Dan Flore III’s “Everything Must Go” is a raw and unflinching exploration of human experience, delving into themes of mental illness, desperation, and the absurdity of life. But this absurdity is unlike Beckett’s. It is more substantial and animated.
This flash fiction follows multiple styles of writing—prose, poetry, and letters. A letter can be written to someone else, and a letter can be written to oneself. Each piece resonates passionately, inviting his readers to face their demons. Dan’s rebellious pen raked and ravaged the chaotic landscape of human experience.
John Yamrus’s forward sets the tone of the book, emphasizing Dan’s enigmatic nature and lack of filters in his work. Sometimes, the author’s tone sounds overwhelming, sarcastic, and humorous and other times dipped with pathos: “My wife and I needed groceries. For once poetry wasn’t just a miracle of the page.”
Dan’s approach is brutally honest. He does not shy away from imagining a lady’s ass as ‘red candy heart lollipops’ and wishes it to be real rather than a mirage. His “Buying My Book at A Gas Station” is sliced with raw humour:
“My friends never buy my books cause I think they think I can just give ’em one which I can’t.”
“That One Time I Made Money Off of Poetry” is brutally honest in portraying poverty. Uncomfortable obsession or an internal battle with self-worth seem true to their core in his writing. Stories like “Postcard from My Sickness” and “Filling for Bankruptcy of the Soul” capture the loneliness and despair of mental illness with a stark beauty.
His sense of humour is poignant and transforms even the darkest moments palatable. “Bullshit Insurance” and “Buying My Book at a Gas Station” showcase his ability to find humour in the struggles of life.
This book demands patience and willingness to sit in discomfort. Sex, addiction, and self-destruction are integral to the theme and overall purpose of the book. The frankness of sex talk, mental illness, and addiction may seem too unpolished and gritty but ultimately these blunt voices animated the human emotions most vividly. That’s why the author can ask to take his tears or express his desire to meet God in someone’s false eyelashes.
Dan’s voice is both confessional and philosophical. He writes with a sense of urgency. The use of imagery and metaphor is praiseworthy. He welcomes rain as a cleansing force. He can evoke strong emotions through simple yet powerful vocabulary: “I wanna burn the roses. I want to hit mute. I moan into the night. I don’t wanna know the world anymore.” The desperate desire for transcendence is evident in his voice. Again, the duality of pleasure and pain permeates his work, “I wanna feel the shrill. Why do I respond to hell?”
Dan’s characters are flawed yet relatable, struggling with their insecurities and desires in an indifferent world.
Unconventionality in theme as well as expression defines Dan. His enigmatic prose that mimics the unpredictability of life can make the readers laugh and unsettled at the same time. The book is a perfect choice for those who appreciate literature that challenges conventions and denies personal boundaries. Each vignette turns into a visceral journey that keeps resonating inside you even when you turn the last page. Dan’s voice reminds me of Charles Bukowski. They are on the same board in their unflinching authenticity of expression.
