Jack Pendarvis

Sex Devil rides again

Jack Pendarvis’ first collection of stories, The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure, heralded a new, brightly twisted voice in Southern humor. (Read “Sex Devil,” and after you convulse, you can buy me a drink.) In those stories, Pendarvis displayed his sure hand for character and knack for knowing humor.

Now comes his second collection, Your Body is Changing, and in it, Pendarvis serves notice that he has raised his game into what we high-brows call “literature.” These stories shimmer with real life while reveling in their characters’ absurdities.

In the title novella, an owl flies through a home, and you care about the carnage while guffawing, thanks to Pendarvis’ unerring, deadpan narration. His sentences spiral into surprising places much like the off-kilter music of NRBQ, a band that always hits the unobvious note. ‘Good’ funny is rare indeed, and Jack Pendarvis puts brains and heart behind the book’s many laughs.