Title: Epic Sloth: Tales of the Long Crawl
Author: Philip Gaber
Publisher: Philip Gaber
ISBN: 0615726488
Pages: 169
Genre: Short Story, Psychological Fiction
Reviewed by: Kimberlee Hicks
Hollywood Book Reviews
Henry David Thoreau said, “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Author Philip Gaber seems to agree, and charts the evolution of our search for meaning in this life in his work, ‘Epic Sloth: Tales of the Long Crawl’. This collection of short stories and poems is a unique philosophical exploration, an avant-garde slouch in the direction of personal identity. Garber doesn’t try to uncover the method in the madness, but simply lays the madness bare without any pretense to method at all. The anecdotes, for that’s what they appear to be, often feel unresolved, mere glimpses into the characters lives at random moments and are often left open-ended, leaving the reader to his or her own devices as to deciding what comes next.
There’s something almost Runyonesque in Gaber’s story-telling, the characters and their situations are distinctive – the lost, the aimless, the seeking. ‘Epic Sloth: Tales of the Long Crawl’ reads like a love letter to a generation who is living at home longer, putting off marriage and families till later, and feeling generally unfulfilled with their jobs. Though each story is an individual, en masse they provide a universally relatable picture that reflects their troubles back at them. It may not offer help, or even be pretty, but it is raw and honest, shining a light on what is most often turned away from.
As a study in psychology, while reading ‘Epic Sloth: Tales of the Long Crawl’ one cannot help but wonder how much the author has drawn on his own experience in this work of unhappy endings and irresolute direction. The characters draw you into their struggles, and whether you are sympathetic, empathetic, or apathetic, they compel you to pay attention to them. Each story is a perfectly crafted moment of life that is, like an episode of Seinfeld without the comedy, about nothing at all. It’s the emptiness that is important, that life that is happening when no one else is looking, and Gaber capture’s that for us with deft skill. These are the stories of our times, familiar, and comforting in their familiarity.
Anyone looking for something a little different would enjoy ‘Epic Sloth: Tales of the Long Crawl’. Those who are feeling weighed down by life might find some kinship with the characters created by Gaber, as well. A read worthy of study by lovers of books that delve a little deeper into the human condition; it is not to be missed.