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Eeeee Eee Eeee (novel), Bed (short stories)

 
Published: Jun 27, 2007

By Tao Lin
Melville House Publishing, 211, 278 pp., $14.95 (each)

From the pen of another writer, the surrealistic elements in Tao Lin's debut novel Eeeee Eee Eeee (published at the same time as his short story collection Bed) could have become something absurd, magically realistic and beautiful. Instead, Lin, who runs the blog Reader Of Depressing Books (reader-of-depressing-books.blogspot.com), favors an ultra-minimalist style that turns talking bears, dolphins, teleportation and random celebrity appearances into a stark, but kinda boring, tale of an isolated, disaffected recent college graduate living at his parent's gigantic house in Florida. Andrew works at Dominos and the non-linear plot jumps from past to future as he runs into talking bears that lead him on trips into underground caverns full of talking dolphins. One dolphin, which says the title several times, murders Elijah Wood.

Potentially interesting stuff, but the book suffers from a lack of subtlety and an overuse of repetition. Lin tries to portray Andrew's depression through his obsessions, like a girl he never got, going on a shooting spree, giving up and starting a band. Eeeee, however, ends up reviving the same ideas so frequently they grate on the reader like a screeching brake pad.

Amidst the post-college adolescent drama there are some memorable moments. When the mother of Ellen, a disillusioned teenager disdainful of popular culture, is trying to bond with her "alternative" daughter she asks her if she wants to see an independent movie. It's a touchingly awkward slice of humanity, but overall Eeeee disappoints.

Bed shares the same themes of depression, fear and false maturity as Eeeee, but the shorter form keeps his sarcastic style from getting tired.

Frequent touches of autobiography color many of the stories. "Sincerity" follows the relationship of two English students, Alicia and Aaron, at a New York college; Lin himself studied at NYU and won their Undergraduate Creative Writing Prize in 2005. Perhaps boosted by his real-life knowledge, "Sincerity" is one of the standouts of Bed, ringing with honest moments and the sadness of a slowly dying connection as the lovers' transition from saying "I love you" to "I like you."

"Love Is A Thing On Sale For More Money Than There Exists" also follows two students in New York, but is more aimless as the characters drift towards the doomed end of their relationship for no seeming reason.

Mostly the stories in Bed maintain their energy and occasionally reach into something deep and universal. For some readers Lin's preoccupation with depressed students and graduates is sure to signify self-indulgence. His ability to wring out some humanity from those settings, though, shows he sometimes has the ability to rise above it.

 

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