My Life in Heavy Metal explained

My Life in Heavy Metal is a short story collection by Steve Almond published in 2002 by Grove Press. The bulk of the stories are about young men, in their twenties exploring their lives.^[1]

Stories

1. My Life in Heavy Metal - the sexual exploits of a rock critic who attends a Metallica concert at which "the bassist introduces himself by farting into his microphone"
2. Among the Ik - a widowed anthropology professor remembers a dead student
3. Geek Player, Love Slayer
4. The Last Single Days of Don Victor Potapenko - the comical adventures of an aging lothario
5. Run Away, My Pale Love
6. The Law of Sugar
7. The Pass
8. Moscow
9. Valentino - Iowa teenage boys talk about beauty and love
10. How to Love a Republican
11. Pornography
12. The Body in Extremis

Critical response

The Guardian found a mix of "hip social satire" and sentiment, calling it "perverse, poetic, odd".^[1] Ann Bauer was less pleased with its uneven combination of "sappy poetry" and "bold narrative prose".^[2] Patrick Sullivan found an "easy authenticity" in the tales.^[3]

Previous publications

The stories were previously published separately in the following magazines:^[4]

• My Life in Heavy Metal, and How to Love a Republican, were published in Playboy.
• Among the Ik, was published in Zoetrope: All Story.
• Greek Player, Love Slayer, was published in the Missouri Review.
• The Last Single Days of Don Victor Potapenko, was published in Another Chicago Magazine.
• Run Away, My Pale Love, was published in Ploughshares.
• The Law of Sugar, was published in The Denver Quarterly.
• The Pass, was published in the New England Review.
• Moscow, was published in the North American Review.
• Valentino, was published in Other Voices.
• Pornography, was published in Boulevard.
• The Body in Extremis, was published in the Anthology the Ex-Files.

External links

• Publisher Grove Atlantic's page

Notes and References

1. King, D., "The Geek's Revenge", The Guardian, November 23, 2002, http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/nov/23/featuresreviews.guardianreview11
2. Ann M. Bauer, "My Life in Heavy Metal" (Review), City Pages, Apr 17 2002, Web site: Steve Almond: My Life in Heavy Metal - Page 1 - Books - Minneapolis - City Pages . 2012-04-19 . dead . https://archive.today/20130119065357/http://www.citypages.com/2002-04-17/books/steve-almond-my-life-in-heavy-metal/ . 2013-01-19 .
3. Patrick Sullivan, "Review", City Paper (Baltimore), 6/11/2003, http://www2.citypaper.com/arts/review.asp?rid=5289
4. Almond, S. (2002). "My Life in Heavy Metal", New York: Grove Press.