Reviewed by D.Grîn

With his seventh novel creation, My Landlady the Lobotomist, Eckhard Gerdes proves once again that he is a modern master in the art of experimental fiction writing.

To be honest, the title and cover art for this book had me expecting a humorous offbeat horror story, even though, already familiar with the author’s previous works I should have known otherwise. It was the “otherwise” that I happily found within.

It is a delightful amalgamation of magic realism and fantastic satire. Multiple subplots intertwine; all expressed from the view of one unnamed protagonist, with each segment rich enough to exist as its own micro fiction, yet all bonded together so perfectly, poetically.

This story begins at Mrs. Lardenswill’s Boarding House, a bustling place of odd characters and an even odder proprietor. She is a lobotomist (as the title indicates) who collects the frontal lobe’s of past tenants in souvenir jars not for their ooey goodness, but for the essence of the emotions and/or idiosyncrasies once prominent to their previous owners. Uncontrollable rage, advanced psychosis, or even bad table manners, all set in jars, made mere objects… insignificantly collecting dust. The protagonist at this point interacts with each of the other boarders as individuals, analyzing… considering what affliction or fault might land their or his brain matter in one of her jars.

From here the story treats us to a cascade of metaphoric vignettes. I highly recommend this book on these pleasures alone, to immerse yourself in another person’s dreams. Yet, there is much to be felt in the subtext as well… this is about the human condition; man and society, the tragedy of unwavering yet unattainable love, the numbness of mediocrity, denial, sacrifice, passion and ultimately liberation.

From Dragonfly and the Blue Angelfish, one of the prominent storylines…

Dragonfly and the Blue Angelfish are wending their way through the woods together. Dragonfly floats along in the air above where the Angelfish is gliding through the water.
Overcome by his passion for her, Dragonfly puts his arms into the water and takes hold of Angelfish. He strokes her pectoral fins.
“These are so beautiful,” says Dragonfly.
“I always thought they were too small.”
“No, not at all. They’re perfect.”
Dragonfly carefully licks each.

From She-sus vs. Godzilla…

Of course, they were just the buzzing in my head. All of this is. I want it to go away. I want to stop thinking about her. What elaborate rituals must I go through to stop myself from missing her every day. Come back, I call out to an empty room, but no answer reverberates. Godzilla breathes fire at me from his poster, angered by my weakness. Kobaia rejects me not because I am a human from Earth but because I am a defective.
I am boiled in my own thoughts.
Oh, look, my shoelace is untied.

Enjoy this book for all of its visionary and literary delights. Or take it as deep as your mind will allow. For me, it was a blossom within chaos. For Mr. Gerdes, I think an important novel, a shining achievement.

V. Ulea is collecting fiction for a two fold project with a quantum works theme. Some of which will appear in a quantum dedicated edition of Sein und Werden and all of which will be featured in an upcoming anthology to be published by Crossing Chaos Enigmatic Ink. Read her manifesto here. It’s four pages long, so to get to the submissions address make sure to read through to the end. Pay is .04/word on unpublished work. Previously published? No problem, contributor copy.

Troglodyte Rose, temptress of my dreams, has her own home. Visit her now and again, and then come back here on July 1, 2009 for the full story. Troglodyte Rose