Tales From The Gas Station Volume 1-3 (Book Review)

Surrealistic fiction is a minor genre that denotes to stories where the fantastical and the absurd happens oftentimes in a seemingly contemporary, ordinary-like, setting, to the point that such absurdity becomes normal to the characters and the world itself. Inspired by early 20th century surrealistic art (originating from the mind of the great Salvadore Dali), it’s no question that surrealistic fiction is most common in comics and animated films and shows, like Regular Show, One Punch Man, and Scott Pilgrim. The genre sometimes overlap with other similar categories like post-modern fiction, parody, metahumor, pop culture fiction, and of course, comedy.

In the world of prose, only a few novels use surrealism in their story. It’s not easy illustrating the latter, which is primarily visual, through words and sentences. It also doesn’t help that such weird stories aren’t that eye-catching when it comes to literary agents and traditional publishers. Yet, throughout the recent years, there have been a few examples in the less strict and more liberated market of self-publishing. And in my opinion, the best novel or series that encapsulates the very essence of surrealism is Jack Townsend’s Tales from the Gas Station.

The series was originally published (and is still is being published) as a series of first person blogs. The character of the story, also named Jack, is a lonely gas station clerk who has to deal with weird events that happen in his gas station. These range from peculiar costumers, plants that are shaped like human hands, inbred mutated raccoons, and a ghost of a naked singing cowboy. Some of these events can be downright life-threatening, like Jack meeting with petty criminals who want to steal from his gas station, being transported to another dimension, or meeting a Lovecraftian-like dark god (who also likes to sport Mohawks). The opening paragraph of the first volume alone tells just how wacky Jack’s adventures will be. Another interesting theme of the story is the question whether or not these events are real or are just figments of Jack’s imagination, since we learn earlier on that he suffers from a fatal mental disability that prevents him from sleeping and creates psychosis.

So far, the blogs have been collected into four novels and I’ve read at least three of them. The second volume continues Jack’s story but now his supporting cast has been expanded to include Jerry, his happy-go-lucky partner who also serves as the antithesis to Jack’s stoic and asocial personality. While the second volume continues the same weird premise, it removed the element of Jack being an unreliable narrator and firmly establishes the world he lives in as truly a fantastical world.

While both the first and the second volumes are comedic in nature, the third one… is downright horror comedy. The author further expanded the mythology of Jack’s world, creating a universe dominated with gods, demons, and other macabre supernatural creatures. Jack’s mental health has also taken a toll due to becoming the owner of the gas station (and its massive debts, as well as whatever horrifying events are happening in it), to the point that he ends up killing one of his allies accidentally but brutally.

Jack’s story will continue in future blog posts and novels but the first three volumes have been a great enjoyment, from the wackiness of Jack’s world, the interesting characters, and also the tiny bits of drama sprinkled from chapter to chapter. That being said, it’s not a perfect story. As a self-published series, there are a few typos and grammar errors. Some readers might also get turned off by Jack, whose personality can be selfish, condescending, snarky, and irritating, especially when thinks he’s the smartest person in the room (even though he’s not, hell, he’s sometimes the dumbest).

Even so, it’s hard not to like such an entertainingly weird series. Whenever, genres get stale and similar, and whenever the common premise bores you, you can always try the sheer surrealism of Tales from the Gas Station.