Black Rock White City, by A.S. Patrić

I’m always really pleased when an author makes the leap from producing acclaimed short stories to writing a full length novel.  (I know, I know, short stories are not a lesser form, but they are often part of the pathway to publishing novels – and novels are what I like to read).   A.S. Patrić is an ‘edgy’ writer, and IMO the longer form of Black Rock White City allows that edginess to flourish in a way that his shorter works have hinted at.  (See my reviews of Las Vegas for Vegans, and Bruno Kramzer).

Set in the suburbs of Melbourne at the turn of the last century, Black Rock White City opens with a hospital cleaner, Jovan, tasked with the removal of graffiti that keeps mysteriously appearing throughout the hospital.  This graffiti takes various forms and becomes increasingly menacing, triggering consequences that shock the reader out of the complacency that comes…