Love Like Bleeding Out with an Empty Gun in Your Hand: Poems and Stories

 “A single tear ran from the corner of his eye, slid down his cheekbone and dropped on the open collar of his shirt creating a small dark mark like a cigarette burn. Another formed in the corner of his eye and I caught it with my thumb, wiped it away.”

– Stephen J. Golds, Hara-Kiri

🕴️I received an e-ARC of this story in exchange for a fair review. Love Like Bleeding Out With an Empty Gun in Your Hand (2021) will publicly release on the 30th April!🕴️

So recently the publisher of this book, Close to the Bone Publishing, got in touch and inquired about whether I’d be interested in joining the book tour for this ahead of release day on the 30th of this month. I’ve read one novel from them in the past, and have had my eye on several other past releases from this prolific publishing house, so was more than happy to join their first tour. Golds was not an author I’d heard of or was familiar with prior to reading this one, but after doing so I’d definitely be eager to track down more of his work, as this was just superb.

Stephen J. Golds’ magnificently titled Love Like Bleeding Out With an Empty Gun in Your Hand is a book divided into two very distinct sections. The first comprises most of the book’s length and is a collection of short fiction pieces, which are often of a crime/noir flavour, though there are plenty of other concepts and themes at play here too. Indeed, for many of these works it feels remiss to pigeonhole them as belonging to one particular genre; rather, they are complex, nuanced and believable pieces that provide a lot of food for thought, and are sure to linger long after finishing. The second section is comprised of assorted poems, and these continue to provide the same variety as the short fiction does and in the same moreish prose.

Despite the wide variance on offer, this collection does not feel disjointed. On the contrary, each story complements the next, and certain recurrent themes flow through and bind them together. Quite a few of the stories were what might be labelled as vignettes; by which I mean they were short but highly descriptive scenes depicting a very particular moment, rather than a more conventional, ‘beginning, middle, end’ narrative. Many of them were just that, but some, as I say, were these little snapshots into the characters’ lives. I enjoyed the vast majority of these quick ‘scene’ stories, though sometimes I was left wanting a bit more, and found the ending’s occasionally abrupt.

The stories within really ran the gamut of genres, themes and emotions – as mentioned earlier, many are of a crime or noir focus, and as the title might suggest, many are also about love and relationships, heartaches and breakups. Regret and guilt are also interlaced through most of the pages, forming the lifeblood that runs through the veins of the collection. There are also tales of vengeance, sorrow, and even comedy, so to say Love Like Bleeding Out offers something for everyone feels a like something of an understatement; I think you’d be hard-pressed not to find something worthwhile within these pages.

I couldn’t fault Golds’ writing whatsoever, it really was exceptionally good. This is the kind of assured, confident authorial voice all writers aspire to have, a honed mastery of language and sharp, enthralling prose. In his foreword, author John Bowie notes, “...if you’re a writer too, let the brain engage and study – there's no better teacher. He’s a modern master of crime, noir and dirty realism.” and I’d have to say I agree on both fronts – Golds’ talent is undeniable; his writing is raw, unflinching and very emotionally resonant. As I writer, I feel there is indeed much to be gleaned in these pages, and expect I will be revisiting this collection to pore over the wonderful text.

It’s nigh on impossible to pick a handful of favourites from this stellar book as each and every story had something to love, but I’ll attempt the task nonetheless and narrow down my three personal highlights. The second story, titled Hereafter, is about an ex-hitman who becomes disillusioned with the fact that times have changed and he got left behind, and is determined to go out in a blaze of fire. Cold-Hearted, the tale of two lovers-on-the-lam labelled by the media as ‘Generation X’s Bonnie & Clyde’, was an excellent tale of a passionate love affair that turns out to be more one-sided than first expected, with a brilliantly dark conclusion. Hara-Kiri tells the story of a Second World War solider, who muses on life and conflict in the company of a dying Japanese officer whose act of hara-kiri did not go entirely to plan. This was perhaps my favourite story of all, with so much being communicated without having to actually say much at all. A few of the other excellent stories I wholeheartedly loved were Store Mannequins, Fingers Through Dirt, Table and My Dying Love.

Those are just some of the truly fantastic shorts on display in this book, and that’s to say nothing on the sublime poetry too, which is equally as refined and interesting. All things considered, this is a powerfully written collection – by turns sad, chilling, poignant and funny – and a total punch in the gut from both an emotional and literary perspective, from the first page to the last.

VERDICT: Love Like Bleeding Out With an Empty Gun in Your Hand really is an extraordinarily great collection of short fiction and poems, and one that I’m very glad to have read. As mentioned, not quite every story clicked with me personally, but there certainly isn’t a bad egg among them. Golds’ writing is practically flawless – I’ll be checking out more of his stuff for sure, and I hugely recommend picking this up come release day.

It’s a ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ from this reviewer. I also want to say a humongous thank you to both the author Stephen J. Golds and publisher Close to the Bone Publishing for providing the e-ARC and giving me the chance to read and review it early.