3 out of 4 stars
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A Second, Less Capable Head and Other Rogue Stories by James Hanna is a collection of nineteen short stories. As the title suggests, one of the stories is about a man who has an extra head growing out of his neck. He struggles with a new presence constantly haunting him and decides to get rid of it, for good. He finds out that it is not easy. When that extra head starts exhibiting a consciousness of its own, he faces a moral dilemma. In another story, we meet a probation officer who is stalked by a strange man. Next, there is a middle-aged librarian who is attracted to a wealthy stranger but is horrified when she discovers his reality. In another story, a woman comes face to face with the man who raped her.
With each story, we watch a set of characters tackling the circumstances that sometimes seem trivial, and at other times, life-altering. What remains constant in all these stories is the evaluation of human nature. Each tale focuses on a particular shade of human character and subtly peels the layer to give us a hint of what lies underneath. The themes range from science-fiction to psychology. In one story, the narrator revisits the memory of a person he knew in the past; and in another, he describes meeting complete strangers. The stories draw heavy influence from the author’s personal experiences, and a couple of times, we meet a recurring character that may be the author’s alter-ego.
The writing style is very nuanced. You can feel that the author is no amateur. He has done a great job of jotting down the surroundings and the situations. You are drawn into the story as soon as you start reading it. One minute you are with a man camping out in a desert, and in the next, you are with two officers in a snow-laden forest. From describing the wilderness to taking you to the heart of the city, James Hanna has exhibited a great form of writing, in these stories. He is neither mundane nor too Shakespearean in his approach.
The characters are another strong aspect of this book. They are all complicated, yet, well-drawn-out for the reader to understand their inner machinations. There is a variety in them, and none of them feels too fantastic to exist. Perhaps, it is because they aren’t completely imaginary. The author’s real-life experiences add an authenticity to them and, maybe, that’s why they don’t seem made-up. However, a book so good doesn’t come without some flaws.
When you begin with a story that turns out very good, you expect the subsequent ones to be better. After a couple of stories, the bar for my expectations got pretty high. Understandably, it is very difficult to make every story perfect. However, as a reader, when I get something good, the next time, I’ll only want something better. In this book, the stories were inconsistent. While there were some that hit the bull’s eye, there were others that didn’t quite make a mark. My disappointment can be attributed to the fact that when I was expecting something grander and more complicated, the succeeding story would turn out comparatively normal. However, not everyone might have this problem, and they may enjoy every story equally.
My rating for this novel is 3 out of 4 stars. It is a portrait of human nature and brings the reader face to face with the deeper aspects of humanity’s characteristics. If you are someone who likes to read the books that delve into dark themes, then this is definitely for you. Also, if you prefer short, condensed stories to big, detailed novels, then James Hanna’s collection will not disappoint you.
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A Second, Less Capable Head
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