Although it falls into Amazons Love Poems category, Heiko Juliens I Am Ready To Die a Violent Death seems to deserve a more general classification something along the lines of Books That Make You Feel Things. The new work blends Internet poetry with short stories, both believable and ridiculous, in a poignant, moving way.
I Am Ready To Die a Violent Death, Juliens literary debut, is a real accomplishment in contemporary storytelling. His ability to create new worlds and capture the modern experience of living with a unique approach is present on every page. This book, a combination of poetry, prose and short pieces that often read like tweets, includes stories that may be grounded in truth, as well as others that are purely hypothetical or blatantly disjointed. With titles like Sex Is Real and It Affects The Future and Love Is Enough Except When It Isnt, Julien thoroughly examines the everyday parts of life that most people thoughtlessly accept; therein lies his strength as a writer.
A member of the alt-lit genre of writers that includes author Tao Lin and blogger Steve Roggenbuck, both of whom he cites as influences, most of Juliens previous work has been published on the Internet. Between his own Tumblr and sites like Pop Serial and Thought Catalog, Juliens writing has been able to reach a larger audience. Indeed, I Am Ready To Die a Violent Death would not have been possible without the sharing that occurs online. Yet the fact that his first book was published in print with physical copies being sold on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble is almost ironic, since his previous chapbooks and ebooks garnered comments about being inherently unpublishable.
I Am Ready To Die a Violent Death shines the brightest when it uses sarcasm and juxtaposition to mock the modern human condition. Like the paradox of a fictional autobiography, the book forces the reader to consider that certain opposing elements exist within the same universe. Throughout his book, Julien urges his readers to avoid taking themselves too seriously, filling the pages with self-mockery to illustrate this point in action. This creates an effective balance that few in alt-lit have achieved.
One of the highlights of the book is the titular piece: a chapbook spanning 23 pages that became popular after it was posted on Reddit last year. This section features chapters that consist of mere phrases. One such example reads, If a meteor can take the dinosaurs away it can bring them back in what appears to be size 72-point font. The section also includes bits of wisdom that recall more traditional poetry and force readers question themselves. With lines like, I love you like a rabbit loves the fear, Julien fuses optimism and reality, while simultaneously providing readers with a new lens through which to interpret relationships.
Like all alt-lit texts, the informality of this book sometimes gives it the feel of a Facebook message or blog. More conservative readers or those who are unfamiliar with the style may be taken aback by the abrupt plot changes, seemingly random capitalization and gratuitous misspellings. In addition, chapters are broken up by digital collages of images covered in word art text. Notable examples include a picture of a crashing wave with the text Will Smiths wi-fi is called Linksys and there is no password and another picture of two silhouettes saying, You make me want to wear nicer pants and k.
With his new novel, Julien speaks powerfully and poignantly to a digital generation, making I Am Ready To Die a Violent Death one of the must-reads of the year.
