Chamu Press, 2011.

376 pages/$17

Certain things in this world resist definite classification. Is Jello a solid or a liquid? Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? Add to this list Joseph S. Pulver, Sr.’s The Orphan Palace. Is it poetry or prose? A novel or an epic poem? The book is divided into chapters, features a protagonist and antagonist, as well as a cast of supporting characters, and there’s a definite beginning, middle, and end. The structure, however, often appears much more like lines of verse than paragraphs of prose, like this passage from the first chapter:

“At the end of the block he turns around, looks back at it. Knows what he’s got to do.

Shivers.

There’s fire in his eyes.

Thunder.

The need to tumble outta here.

Heart says away.

Wind’s headed East.

Cardigan thinks that’away.

First step.

That speed.”

At times, Pulver’s style builds momentum and carries a rhythm, but it can also be choppy and disorienting. The reason behind this strange mode of narration is the history and mental state of the protagonist, Cardigan. As a young boy, Cardigan spent several years at Zimms County Home For Orphaned Children, where he and his friends became victims of the twisted Dr. Archer, a man who claimed, “We can cure madness with volts.” Cardigan remembers his experiences with the volts as “lightning,” “the fangs of the Hounds of Tindalos,” or “the mindless WHITE burns,” and the electro-torture achieves the opposite of Archer’s intended effect. Continue reading →