Litzine, Adam Thomlison, issue 5, 40-Watt Spotlight, [email protected]
The Lonely Man is the perpetual protagonist of the literary canon. Just look at Murakami or Kafa: This figure allows the narrative space for introspection and contemplation. Adam Thomlison proudly continues this tradition, sparsely populating his three pieces of flash fiction with a handful of lonely men. The prose is sparse and luminescent, coolly atmospheric, echoing the isolation of these suburban dwellers. Poetic phrases such as “maybe people aren’t afraid of the dark so much as loneliness is afraid of the light” are strewn throughout. With a cover made of photographic paper and uneven hand-cut pages fixed together with a single staple, the tiny zine feels as casual as the encounters depicted in the stories within. At the end of the volume the author includes a sincere letter of apology detailing the origin of the pieces and sending his regrets to the anonymous gas station customers that he had to inconvenience to do “research” for these pieces. It was certainly more fun to read than the usual list of grateful acknowledgments to people we have never met. Yet Another Last Thumbnail Picture Show feels like a photo taken with a point-and-shoot at night. You can’t make out much, only dark indistinct forms and a few spots of orange-ish light. And the feeling of being alone in a city tucked full of people is what you are left with. (Leanne Wang)