Nov 18
Werewolf Haiku by Ryan Mecum
Posted: under Reviews.
Tags: dogs, fear, monsters, Ryan Mecum, Werewolf HaikuNovember 18th, 2010
Last fall, Alison and I reviewed two books by Ryan Mecum.
The first, Zombie Haiku, is about a man who becomes a zombie. He keeps a journal of his transformation and all of his entries are written in 5-7-5 haiku.
Mecum’s second book, Vampire Haiku, is about a man who becomes a vampire. He also keeps a journal, and — again — all of his entries are written in 5-7-5 haiku.
This fall, Mecum released a third book, Werewolf Haiku. It’s about a man who becomes a werewolf, keeps a journal of the process and — yes — writes all of his entries in 5-7-5 haiku.
Mecum has obviously found a pattern that works for him. I’m just not sure it’s working for me.
Or maybe it’s the topic.
I’m not wholly opposed to werewolves. After all, if I had to come down on one side of the Twilight fence, I’d pick Team Jacob.
But the Team Jacob werewolves seem a lot tamer than the monster in Werewolf Haiku, who can only be described as out of control.
I mean, this guy eats his dog! And then writes haiku about it!
If one can get past
all the desperate barking,
raw dog tastes awesome.
I know, I know. He’s a werewolf and he’s just doing what’s in his nature. But still. His own dog?
I think I would have liked it better if the man had discovered some sort of deeper connection to the canine world when he transformed, like he could have discovered the ability to communicate with his dog instead of eating it.
On the other hand, the dog theme is cleverly tied into the werewolf’s human job. He’s a post man.
Mailman to werewolf.
Takes the phrase “going postal”
to a new level.
He was on the job when he got bit by the “dog” that turned him. And it is a woman from his postal route that is his undoing. But I can’t spill the beans on the ending. If you’re curious, you’ll just have to check out Werewolf Haiku for yourself.
Read our interview with Ryan Mecum.