Old School by Dan O’Shea

And from boys on the cusp of manhood to hardened criminals on a mission to fathers willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to provide for their families to a tougher than nails septuagenarian granny, there’s a lot of old school attitude flying around in the fourteen stories that make up this take no prisoners collection.

Sometimes the ‘getting on with it’ is poignant and noble (“Shackleton’s Hootch,” “Exit Interview”), other times it’s nefarious (“Pink Cadillac,” “Thin Mints,” “Two Phones”), and still others it’s just downright necessary (“The Summer of Fishing,” “Absalom,” “Purl Two”). In every instance, however, it’s absolutely pitch-perfect.

For a man that claims he initially found the concept of writing a 1,000 word story impossible (“I’m pretty sure I’ve written sentences that long.”), O’Shea nevertheless proves himself to be a master of the genre, with not a single beat out of place or word wasted. The people in O’Shea’s Old School world are as blunt and brutal as O’Shea’s writing, doing exactly what is required of them with grim acceptance and without a second thought. The result is a collection of stories which demands to be paid attention to, stories whose visceral starkness resonate undeniable truths about the world. And even though that world is often ugly, O’Shea’s writing is always sublime.

Old School is available from Snubnose Press.

Dan has graciously allowed me to present an audio version of one of the stories from Old School for your listening pleasure. Please enjoy Dan’s lovely voice as he reads his story, “Exit Interview.” (NSFW)