MirrorDance Review

by Patrick Wensink

From MirrorDance:

Sex Dungeon for Sale! by Patrick Wensink
reviewed by M. Arkenberg 

Patrick Wensink’s first short story collection will go down in history as the book that made me love Bizarro. 

This stories are page-turners; short, witty, unapologetically entertaining. But don’t mistake them for light reading. Wensink uses bizarre, often ridiculous situations to make us step back, look at our world and see the things we have allowed to become bizarre and ridiculous.

Take one of the first stories in this collection, the one that told me in no uncertain terms: You, madam, are going to love this book.. “My Son Thinks He’s French” follows the unfortunate father of a six-year-old Francophile. This little boy wears a beret, eats Nutella, and quotes extensive passages of Jean-Paul Sartre. But the larger issue, it soon becomes apparent, is the narrator’s distance from his family.

But the more I think about it, who is the boy I’ve always loved? What did he look like as an infant? I don’t remember him toddling around, learning to walk. No idea what his first words in English were. Couldn’t even tell you if he prefers hotdogs of hamburgers, though I suspect frog legs edge out both.

The ending is the funniest punch in the gut you’ll ever receive.

My favorite story in this collection, however, has to be “Jesus Toast.” As the title suggests, this story centers on pareidolia; the main character has the ability to see everything from Italy in clouds to the Shroud of Turin in a coffee stain, and her boyfriend Claude is able to turn her visions into cash. But ever since her sister’s wedding, her visions have been less of religious figures and more of ex-boyfriends.

Claude said he’s not the jealous type, but I don’t buy it. My man stopped holding the door open for me, rubbing my feet and spilling red wine all over perfectly good couch cushions after we inspected the Immaculate Rust Stain. He wanted the Virgin Mary…not “Marty: The Guy Who Took My Virginity” (1983).

Like all the stories in this collection, “Jesus Toast” combines strong characterization, biting wit and a real mystery. It manages to be surreal without being so strange that it fails to resonate. 

Also, it’s really really really hilarious. 

For more about Patrick Wensink, see his website. Sex Dungeon for Sale! may be purchased at Amazon.com.

Posted on 2010-03-01