![]() ![]() But these instances were infrequent, and in a book so concerned with the various facets of the psyche and the conscious mind, it might just be necessary to provide different angles, different contexts and perspectives, in order to properly see a single story clearly and completely.īoyko ends the collection with his “Notes on Sources,” writing that the two main reasons to cite them are “to parade one’s erudition, and to escape accusations of plagiarism” - making clear that his intention is the latter. The stories tend to shift from one point of view to another - which in general lends them a nicely cinematic quality, and the dialogue is always bang on - but there were times I wished Boyko had stayed with a particular character just a little longer, or returned to one instead of providing a new perspective. There are few false notes in this collection, if any. The use of transcripts in the court scenes displays an ingenuity of form which Boyko pulls off nicely. Strickland’s life, which is far from standard or even moral, we see the various ethical barriers being crossed, adding layer after layer of dramatic irony. The strongest piece in the book is undoubtedly “The Blood-Brain Barrier.” At its core is a violent crime committed in a restaurant and the forensic psychologist employed to testify about its perpetrator at trial. ![]() (Fans of Blackouts who enjoyed “In the Dark” will no doubt love this similar, though superior, story). While I’m not sure what this reveals about my own twisted psyche, my favourites in the collection were the darker stories, like “Eat the Rich and Shit the Poor,” in which a pathological liar with evil intentions picks up two hitchhiking teenage girls. This person or personality who is telling the story waxes philosophical, in a manner reminiscent of the narrators of Kundera or de Botton, to meditate movingly on the nature of human consciousness and free will. This story is even more remarkable for the “I” that is introduced in the final section, perhaps a fictional version of Boyko’s voice, perhaps a kind of god-like super-consciousness. The text within the text is used consciously, deliberately and to great effect. “Paddling an Iceberg” also makes frequent use of quotations, this time from an invented self-help guru named Jim Bird. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The collection is published by Biblioasis, a new press for Boyko, and represents a departure from his first book in that these six stories are all written around the single unifying theme of psychology, which - if you take the time to read these satirical and heartbreaking narratives - is itself perhaps just a story we tell ourselves about the way the human mind works. There may be good reason for the new persona and the unusual title. Boyko, is in fact one and the same person as Craig Boyko, whose first collection, Blackouts, was published to critical acclaim in 2008. I mean it positively, in the sense of smart, but also in the sense of sly: There isn’t a story called “Psychology” included in the collection, and the author, C.P. I’ve been in creative writing workshops where the word “clever” is used as a pejorative - but that’s not the sense I mean to convey when I say that the six pieces of fiction in Psychology and Other Stories are clever, sharp, insightful and incisive. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
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