Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet

Number 19

November 2006

Biannual

Review by Robert Duffer

Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet

Number 19

November 2006

Review by Robert Duffer

“Maybe all of our stories are really about love…saying ‘Beware: this is the terror that is love. Here there be monsters.’” This is taken from “You Were Neither Hot Nor Cold but Lukewarm, so I Spit You Out,” wherein the Famous and Talented Horror Author must confront the monster that nightly devours him.

Though the tenth anniversary issue serves up men imprisoned in tubs of cold water, a mysterious woman with dragon eggs, a midget mastermind of professional wrestling, a vanishing bride, a heartbroken drag queen, a troll, there is an undercurrent of love. The aforementioned story was written by a husband and wife team, Cara Spindler and David Erik Nelson (who co-founded and edits Poor Mojo’s Almanac(k)), presumably taking turns with the twisting narrative, which includes a Club-Footed Janitor brother who is really a cold-killing CIA operative, and several references to the Bible (aside from just the title). Katharine Beutner lists the things, both hot and cold, in “(Things) That Make One’s Heart Beat Faster.” Love of fellow man can be found in the opening story, “Tubs,” by Ray Vukcevich. Half-submerged in a tub the narrator fights the urge to step on the floor when someone else is out of their tub, resulting in a palsying shock to everyone, even the dead guy. “The Bride” insists on knowing how much her man loves her up to the wedding, when writer Kara Kellar Bell squeezes the poignant from the quirky. Andrew Fort does the same through a drag queen, “a silly old fag,” in “Lady Perdita Espadrille Tells a Story.” The entertainers in LCRW, including the editors, have fashioned a roller-coaster of a read that defies prediction. The ride may very well be about the terror of love.
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