Simplify

By Tod Goldberg

Book Overview

From the author of the acclaimed novel Living Dead Girl, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, come twelve haunting stories about people caught somewhere between love and madness. Simplify mines the often surreal terrain of people on the margins of life: from the man with a photo of Elvis bleeding on his wall in "Comeback Special," to the profoundly troubled boy genius of the title story "Simplify," to the family that must traverse "The Distance Between Us" to finally get to the truth about their son the murderer, each story hums with sharp drama, mystery, wonder, and startling humor. Simplify, the first collection of short fiction by Tod Goldberg, portrays a world where redemption, hope, and violence are never too far apart.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0976717719
• ISBN13: 9780976717713
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Other Voices
• Length: 172 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 13 to 18 years

Customer Reviews

exceptional

Reading--and especially enjoying--short stories is unusual for me. I bought the book because I read Tod Goldberg's blog regularly and decided to take a chance. I'm glad I did. Simplify is a collection of good, readable stories, mostly describing the fine line between sanity and not. I loved it, but I'm not sure how to describe it.

I am amazed at how well the author is able to portray other people's thoughts and feelings.

This is a collection of twelve short stories. *Each story is dark and the majority of them revolve around death. *Each story delivers either a deep life lesson or a view of another person's life that will leave you pondering things that you have probably never thought of. I am amazed at how well the author, Tod Goldberg, understands and is able to portray other people's thoughts and feelings. He tells the story of a messed up child, a suicidal man, a wealthy man with an empty life, a child growing into an adult, a dead child, and the brother of a killer. These are just some of the people that Mr. Goldberg takes the shape of. Each story is written in a unique fashion. Within the first page, you will be sucked in by the unfolding of a foreign life that each story promises. Some of the other reviews label it as sinister or evil. I didn't see it as either. Sorrowful? Maybe. Dark? Definitely. Sinister or evil? Not so much. I'm not a big short story fan. I like stories that I can sink my teeth into for a period of time. I am the kind of person that never wants a good story to end. That being said, I loved this book. The stories allowed me to step into someone else's existence. The stories make you dig deep and think.

"Simplify" by Tod Goldberg

I greatly enjoyed this book. Tod Goldberg writes in a witty, smart way. The stories in "Simplify" are often impressionistic. They deal with the emotional life of the character in a very intimate way, but Goldberg manages to remain always sincere, which is not always easy. His writing is very simple, in a way that is reminiscent of Hemingway, only with less wine and tipping of waiters. I also liked how Goldberg's universe is drenched in American pop culture: a coffee-drinking Jesus vs. a beer-drinking devil, a bleeding picture of Elvis... I would highly recommend it to Europeans who want to understand the US a bit better.

A superb collection from a rising star

Short story collections are nearly impossible to review, especially in anything under several hundred words. (How do you comment generally on a book that contains twelve different stories that vary in plot, theme, quality, etc.?) Still, there are a few observations that one can make about Tod Goldberg's Simplify. The stories are sharp and insightful, many of them dealing with issues emerging from childhood. The writing is often funny, even when it's painful, and always to the point, with keen dialogue and a strong voice. Finally, the stories on the whole are powerful, provocative and a pleasure to read. The title entry, in particular, is a minor masterpiece.

Haunting and Funny--Like Tod Himself!

This collection of short stories will keep you awake thinking, or fearing your dreams, for days. Filled with characters you just might know, Simplify is precisely deep enough to still be fun. A great combination of humor and insight runs through these varied glimpses into the contradictions, chaos, and slapstick of life.