Yam Cake reviewed Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones
The thin line between disaster and destiny
4 stars
I went into this one thinking it was going to be a whole different can of worms.
Sawyer, our protagonist, is so earnest and steadfast in his beliefs that when his internal logic defies reality and the story takes a turn—it somehow feels right. Jones manages to convince us, in an effortless way, that this is how things must be, to Sawyer's teenage mind. Jones is also a master at capturing the unique intensity of teenhood, where emotions, that sense of justice/injustice, the desire to find belonging, are all cranked up to eleven.
See, Sawyer and friends are about to graduate from high school, about to move on to the next stage of life, where their paths are about to diverge. When they would surely not have the luxury of time to do stupid shit like exploring the dump. Like bringing back home a mannequin and having that …
I went into this one thinking it was going to be a whole different can of worms.
Sawyer, our protagonist, is so earnest and steadfast in his beliefs that when his internal logic defies reality and the story takes a turn—it somehow feels right. Jones manages to convince us, in an effortless way, that this is how things must be, to Sawyer's teenage mind. Jones is also a master at capturing the unique intensity of teenhood, where emotions, that sense of justice/injustice, the desire to find belonging, are all cranked up to eleven.
See, Sawyer and friends are about to graduate from high school, about to move on to the next stage of life, where their paths are about to diverge. When they would surely not have the luxury of time to do stupid shit like exploring the dump. Like bringing back home a mannequin and having that mannequin be the newest member of their posse. Like calling him Manny and taking turns to dress him up in clothing stolen from a parent's wardrobe.
So they bring Manny back for one last hurrah, for an elaborate prank at the local theater where their friend Shanna works. They take turns sneaking parts of Manny in, assemble the guy, dress and seat him. The story begins when Sawyer sees Manny get up and walk out of the theater. The rest... well, is a short and steady march toward disaster—there's even a tornado! Go into Night of The Mannequins blind; it's surely the best way to read this one.