying and I didn’t like...any of them. I’m just needing a different kind of book this year. I think I’ll give it another try later, much later.
July 11, 2023
Damned If I Do is a collection of 12 short stories by Percival Everett and the quality balance of the book overall is tipped slightly more towards better than not. The collection is nicely book-ended by the two best stories here: The Fix and Randall Randall.
The Fix is about a magical handyman that can fix anything. It’s Twilight Zone-esque and was a really compelling way to open the book. A very memorable story that seems to suggest the human species takes more than it gives and is therefore unfixable, ie. doomed, or damned even.
Randall Randall is about a grumpy man who writes a prickly note to his neighbour about her car parking then proceeds to make increasingly terrible decisions until he has the worst day of his life. The blurbs on Everett’s books often mention his humour - this is the first story of his I’ve read that was actually funny, albeit in a very dark way. I loved this story - it starts well and gets better as it goes. It’s easily the best one in the collection and closes out the book brilliantly by leaving you wanting more.
For a writer often focused on race, there weren’t too many stories in this collection that addressed it. Alluvial Deposits and The Appropriation of Cultures were the only two, both of them pretty decent. Alluvial Deposits is about a man from the Fish and Game Commission looking for permission to traverse private land to inspect the water and encounters a racist old white lady. The Appropriation of Cultures is about a black musician reworking the famous Confederate song Dixie for a black audience. Both are interesting and unpredictable, while also not particularly engaging, lacking any real stakes.
True Romance is the last of the good stories here, about a grouchy romance writer living in isolation being courted by Hollywood to use his rural property for a movie. This and Alluvial Deposits both read like good opening chapters to a novel rather than self-contained short stories.
I won’t go into too much detail about the stories I didn’t like - suffice it to say, they didn’t do anything for me. Generally, they’re all well-written but dull and almost instantly forgettable. A lot of them also featured fishing which is why there’s a fish on the cover (or it’s a nod to Jesus and the fishes/loaves story, which might tie back to The Fix’s Christ-like handyman). I can’t think of a drearier pastime but I’m guessing Everett’s a fishing fan.
The one that stands out of all the stories I wasn’t taken with, and is easily the worst one in this collection, is The Devolution of Nuclear Associability, an apt title for a plain inscrutable story. It read like a riddle mixed with maths equations. I had no idea what to make of it - an experiment of style over substance, probably.
Despite the inevitable crap that’s nearly always in every short story collection, I got enough enjoyment out of Damned If I Do to recommend it to fans of the medium and this author.
The Fix is about a magical handyman that can fix anything. It’s Twilight Zone-esque and was a really compelling way to open the book. A very memorable story that seems to suggest the human species takes more than it gives and is therefore unfixable, ie. doomed, or damned even.
Randall Randall is about a grumpy man who writes a prickly note to his neighbour about her car parking then proceeds to make increasingly terrible decisions until he has the worst day of his life. The blurbs on Everett’s books often mention his humour - this is the first story of his I’ve read that was actually funny, albeit in a very dark way. I loved this story - it starts well and gets better as it goes. It’s easily the best one in the collection and closes out the book brilliantly by leaving you wanting more.
For a writer often focused on race, there weren’t too many stories in this collection that addressed it. Alluvial Deposits and The Appropriation of Cultures were the only two, both of them pretty decent. Alluvial Deposits is about a man from the Fish and Game Commission looking for permission to traverse private land to inspect the water and encounters a racist old white lady. The Appropriation of Cultures is about a black musician reworking the famous Confederate song Dixie for a black audience. Both are interesting and unpredictable, while also not particularly engaging, lacking any real stakes.
True Romance is the last of the good stories here, about a grouchy romance writer living in isolation being courted by Hollywood to use his rural property for a movie. This and Alluvial Deposits both read like good opening chapters to a novel rather than self-contained short stories.
I won’t go into too much detail about the stories I didn’t like - suffice it to say, they didn’t do anything for me. Generally, they’re all well-written but dull and almost instantly forgettable. A lot of them also featured fishing which is why there’s a fish on the cover (or it’s a nod to Jesus and the fishes/loaves story, which might tie back to The Fix’s Christ-like handyman). I can’t think of a drearier pastime but I’m guessing Everett’s a fishing fan.
The one that stands out of all the stories I wasn’t taken with, and is easily the worst one in this collection, is The Devolution of Nuclear Associability, an apt title for a plain inscrutable story. It read like a riddle mixed with maths equations. I had no idea what to make of it - an experiment of style over substance, probably.
Despite the inevitable crap that’s nearly always in every short story collection, I got enough enjoyment out of Damned If I Do to recommend it to fans of the medium and this author.
March 18, 2025
3.5 stars awarded
This is a collection of short stories that are surreal, cyclical and downright quirky in places and most of them I didn't really understand in terms of what I know Everett normally writes about.
The Appropriation of Cultures, both music and flags, was the most obvious story where a Black man, Daniel, buys a truck with a confederate flag on the back . The seller of the truck asks Daniel twice if he wants him to remove it but each time the answer is no. This causes confusion but Daniel tells others,
"I've decided that the rebel flag is my flag. My blood is Southern blood, right? Well, it's my flag."
p87
He convinces others to use the flag proudly, calling everyone who does brothers, much to their distaste until it is seen everywhere used by Black people. It is at that point that the flag disappears from the State Capitol with no fanfare. Result.
This is the most obvious story in the book, starting with the appropriation of the song 'Dixie', and that is probably why I enjoyed it the most.
Other stories I was less sure about. One of these was Epigenesis where a large talking trout provides marriage guidance to Alan Turing but presumably not the mathematician because the real Turing was gay. Anyway, this fish talks and the word it says to Turing is 'epigenesis'. I looked it up and it means an embryo developing progressively from an undifferentiated cell. Turing captures the fish again and takes it home to speak to his wife who doesn't believe him. When she gets outside all that there is in the car is a minnow on the seat dead. Turing faces his wife and tells her he loves her. So, is it the love that is epigenetic (?). It starts off as undifferentiated events when younger and is fully formed when he can look at his wife and tell her truly how he feels. I don't know.
To be fair, I didn't really start to understand Everett's novel Trees until I was three quarters of the way through it so why should I expect to understand these short stories on first reading?
I think there is a lot of subverting racial stereotypes in the book, maybe not in Epigenesis but it is there in others. It's a book I will need to come back to and read again in the future to see if I understand more.
This is a collection of short stories that are surreal, cyclical and downright quirky in places and most of them I didn't really understand in terms of what I know Everett normally writes about.
The Appropriation of Cultures, both music and flags, was the most obvious story where a Black man, Daniel, buys a truck with a confederate flag on the back . The seller of the truck asks Daniel twice if he wants him to remove it but each time the answer is no. This causes confusion but Daniel tells others,
"I've decided that the rebel flag is my flag. My blood is Southern blood, right? Well, it's my flag."
p87
He convinces others to use the flag proudly, calling everyone who does brothers, much to their distaste until it is seen everywhere used by Black people. It is at that point that the flag disappears from the State Capitol with no fanfare. Result.
This is the most obvious story in the book, starting with the appropriation of the song 'Dixie', and that is probably why I enjoyed it the most.
Other stories I was less sure about. One of these was Epigenesis where a large talking trout provides marriage guidance to Alan Turing but presumably not the mathematician because the real Turing was gay. Anyway, this fish talks and the word it says to Turing is 'epigenesis'. I looked it up and it means an embryo developing progressively from an undifferentiated cell. Turing captures the fish again and takes it home to speak to his wife who doesn't believe him. When she gets outside all that there is in the car is a minnow on the seat dead. Turing faces his wife and tells her he loves her. So, is it the love that is epigenetic (?). It starts off as undifferentiated events when younger and is fully formed when he can look at his wife and tell her truly how he feels. I don't know.
To be fair, I didn't really start to understand Everett's novel Trees until I was three quarters of the way through it so why should I expect to understand these short stories on first reading?
I think there is a lot of subverting racial stereotypes in the book, maybe not in Epigenesis but it is there in others. It's a book I will need to come back to and read again in the future to see if I understand more.
January 31, 2025
A really solid short story collection. The standouts for me: "Alluvial Deposits," a vignette about the same character from Everett's Watershed; "The Appropriation of Cultures," about a Black man reclaiming the Confederate flag; "Warm and Nicely Buried," a mystery that takes an unexpectedly empathetic turn; and "Afraid of the Dark," a slice of life featuring three very different men and a horse who is, well, you guessed it...
Everett writes so evocatively, even if I don't feel like I fully understand everything he does. He sees the humor and the heart in everyday interactions, and he brings to life the characters who live those interactions on the page, even in these short stories where the reader doesn't get to spend much time with them. As with any short story collection, there are a few that I feel indifferent about, but the ones that I liked, I liked a lot.
Everett writes so evocatively, even if I don't feel like I fully understand everything he does. He sees the humor and the heart in everyday interactions, and he brings to life the characters who live those interactions on the page, even in these short stories where the reader doesn't get to spend much time with them. As with any short story collection, there are a few that I feel indifferent about, but the ones that I liked, I liked a lot.
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