Content Management Powered by CuteNews

Nobody said comedy was nice. Ask any Ancient Greek and they'll agree with Mel Brooks' words, "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die." Ryan Boudinot takes this to heart in his debut short story collection, The Littlest Hitler. The book contains thirteen comic gems, most with varying degrees of black comedy in them. I first read the Boudinot's stories "The Littlest Hitler" and "Free Burgers For Life" in the 2003 and 2005 editions of The Best American Nonrequired Reading. And while the latter is sadly not included in this collection, the stories that do appear do not disappoint.

The darkest of these comedies could very well be episodes of The Twilight Zone: "Blood Relatives," a pair of stories featuring murderous parents; "Civilization," where college-bound youths are forced to kill their parents in order to matriculate at their first-choice schools; and "The Sales Team," which follows a gang of killer salesmen. One reads these stories and asks, "How can this be?" I'm shocked and appalled, yet still laughing.

Even the title story is somewhat dark as it follows a child who goes to school on Halloween dressed as Hitler (while South Park did this in its first season, Boudinot is much more witty about it). What a boy dressed as Mr. T says to the main character during class made me laugh out loud in the middle of Barnes and Noble. It was then that I said if this guy has a book, I'm getting it.

Despite his knack for black comedy, Boudinot is perhaps at his best when writing lighter fare. Stories such as "On Sex and Relationships" (in which a pair of couples get together for a night of Cranium) and "So Little Time" (where three teens prepare for a Dr. Who convention) really shine, providing warm reprieves from the other, darker stories. And, of course, my personal favorite, "Bee Beard," which follows a woman who shows up at work wearing a literal beard of bees.

It is an interesting and entertaining contrast that amid some dark, maniacal stories sit stories with moments of such tenderness, as the relationship between father and son in "Hitler," and the compassion for the poor kid in "So Little Time."

Not only does Boudinot juxtapose comedy and tragedy quite well, he'll pull the rug right from underneath you with one surprise moment. The narrators in stories such as "Drugs and Toys" and "Newholly" exist for the writer to further shock us. Then along comes a story like "Contaminant" that leaves the reader begging for a part two.

After finishing The Littlest Hitler, you will want more Ryan Boudinot. So be sure to check out "Free Burgers For Life" in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2005. Boudinot has also completed his first novel, Sperm and Egg to be published by Counterpoint in 2008.

by Michael Frissore

---