Satisfy My Soul. (fiction reviews).

Satisfy My Soul
by Colin Channer
One World/Ballantine, February 2002
$19.95, ISBN 0-345-43789-6

In his sophomore novel and long-awaited follow-up to Waiting in Vain, writer Colin Channer tells the sizzling story of Carey McCullough, a moderately successful playwright and director, who is a sometimes cocky but mostly confused and kooky ladies' man.

More than just another tale about a sleazy bed-hopping lead character who gets his comeuppance, Satisfy My Soul is a smoldering love story with tantalizing dialogue and gritty text. While the story line holds together, the countless sexual exploits of Carey McCullough make for amusing reading.

This wildly entertaining novel demonstrates Channer's skills as a writer and storyteller, which have only gotten better since Waiting in Vain and his short story "I'm Still Waiting" that was included in last year's anthology Got to Be Real.

Channer's mastery of descriptive verse and strong voice are compelling. "To Sarah and her friends I was quite impressive--a Cambridge-educated Rastafarian new who had lived in Cuba," he writes. "To me, they were impressionable. They wore their boho hipness with the self-assurance of a clan of country cousins dressed in borrowed suits."

Satisfy My Soul is a solidly written book. And though Carey is quirky--a kind of psuedo-homeboy with dreads and attitude rather than intellect--it doesn't detract from the story line or Channer's splendid style.

--Glenn Townes is a New Jersey-based writer and regular contributor to BIBR.