Friday Fiction: My Date with Satan

Friday Fiction 11 comments

My Date with Satan coverMy Date with Satan: Stories
Richter
1999

Submitter: We are conducting a pretty thorough weeding of our adult fiction at our public library to make room for a new graphic novel section, and I found this short story collection as I made my way through the Rs. I have no idea how this “jewel” of a book survived in our collection until now.

The stories in this book are all quite bizarre, and I was disappointed to discover the jello mold on the cover does not actually appear in any of the stories themselves. The eponymous story involved a trip to a Sanrio store (apparently Satan likes Hello Kitty) and a dim sum dinner.

Holly: This story collection has the subject headings “humorous stories” and “popular culture.” Maybe it’s like a Christopher Moore type of read? Just guessing – I haven’t read the submitted title. I don’t know about anyone else’s public library, but I can name at least three patrons who would go for bizarre short stories like these. Publishers Weekly liked it too. Here’s a perfect example of “your mileage may vary.” Assuming submitter knows their community and their readers and their collection philosophy, this might certainly be an “awful library book” at their library! If nothing else, it’s funny, and sometimes we’re just after a laugh around here.

Date with Satan front flap

Date with Satan back flap

Date with Satan excerpt

Prodigy of Longing

11 comments

  1. This actually looks like a pretty funny book! And among the first to be yanked if certain school boards invade the library, I guess.

    1. They deserve to be suckt up into Ray Bradbury’s garbage disposal or decoyed with dog whistles to where they can be just pushed down the giant airbrush pumpkin for ever.

  2. I would actually read this! LOL. The weird cover image made me think it was from the era of jello “salad” – but it’s actually from 1999. There’s got to be a story behind the selection of that cover…

  3. I’m betting this didn’t circulate a lot in your average public library. Certainly what was hip and new in 1988 isn’t now.

    Also, I’m betting Satan was responsible for the cover, taken off one of the many scary cookbooks we’ve seen here.

    Stacey’s second and last collection of stories came out in 2008. Not real prolific.

    I found the title story online, and I wish I hadn’t. It is several kinds of disturbing, so I can see why she won literary prizes galore. You have been warned.

    http://fictionaut.com/stories/stacey-richter/my-date-with-satan

    1. Well, after that, I just had to click on the link!

      And… you were right. Not everyone’s cup of tea.

    2. They lost me at Hello Kitty supposed having “Liza Minnelli” eyes. Hello Kitty has little black dot eyes that are less expressive than anything with the possible exception of Olivia Wilde.

  5. Did you mistake it for a Jello cookbook from the 90s? More like My Dinner with Satan.

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