The Menstruating Mall

by Carlton Mellick III

Book Overview

Ten ridiculously stereotypical consumer victims (a yuppie, a housewife, a retiree, a jock, a bible thumper, a cowboy, a preppy, a gamer, a goth, and a white suburban gangsta) find themselves unable to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0976631008
• ISBN13: 9780976631002
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Eraserhead Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Mellick's Menstruating Horror Comedy

This short novel is Mellick's Americanization of the classic French film by Luis Bunuel "The Exterminating Angel" about a group of aristocrats at a luxurious dinner party who find themselves unable to leave the premises at the end of the night for no reason other than lack of will. Nothing is holding them back. They just refuse to leave. For days, they remain at the party even after they run out of food and water and are reduced to savages fighting to survive. In "The Menstruating Mall," this brilliantly absurd satire is updated with a twist. Rather than a group of French aristocrats at a dinner party, Mellick's tale is about a group of American suburbanites in a shopping mall. Unable and unwilling to leave the mall, the ten suburbanites are killed off one by one "Ten Little Indians" style by a mysterious slayer. But that's just the beginning. With each death, the plot and setting grow more surreal, eventually to the point of otherworldliness. PROS: 1) The sarcastic narrative and over the top characters are hilarious. Especially Cedric, the 14-year-old white suburban gangsta, desperately trying to prove his "blackness," and the yuppie narrator who happens to be the world's largest Leonardo Dicaprio fan. 2) The subtle shift in the mall's setting from real world into a wacked-out surreal world is very satisfying and unusual for Mellick (he's rarely subtle with strangeness). 3) The moronic drawings are entertaining in a so-stupid-they're-genius kind of way. I'm sure only a few people will be able to "get" the drawings and will see them as nothing more than 3rd grade toilet graffiti, but I get the irony and think they are hilarious. 4) Though short, this book would make a great movie. In fact, you can read it in one sitting just like watching a movie in your head. Only the story is so completely off-the-wall compared to Hollywood films. This is the kind of thing you'll only find within the pages of small press books. CONS: 1) If you go into this looking for a good mystery, you will be disappointed. The mystery isn't the point of the story and by the time the killer is revealed you'll be more interested in the strange creature that lives in the movie theater or the motionless crowd of blank-faced people in the parking lot. 2) The large font. Don't be fooled by the 212 page count. This book should be a 100 page novella, but the 14 point cartoony font bulked it up to twice its actual size. 3) You might not like the simplistic language style that the author uses. It's very similar to that of a children's book, along the lines of Lewis Carroll or L. Frank Baum. If you read enough Mellick books, his minimalistic style tends to grow on you. But those new to his work might be confused by this simplistic approach. It might be simple, but it's also complex-simple if you know what I mean. 4) Most intellectual readers who take literature very seriously probably won't get past the moronic drawings and pointless gore-sex to be able t

Squiggy's House Of Pudding offers Toilet-Flavored Éclairs!

Okay, I understand this is a obtuse book with a silly name, but the gross-out entertainment value is absolutely priceless. Carlton Mellick III is one of the most interesting, and sick, punk-authors I've ever read. From gross-out horror to cyber-punk, Mellick holds nothing back. John is a stereotypical corporate climber and satisfied consumer. He loves shopping at the mall, until he discovers he can't leave. No one is stopping him; he simply can't bring himself to walk out the doors. At first, he believes he is afraid to get the gooey, red-rust fluid leaking from the pipes on his expensive new shoes, but as he discovers there are others just like him, others who cannot bring themselves to leave the mall, his strange compulsion turns to fear. Ten people, stuck in the mall, and now they are alone because everyone else suddenly disappears. But being unable to leave isn't their worst problem: someone is murdering them one-by-one, and the only way to save themselves is to stop being stereotypical. Mellick is an acquired taste, horribly demented in a talented, wickedly entertaining way; a taste you simple must sample. I can't think of many other authors able to twist reality so sickly, and still inject enough humor for some truly torturous belly chuckles. Mellick's style is fresh and unique, using overly-simplistic prose at the beginning of the story to a wildly fantastical conclusion, Mellick paints with words and prose John's transformation from caterpillar to butterfly, stereotypical to outlandish, real to surreal. 'The Menstruating Mall' is sarcastic humor and commercial parody at its absolute finest. You need a twisted sense of humor, and should have an appreciation for poo jokes in order to fully enjoy the illustrations of advertisements interspersed throughout the book. And don't forget, at S'Barro Pizzeria, there are amputated noses free with every purchase! If you like gross-out horror, punk, or dark comedy, then don't miss out on this highly entertaining look into our era's perverse commercialism. I highly recommend this book, but caution those with weak constitutions to make sure there is a barf bag nearby. Enjoy!

Food court for thought...

Menstruating Mall is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I've read some of CM3's work before, and I feel that his writing is evolving quite well for his chosen genre and style. I found the novel to be entertaining because it to offered some interesting food for thought. The extreme stereotypes were well used to illustrate the point of the satire. And I found this to be a satire in the truest sense of the word, that being "a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn" or "trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly". Some of the points were laugh out loud funny, others were bitingly sarcastic and even painful to read. I'll admit that the voice of the narrator threw me off initially. At first it seemed a lot more simplistic than I would expect from one of Carlton's stories. But as I dug deeper I understood why it was presented that way. It fit that character's stereotype. It's an examination of stereotypes to the point of absurdity. The characters filled their roles well. They were bizarre and familiar at the same time. They were caricatures brought to life. Overall, I enjoyed reading Menstruating Mall. I'm glad that people I trust recommended it to me.

Truth in Stereotypes

This book was so much fun that I read it in one sitting, and this is a rarity for me. For me, the book is a surrealist account of the evolution of mankind if we lived in a mall rather than on planet Earth. Although I would thoroughly despise the main character if I met him in person, he is written so well that he's probably my favorite character of all the Carlton Mellick books that I've read. And the illustrations are great! This is one of my favorite books by this author. Carlton's writing keeps getting better and better and I foresee works of brilliance in his future.

Dark satire that becomes even darker surrealism...classic.

This is one cool book. I had eagerly anticipated reading Mellick's new novel, as I am a fan of his work. The payoff was worth the wait. A satirical tale that turns into dark surrealism by the books end, I found myself wrapped up in the story and didn't put it down until I had savored every word. Of all of Mellick's work, this has to be my new favorite. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is familiar with Mellick's work, and suggest it for consideration for his new readers. It'll make a new fan out of you.