The Buddha in Malibu: New and Selected Stories

Rating:
Summary: Teasing with the horrors of pop culture.
Review: Harrison's prose style is minimalist: the force of a few words.

Faust sold his soul for eternal Knowledge: Harrison's characters sell their souls for a wink from an assistant producer. In "Pretty Girl and Fat Friend," when pickup "auteur" Jerry is beaten to a pulp by two women, he's ashamed enough to tell the cops it was two guys but not ashamed enough to not tap out the same tired messages to a flight attendant as soon as he can walk again.

In the title story, a hunky security guard is so mesmerized by the hazy veil of fame that he'll continue working for the boss who shot him in a desperate publicity stunt. In "The Rocky Hills of Trancas," an ambitious son gradually usurps his wayward father's talent.

Harrison's old standards are here too: "Roller Ball Murder," "The Arsons of Desire," & the great interior monologue, "The Warrior," in which a restless soldier of fortune takes revenge on an outdoor film festival.

Of course, it helps that the reader is familiar with the media-driven world his characters inhabit, but when Harrison starts teasing you with the horrors of our pop culture, then the girders of our emotional structure, like those of the weather tower, become brittle & snap.