Earwig is one weird book of short stories. I can barely say "stories" in the plural form as there's only two of them in here. Be that as it may, the stories Earwig and Jack Nicholson is Santa Claus are surprisingly entertaining for literary fiction (a style of writing I tend to stay away from thanks to one too many obsessed teachers).

Book Title: Earwig
Book Author: Darryl Mockridge
Book Publisher: Estuary Publications
Release Date: March, 29 2011
Retail Price: $9.00
Buy it at: CreateSpace

The main story revolves around Henry, an average enough person, married to Sylvie. That normality starts slipping away after an earwig takes up residence in his skull. Now it's not like those ear cockroaches from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan where it'll eat a man's brain and make them do mutinous things. This earwig manages to alter Henry's ability to retain memories (for the better), his ability to pick up new skills (for the better), and seems to heighten his agitation towards Sylvie's father (not for the better).

Poor Henry just can't seem to defeat Sylvie's father, Mr. Bouleau, in ping pong (the manliest of manly sports known to man). I never really pictured Frenchmen being ping pong extraordinaires. Then again, I never bothered with the sport so who am I to say who would and would not be interested in it?

An added bonus is a second story, titled Jack Nicholson is Santa Claus, which, for the record, is an awesome title for a story. When was the last time you appreciated Santa Claus and all he's done for you? Getting you the gifts you wanted (if you deserved it.) Those don't come cheap or easy, you know.

This was definitely one of the weirder books I've read recently, but in a good way. I'm a fan of unusual humor. One thing I will hold against it is the font. Reading 200 pages of typewriter-esque blocks of text made me take several breaks while reading the two stories. It's just not pretty or easy to look at. Not sure if the font was intentional, or if it's just the way that particular publisher rolls, but I was not a fan.

Then again, if the font is really the only problem I have against a book, that's a sign of a good writer. Both stories were entertaining to read and I was engaged with the main characters to see how the plot progressed for each one.

I'd recommend this book to those that like short stories that are a tad unusual. It's not genre fiction, despite the concepts of brain altering earwigs and Santa Claus ranting in a comedy club. It's worth checking out, though.