Review: Signal Hill
by Michael Haislip

Alan Rifkin writes sentences that make me jealous. I want to absorb his skill and churn out page after page of his prose.

The opening line in his story “The Idols of Sickness” brims with a beautiful, truthful simplicity—“Hardly anyone opens a medical encyclopedia who isn’t looking for trouble.”

The first line of “Sonority”—“You never see Ann really let herself dance; in lieu of it, she gives little imitations.” Gorgeous.

Signal Hill is Rifkin’s first collection of short stories. He has the honor of being published by famed Beat artist Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s City Lights company. While focusing on the Los Angeles area, the stories don’t feel like L.A. stories. The characters seem to transcend their environs and avoid the big-city-devours-the-poor-loser cliche. A great read overall.

Michael Haislip is the editor of AntiMuse.