James Morrow has been round a long time quietly writing semi-classics of social satire and spiritual mischief. Steadily he has been building his following. But though Morrow seems to keep missing the big literary fame loveboat the pier it departs from is over flowing with fans of his master works like This is the Way the World Ends, Bible Stories for Adults, Only Begotten Daughter and especially his Godhead Trilogy of Towing Jehovah, Blameless in Abaddon and The Eternal Footman. Recently, though, the broader literary-scape has come to the party with praise, good reviews and good sales for his last two major tomes, The Last Witchfinder and The Philosopher's Apprentice.
James Morrow is a wordsmith and a philosophical prankster and he deeply understands the role of storytelling and the role of the narrator. Though there's always a surface of clever wordplay, it is to break up the clouds of literary illusion to shine through to the truths below. Even though he has many awards and honours to his name, he deserves to be read more widely. And readers who's fav authors range from Kurt Vonnegut to Neal Stephenson to J G Ballard to Michael Chabon to Salman Rushdie should check out the works of James Morrow.
Shambling Towards Hiroshima, his latest, is a short novel set during the last years of World War II. It is a tale told by a reminiscing actor of cheap '40s monster movies, usually having played the monster itself. He is thespian of the old school, basking in the adulation of his horror loving fans, but he readily accepts a secret mission to don a monster suit to convince the Japanese to surrender or prepare to have giant mutant lizards destroy their cities. Might sound a tad absurd, but In the hands of Morrow this becomes a clever political satire on military, politics and war. It's funny and very clever in the way it brings old Hollywood and the military industrial complex together. Yes, funny clever, but the message underneath it all is a most somber one.
haha what was that video? very very cool, i loved the music.