Random Acts of Hatred

4/5 ( ratings)

In these raw, uncompromising stories, author George K. Ilsley explores the thin line between love and hate, and the outer parameters of desire that can both heal and destroy. Random Acts of Hatred infiltrates the dark confines of decidedly queer sensibilities, in which young men are undone by self-loathing and the powers-that-be, begging the question: What happens when people know they are hated?

And yet in between the primal fantasies and bitter ironies are images of humor and light: the wayward families, the unspoken gestures and the faces in the -mirror—of posers and dreamers, saints and demons. Both gay and straight, they suggest a new definition of masculine power as a field with two poles, dissonant and equal at the same time.

Evocative of Dennis Cooper and David Wojnarowicz, Random Acts of Hatred collects the fragments of a disintegrated generation, numbed yet empowered by their varied, inexplicable desires.

Praise for Random Acts of Hatred:

“In twelve sharp stories, George K. Ilsley grabs you by the heart and drags you around, saying, “Look at this mess.” He shames us with detail, and embarasses us with a dark honesty. Ilsley makes you bear witness to these Random Acts of Hatred then dares you to forget them.”—Michael V. Smith, author of Cumberland

“There are echoes throughout of Dennis Cooper’s poetic depravity, of A.M. Homes’ ironic eroticism, and even of Bernard Cooper’s memorish emotionalism—but Ilsley’s lucid prose is infused with invigorating originality . . . quite a range, evident in every one of these accomplished pieces.”—Richard Labonte

George K. Ilsley’s stories have been published in many anthologies and magazines. He has biked around the Adriatic, hitchhiked to Mexico, ambled through the Himalayas, and taught English in Tokyo. He now lives in Vancouver.