A review by R J Dent
Michael McAloran’s paralysis gestures could be a book of lyrics by David Bowie; it could be a cut-up novel based on texts by William S. Burroughs and/or by Samuel Beckett.
‘… take up thy bones & rot…’ says the novel’s narrator, in the midst of a series of urgent missives from the future to an often inattentive present.
paralysis gestures, in its form, in its content, and in its minimalist style, is a novel of mordant epigrams.
‘…failure in suicide is also one of the greatest of shames…’ says the Shakespeare-parodying narrator on page 40. The pages of paralysis gestures are filled with prayers for the living or curses for the dead, and often both simultaneously.
And those words, which could have been taken directly from Scott Walker’s great unwritten novel, also tell us a great deal about Michael McAloran’s ongoing project with language, and how he has to mute the multiple meanings of words in order to extract one potent singular meaning. It’s a risky experiment, but in paralysis gestures, the experiment works and the language lives. And dies. And is resurrected.
Reading Michael McAloran’s paralysis gestures is a painful, but cathartic experience. It is the perfect twenty-first century novel.
The last words of this review are, perhaps fittingly, by the author of paralysis gestures:
‘…dead zones no not a…nothing ever of…no not on…nothing next to follow…burns all the while in citrus flame…paralysis gestures &…breakage of what matter…’
paralysis gestures by Michael McAloran is published by Oneiros Books and is available here: https://blackwormmedia.co.uk/poethicks?fbclid=IwAR1jLPxCg9cTVhhIqZLaOgJkgc6KQc-p3ghH1KXEfuTFVZaCHipt_rYqcOA
Michael McAloran is a poet and novelist. Details of his works are available here: https://mcaloranmichael.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_5.html
R J Dent is a poet, novelist and translator. Details of his works are available here: http://www.rjdent.com/
R J Dent 