The Glue Ponys: Short Stories by Chris Wilson

Of all the elements of a book which might kindle our interest, the positioning of an author’s biography rarely so much as prompts a raised eyebrow. But in the case of Chris Wilson’s short story collection The Glue Ponys, it is telling that Wilson’s biog sits on the back cover, neatly following on from the blurb. The implication that we should somehow value Wilson’s short stories about ‘the lost and wandering of America’ the more for knowing that the author himself spent years ‘living in the streets and prisons of the USA.’

The Glue Ponys is populated by misfits, hustlers and heroin addicts. Wilson is no romantic, and their tales are rarely pleasant, rarely pretty: this is no feel good read. While short stories frequently revolve around a moment of revelation or redemption, here, life is cyclical and the only redemption sought is the clarity of a clean hit. Other features of the genre, though, are skilfully brought into play to depict life on the margins of society: Wilson is a master of the unspoken and the fragmentary, and his characters often remain unnamed, unsure of where they are going or how they will get there.

The best of Wilson’s short stories are reminiscent of Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side. The worst feel repetitive and relentless, their depiction of prostitution and abuse veering dangerously close to titillation. [Annie Rutherford]