Spirals of Orange and Black

Rayme Michaels presents his first book of short stories, some of them true and others expressions of his wild imagination. There's something in here for readers of all stripes, just not those who take themselves and life too seriously. Michaels's writing ranges from the solemn to the humorous, and often, as is his style, you get an onslaught of both. Whether it be a sentimental, unpleasant or wacky childhood experience, the tragic story of an extremely eccentric friend, his first experience with death, hilarious people he once knew, a dark yet comical fantasy that revolves around flatulence, stories from high school, the unburdening of his soul through made-up characters, the story of his psychedelic awakening into a new reality stripped of otherworldly fears, his shenanigans in screenwriting class years before becoming a novelist, ruthless religious or political satire, or, as is his specialty, sexual obsession, what Michaels does here is unabashedly entertain in his usual Rabelaisian style. Those who dislike bawdy, irreverent humour need not delve into the Spirals . . . of Orange . . . and Black. You have now been both welcomed-and warned.