“…make(s) the vast majority of efforts chronicling southern oddities seem ho-hum at best.”
Jim White – Singer, songwriter, artist, writer, filmmaker
“For aficionados of all things Southern, JD. Hollingsworth’s novel Frankenstein’s Paradox sits perilously close to various literary mountaintops—the characters, places and events all so vividly drawn as to make the vast majority of efforts chronicling southern oddities seem ho-hum at best.
Hollingsworth’s language veritably leaps off the page in ways both alluring and terrifying, like the swarm of paper wasps emanating from the massive front porch nest of the protagonists ne’er-do-well neighbors. And just let me add that any work of fiction that by its cataclysmic conclusion manages to land all its central characters in either the prison or cemetery is just fine by me.
Diving headlong into this humanizing parade of small town Southern eccentrics, one is immediately put in mind of fellow lunatic authors Barry Hannah and Harry Crews, but this effort most reminds me of Jack Butler’s vastly underrated Jujitsu for Christ. Hopefully Hollingsworth’s novel will at least equal Butlers cult status, if not eclipse it altogether, landing it smack dab in the mainstream where it rightfully belongs.”
“…a startlingly fabulous and funny book.”
Jonathan Mann – CNN International
“If you need something to just make you smile and marvel and be grateful, Frankenstein’s Paradox by JD Hollingsworth is a startlingly fabulous and funny book published by Casa Forte Press… You can buy it online at Bookshop.Org and ya oughta. It’s amazing. Did I mention it’s funny?”
“A fascinating read!”
Martha LaFollette Miller – Professor Emerita University of North Carolina at Charlotte
“With irony, subtle poignancy and humor, JD Hollingsworth explores alienation in late 20th Century America through inventively evoked sociocultural contexts. His characters—cynical loners, self-deluded dreamers or simply survivors—teeter on the edge between misfit and Everyman. In a world where meaningful bonding has failed, “the lonely, the horny, the angry and thirsty” seek human connection in in whatever tawdry or grotesque watering place they can find. Although Hollingsworth sets his stories in both the rural South and the urban North, his depiction of the denizens of an imaginary town in rural South Georgia is particularly brilliant for its portrayal of a layered multitude of social identities that historical forces have created. In Hollingsworth’s writing, material culture becomes a language in and of itself, and oral speech patterns , demeanor, and wardrobe and various other accoutrements form part of the peculiar and fascinating social discourse. A fascinating read!”
“JD Hollingsworth Is Back With Another Novel Only He Could Write.”
Pete McCommons – Flagpole Magazine
“There’s so much telling detail in every sentence that it doesn’t really matter if you have to look up a few words that elegantly exceed your vocabulary… This is a short book, but it is dense. Every sentence is freighted with images, as if written in illuminated letters. Once again, Hollingsworth brings us Middle Georgia characters who could not have been imagined in any brain but his, or maybe they imagined him.”
Read entire review here
“…some of the most memorable characters since A Confederacy of Dunces.”
Michael G. Perrow – author of “Five Sequences for the Country at Night.”
“JD Hollingsworth’s new novel brings some of the most memorable characters since A Confederacy of Dunces, deeply rural, uniquely southern, all looking for something that makes their cyclic lives worth the daily struggle in the small town of Utinahica. Which, in the case of Roosevelt “Gator” Franklin – damaged goods, a philosopher, careful observer of humanity and honest ex-con – is right under his nose, even as he wonders amid the cackling of nocturnal insects if the woman whose nose he’s just kissed might love him. With crackling word play and vocabulary, Hollingsworth weaves us through the tough times into the transcendent, then back again, with Gator who has learned the paradox of fire and smoke.”
“I found myself savoring every word and reading it more slowly to appreciate this work’s power.”
John Matney – Owner/Curator, Linda Matney Gallery”
“I loved this book for its superb character development and intriguing story steeped in southern folklore. Hollingsworth’s masterful use of dialect, humor, and plot twists was delightful.
Characters exude authenticity and richness akin to O’Connor’s work. I found myself savoring every word and reading it more slowly to appreciate this work’s power. This book will undoubtedly have a permanent place on my bookshelf, and I will reread it along with his other projects for years to come.”
CASA FORTE PRESS 