The Review of Contemporary Fiction
Demonology by Rick MoodyAmy Havel
Rick Moody. Demonology. Little, Brown, 2001. 320 pp. $24.95.
Although most of the stories in this collection have previously appeared in various periodicals, a number of interesting effects occur when they are assembled in Demonology. First, Moody’s range of talent is revealed right away; the difference in storytelling between the heart-wrenching, intimate title story and the cold observation of pieces like “Hawaiian Night” and “Boys” proves once again that Moody has earned his reputation as one of the best contemporary American writers. Second, Moody is nothing if not a chronicler; his characters in “The Double Zero,” “Hawaiian Night,” and “The Carnival Tradition” reflect a huge range of social/economic/American experiences, yet each is presented in an incredibly accurate manner. What makes Moody’s reflections more innovative, though, is his representation without excessive “comment.” He simply lets the voices of the characters hang in the air. Last, the collection shows Moody’s amazing ability to present a seemingly conventional story in a different and effective way. Although Demonology has its pieces that are experimental in form (“Wilkie Ridgeway Fahnstock, The Boxed Set,” for example, which consists of liner notes to the soundtrack, on casette, of one man’s life), these seem less interesting and more showy. Moody shines when he lets his talent for storytelling take over. Both “The Mansion on the Hill” and the title story illustrate this point extremely well; serving as end pieces in the collection, they will keep Moody’s fans happy and surely enlist quite a few more. [Amy Havel]