 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
John H. Richardson |
|
 |
|
Order In The Little World Here "a gutsy personal narrative ..." -The Austin American Statesman "a surprising glimpse into what it means to be different." -People Magazine "a Grade-A, 100% mindfuck of a book ..." -Acidlogic.com "A remarkable, deeply serious book ..." -The London Evening Standard "...entertaining and brutally honest ... this is a work whose significance will increase ..." -Library Journal WINNER of the Elle Magazine "Reader's Prize" "a compulsively readable, raw yet scholarly take on a marginalized side of humanity ... brilliantly illustrating the universal human experience ..." -Acid Logic By Wil Forbis March 16, 2002 I'd been thinking about the subject of dwarfs this past Christmas, as men are wont to do, when I happened to see a copy of John H Richardson's new book, In the Little World. I'd be lying if I didn't concede that part of me was thinking, "This should be good for a laugh." I started reading the book half expecting to be thrown into a world circus performers and three foot actors, with stories of flaming hoops and Austin Powers jokes. In the Little World has none of that. Instead, it is a Grade A, 100% mindfuck of a book. Richardson develops relationships with several dwarfs, and their experiences, combined with the travails of little people throughout history, hammer away at very concepts of good and bad, of fairness and bigotry. John certainly doesn't stay away from pointing a finger at the dwarf-o-phobe that lies within most of us, but neither does he lay out a simplistic, politically correct song and dance about how we should all love one another. Instead, John ask questions... of the reader, of society, or dwarfs and of himself. The result is not just a tome on the world of little people, but a heady look at beauty, sexuality, spirituality, politics, evil and the every other element of the complex glue that both unites us and keeps us apart. It's impossible to read this and not seriously question the tenets of the moral framework you apply to your life. Via the following phone interview, John shared his thoughts on the little world, the religion of the Internet and the politics of beauty ... "wonderfully done ... riviting storytelling ..." -Newsday "... if there's one thing that distinguishes Richardson, aside from his pleasurable alfresco style, it's remarkably impulsive honesty ..." -Kirkus Reviews "...when the little people take him to task after reading his Esquire story, the narrator free-falls into his own narrative. "You say you want the truth and you want to be treated like everyone else but you don't," he tells one critic." You just want more happytalk bullshit about big hearts in little bodies and how we're all the same under the skin and beauty is only skin deep and I'm not going to do it. It's a f----ing lie! This lapse could have been the book's great flaw, but it isn't. That's because the questions Richardson must answer about his own prejudices and relationships are the ones we all have to face, and they are much more interesting than the details of little people's Internet romances or the trouble they have climbing stairs. What begins as a clever, sometimes ironic peek into a subculture evolves into a dialogue about beauty, relationships and civility that is equally painful and dangerous for Richardson and his small friends." -The Ottowa Citizen read the Acid Logic interview |