Sayville Tales by Lawrence Jay Switzer is a collection of short stories that forms a complete whole. It is an experience to savour. This piece is a modern compilation worthy of Chaucer with satire reminiscent of Swift. I thoroughly enjoyed this densely packed smorgasbord of tales, think-pieces, and random explorations. To use Switzer’s own words, this is “Literature with a capital L and a top hat.” I’ll even add, Literature (not just dressed up, but) at its best.
I thoroughly enjoyed Switzer's satire. Nothing is safe, not even the bagel. The satirical humour is also beautifully done because it really gets the reader to think about things we tend to take for granted. Switzer achieves a change of perspective worthy of an anthropologist. One of the accomplishments anthropologists strive for is to make the unknown known and the known unknown. Switzer pulls it off with a stroke of genius, making the complexity of the Sayville Tales funny and simultaneously thought-provoking. There is a subtle art to satire, and Switzer has mastered it. He is eminently worthy of comparison to Jonathan Swift.
This modern-day revision of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is a roller-coaster ride, or should I say—train ride—where nothing is sacred—especially not the devil (I’ll get back to him in a moment). Nothing, and I mean nothing, is sacred. Switzer even-handedly razes and reconstructs life in the twentieth century in all its sordid glory. The parallel to Chaucer’s tales runs even deeper. I might even say this is a modern-day retelling of those medieval tales. It is the update we need for our technologically infested era. Although, just having the parallels wasn’t enough for Switzer. In the nun’s dream, he overtly refers to the caravan travelling to Canterbury with Chaucer at its head. I'll say it again: genius!
Now, back to the devil. To use a common Swedish expression, the devil is the “red thread” of this compilation. I am not much familiar with medieval literature on the devil in the English-speaking sphere, however, I have come across it in Spanish literature and The Sayville Tales fits into this body of work very beautifully. Again, it updates things for the twenty-first century but maintains the important elements that characterise this literary genre from the middle ages. Most of the tales and other short think-pieces are humorous to a point, but then things get eminently serious, just like Satan is a fun tool to scare children with until he’s a real part of your devilish existence...
One of the switches in tone is Mrs. Lincoln’s film review, which is honestly one of the deepest critical pieces I have ever read. It was poignant and just sooooooooooooooo deep.
Epic and unapologetic. Switzer drives home truths with a well-fletched arrow and there is no escaping the targets he aims at. The Sayville Tales is funny, yet deep and meaningful. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the classics in the canon of English literature.
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