Dorothea #1 is a collection of short stories, seemingly unrelated. Do not be fooled. With the first story Mike Baker sets the tone for the rest of the collection. In “A Short Trip to the City,” he blends the innocence of youthful sexuality with the dark eroticism of violence and uses it as the starting point for an examination of the battle between life and death. The truest summary of this collection would be that it showcases the link between living, being alive and pain. The rudeness of life laughs in the face of death, while death, with its inexorable patience, will always win. The stories have no other common thread, and they take you to a variety of uncomfortable, exhilarating, and bewildering places. In his introduction and epilogue, Baker explains that he wrote this collection after the death of his mother, and it’s obvious that his pain and heightened state of grief has given him what he needed to produce a deeply moving zine. (J. Blackmore)
Litzine, Mike Baker, issue #1, $2.00, Mike Baker, 5666 Split Oak LN, Tallahassee FL 32303, [email protected]