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Grim and uplifting at once
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Jeremy Shipp’s Cursed (Raw Dog Screaming Press) is masterfully different from the norm, full of likeable eccentrics, and plays with form and convention. The prose is sharp and sweet, and this 214-page novel reads fast.
The plot concerns a group who have been cursed in some way, and their attempts to discover who or what cursed them, and why. The protagonist, Nick, has many layers. The narrative reveals his thoughts and feelings plus the screens he’s devised to conceal them from everyone else. The main supporting character, Cicely, has a whimsical, colorful outlook on life—“the fairy who lives in my ear is getting tired of all these prank calls”—which adds pluck to the story. Nick's roommate, Gordon, is blind. His impairment is dealt with in a way that brings details into brighter, sharper focus.
Cursed starts in the middle of the action, which is briefly disorienting, but makes perfect sense after three or four pages. The cursed characters themselves exist in a decomposing state, it gives you a taste of their lives. One scene condemns them to an absurdist death trap, and the ending is grim and uplifting at once.
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