twelve 11 thirteen

Returning from a late night run to the drugstore, Jervis Tidmouth witnesses a strangely disfigured man enter a neighboring apartment. Unsettled by the grotesqueness of the man's appearance and certain that a young woman lives in the apartment alone, he cannot rid himself of the thought that something may be amiss.

Increasingly convinced by discoveries made during the night, Tidmouth roils in indecision and fear, inching toward a confrontation as much with his own manifesting paranoia as with whatever truth he might uncover.

This one's a bit hard to review. For me. It seems others have no problem whatsoever. What I love/hate about D'Stair's work is how focused the stories are. You are given one character that will carry the story from beginning to its completion, all the while, all you know is only what that single character comes to realize, to think, or to feel. Meanwhile, there's an entire world revolving around him closing in. A lot of questions are left unanswered. Which is good. And bad.

There were a couple of reviews of 'twelve ELEVEN thirteen' that I enjoyed. The following by Darcia Helle was my favorite.

Pablo D'Stair's short novels are literary masterpieces that delve into the sudden madness of otherwise average people. His latest, twelve ELEVEN thirteen, takes his readers on a similar journey with unique characters and writing so vivid that you not only see it unfold in your mind but you hear it, taste it, smell it, and feel it.

In this story, we follow Jarvis, an average guy battling a nasty virus. One brief encounter sparks a thought that festers within his imagination, sending him into a gradual tumble of madness. As with his other novels, D'Stair does not supply all the answers. Instead, he supplies the portrait that allows readers to reach their own conclusions