The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson

Denis Johnson - Cancer Sun, Virgo Moon, Unknown Rising

Incredible collection of short stories written right before his death and published posthumously. His writing is deceptively simple. The sentences seem straightforward, but turn devastatingly hilarious or sad on a dime. He has the Cancer love for underdogs and rejects. I laughed out loud reading “The Starlight on Idaho,” a series of letters from a man in rehab. It was the story “Triumph Over the Grave” that took my breath away though. I finished it and immediately re-read it. I could say it’s a reflection on mortality, but it’s not necessarily looking back. The confrontation is happening in real time. It’s incredible.