Rockstar, Stud, Gigolo

by Torrance Stephens

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0741414805
• ISBN13: 9780741414809
• Release Date: October 2010
• Publisher: Infinity Publishing (PA)
• Length: 132 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A fresh voice in fiction

Torrance Stephens has a very distinct style to his writing. At times, his prose almost seems like a lilting cadence; other times it's like a finely crafted speech, complete with pauses for applause. In his short story compilation ROCKSTAR, STUD, GIGILO, Stephens marries intelligent literary fiction with an element of grittiness and realism. My favorite piece in the collection was the first story, "Cutlass Daddies," and, consequently, my favorite line was the first. "My castle was the city and my fort was the street." This book abounds with funky fresh prose. I found myself marveling at both Stephens' poetic command of language and the fact that he is somewhat unsung; I hadn't read anything by him until this point. Other standout stories include "The Rockstar," the story of a -- well -- rock star, "Reciprocity," a short three page story that touches on platonic relationships, and "Wicked Ego Strokin'," the story that alludes to the adage that all is fair in love and war. While, at times, the various narrators in the collection seemed to have similar voices, I was still intrigued and elevated by them. I felt satisfied and enlightened by each of the stories; they were raw and different from the norm. Torrance Stephens not only thinks outside the box, he has stomped on it and left it lying on the concrete. Reviewed by CandaceK of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

Raw, real, dreadlocked and dangerous

Few writers can authenticate the shift between the erudite and the sounds of the street corner like Stephens can. On the turn of a few pages in ROCKSTAR, STUD, GIGOLO, Stephens goes from footnoting "diasporic" as "throughout this whole motherf@cker" to using a quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau for the preface to "Stud", one of the eponymous stories in the collection. Raw, real, dreadlocked and dangerous, Dr. Torrance Stephens should be standard reading for anyone wanting to learn more about the often side-stepped truths in modern American society. © 2005-2006 Edward J. Carvalho

A Tradition Continues

The writings of Torrance Stephen are consistantly of a high quality and definitely maintain the great Southern Black storytelling tradition. His prose carry phiosophical truths and folks wisdom woven into the text. "Rockstar, Stud, Gigolo" gives us another slice of his deft ability as a short ficiton writer, of course his essays are not to be slept on either. This book has been added to the required reading list for my courses in Black Lit and Folklore at UMass Dartmouth.

A definite must read..........

Rockstar, Stud, Gigolo, is a great collection of short stories. Torrance Stephens breathes life into his characters. He allows you to loose yourself in the characters lives and you feel as if you are apart of the story. This book is a definte must read.