The marriage of form and content has never been healthier than in this darkly humourous rewriting of biblical and mythological parables. Rage of Poseidon brings a 21st-century perspective to iconic stories, from a first-person account of Athena’s drunken escapades to a three-frame retelling of Leda and the Swan to a single-frame that begins “So Jesus and Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, meet at a bar in heaven….” With a healthy dose of nihilism, eco-criticism and misanthropy, Nilsen’s sparse black silhouettes make effective use of white space, adding a layer of gravity to the cynical, satirical tone. These microfictions will have you smirking with disgust at contemporary society, and give your brain a much-needed workout. What’s more, the accordion-style pages and gorgeous casing make this book not only fantastically re-readable, but a true fetish item for bibliophiles.
This article appears in Nov 28 – Dec 4, 2013.