Review by Peter Syslo
DAYS AND NIGHTS IN SUMMERVILLE (2008) is another recent work by author G.L. Giles (available through Xlibris Publishing (www.xlibris.com). This is a very honest and introspective collection of articles, poetry, and short stories, by Giles, and I feel that I got to know her, through this work. She even goes on to explain, in the beginning, that she has become 'open' about being a Witch and about being a Vamp - she refers to her honesty and position as being a 'writer's platform' (which is an exciting idea; many creative types have a platform or philosophy behind their works but they rarely manifest it, openly). Since this collection consists of shorter works, I will just comment on each area, in order to give readers a feel for Giles' talent.
DAYS... begins with three non-fiction articles which discuss the following: getting your independent novel published and distributed; the concept of lightworking; and the relationship between religion and spirituality. All are very good articles which opened my eyes to some new knowledge (especially the lightworking - I am not that familiar with that; also the non-exclusivity of spirituality and religion was enlightening). But, the article which really captured my attention was the one entitled, 'My Advice on Marketing Your Nontraditionally Published Book'. This article was incredible and the strategies contained within could be an applicable to life in general. Basically, Giles advocates the Wiccan principle of the send/receive nature of Universal energy. In essence, the article is saying that you can create your own opportunities for success by the energy and effort that you put forth. If you work hard at it, even in the face of defiance (and you hav e a positive mental state), you can achieve your goals. I just feel that this article should be sent to all of the disgustingly entitled people in the U.S. who are currently waiting in line for the government to hand them money, without doing any work for it. Giles pens an incredible, active strategy for taking control of one's life and making the most out of it. This book is worth it, just for that one article.
The next section of DAYS contains some of Giles' poetry, focusing on various personal and societal topics. These were some of the highlights, for me: 'Purpose of Pain' is about that artistic process of turning pain into a positive creative force; 'Upper Middle Class' is a great encapsulation of human nature; 'Eclipse and Luna' is a heartfelt devotion to Giles' cats (I connected because of my beautiful and loving cats); 'Nocturnal'is about the creative person who works by night (as a guitarist, I am very familiar with that spark of creative fire after 9 P.M.); and 'Indigo Dracul', a poem that I do not completely understand but I really like the way that the words flow and I like the chant or 'incantation' type of rhythm - sometimes words are just aesthetically beautiful, beyond any literal meaning (it reminded me of a track on COF's 'Midian' album). In short, I feel that this section is filled with very honest and open expression, which I appreciated an d enjoyed.
The final two sections of DAYS consist of one 'microfiction' story and two short stories, respectively (for discussion, I am just grouping them together). The microfiction story, 'The Eternally Nightmarish Now' is a brief, surreal tale of life in the cyber-world. This story is also connected to one of the short stories, 'Third World', which expands upon being 'lost' in the cyber-world. However, the story which really hit me, was 'Nine Strippers'. It is a vampire tale, much like some of the side-stories in V3, but this one focuses on a single story thread, which is about a stripper who becomes a puberty-emerged vampire. Actually, it was reminiscent of a Polly Frost story, with the erotic-horror aspect to it. I really liked this story because it contained the 'thought-provoking' qualities of Giles' vampire world and it had that irresistibility of a story where an anti-hero is born. It really gelled for me and it was a great story.
Gnawing through the flesh: DAYS AND NIGHTS IN SUMMERVILLE is an excellent collection/sampler of Giles' writing. She is very talented and I look forward to her next vampire novel ,V4, which continues the story of Vladina. I thought that DAYS was a very honest expression of Giles true persona and I liked that - I like to connect with the author when I am reading and I like to learn what their 'platform' is. Also, I really enjoyed the pictures that were contained throughout; they definitely demonstrate the beauty of nature, in South Carolina, and they support the writing. I have no criticism of this work; it is an example of the power of taking charge of one's life and making one's dreams become a reality. It is based largely upon a Wiccan/Pagan concept but the work has a larger scope which can extended to anyone and it can have relevance to any task in life. I highly recommended the book to fans of Giles and/or newcomers to her work. Well done and I give DAYS AND NIGHTS IN SUMMERVILLE a 10/10.