The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break: A Novel

By: Steven Sherrill

Narrated by: Holter Graham

Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Award-winning author, narrator, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman personally selected this book, and, using the tools of the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), cast the narrator and produced this work for his audiobook label, Neil Gaiman Presents.

A few words from Neil on The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break: "When Steve and I talked about the ideal voice for M, he suggested Holter Graham….because 'Holter’s handling of the Minotaur’s grunt was PERFECT. Exactly what I heard in my head.'"

Five thousand years out of the Labyrinth, the Minotaur finds himself in the American South, living in a trailer park and working as a line cook at a steakhouse. No longer a devourer of human flesh, the Minotaur is a socially inept, lonely creature with very human needs. But over a two-week period, as his life dissolves into chaos, this broken and alienated immortal awakens to the possibility for happiness and to the capacity for love. "Sherrill also insinuates other mythological beasts - the Hermaphroditus, the Medusa - into the story, suggesting how the Southern landscape is shadowed by these myths. The plot centers around the Minotaur's feelings for Kelly, a waitress who is prone to epileptic fits. Does she reciprocate his affections? As the reader might expect, the course of interspecies love never does run smooth." (Publishers Weekly) Steven Sherrill created the artwork used for the audiobook edition of The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break.

To hear more from Neil Gaiman on The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break, click here, or listen to the introduction at the beginning of the book itself.

Learn more about Neil Gaiman Presents and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX).

©2000 Steven Sherrill (P)2011 John F. Blair Publisher

pure poetry

it is obvious that author is a poet, not a wasted word. fantastical read and something that I have gone back to multiple times. all the STARS possible.

This Book made me miss the South

What made the experience of listening to The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break: A Novel the most enjoyable?

I loved the premise of the book firstly--as an Ancient History major and genuine Souther Girl, this book combined my roots and the end product is both fantastic and believable.

What other book might you compare The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break: A Novel to and why?

I have really never read anything quite like it. It's pure myth grounded in the very real and visceral south with a good side helping of southern cooking thrown in the mix. The result--tantalisingly delicious.

What does Holter Graham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The voices of the characters come through more vividly--this makes the story itself more believable than it would be just taking place inside your own head.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, and I did

Any additional comments?

I'm a big fan of most of the Neil Gaiman Presents books, but this stands out as one of my favourites. I look forward to reading more Sherrill's work--and hope that it carries with it the same brilliant taste of Southern American culture.

Excelent!

Great story, excepcional performance. intriguing plot. Does not get much better than this. recommended for anyone that enjoys good writing.

Nnnh, snort, grunt, scratch

"Delightful" is not the adjective, as stated in another review, that I would ever choose to describe this book. I finally found it so depressing that I stopped listening. No worries, it was too hard to suspend my disbelief anyway.

Moves slowly.

What disappointed you about The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break: A Novel?

It did not grip me as I'd expected it to, given that it was so highly touted by Neil Gaiman.

If you’ve listened to books by Steven Sherrill before, how does this one compare?

N/A

Which character – as performed by Holter Graham – was your favorite?

N/A

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment.

Any additional comments?

Unlike other books, when I listened to this one in the evenings it put me to sleep, which meant I'd have to backtrack to find my place when I next started listening again. Not sure how much was the book and how much was the soporific effect of the reader's voice.

The Minotaur Disappoints

I am very fond of Neil Gaiman's fantasy works and so was excited by his new venture: hand-picked stories and narrators that he felt were well worth a listen. The brief Audible excerpt of "The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break" sounded crisp and interesting, so I began the book with high expectations. Sadly, those expectations were far from met.

The notion of having the minotaur (yes, THE minotaur) in modern America, working in a rib house, certainly has grabbing power. The other characters in the story are aware of "M"s unusual nature, but it's clear that creatures such as he exist in this world, even if they are rarities. But to me, the book felt more like an existentialist investigation than anything else. Metamorphosis was not about a giant bug, and this story is not about the minotaur. The protagonist, it seems to me, could be almost any working stiff who by his choices never catches a break.

The story is not poorly written, but it takes itself perhaps too seriously, and I found it wearing rather than engaging. Fantasy can be an effective way of providing new insights as well as firing the imagination, but for me, this book failed to deliver on either of these fronts.

Maybe it's a better read.

Just not interesting. No real plot, and boring. I usually like this type of story.

Does not engage the listener

The story and the main character just don't do it for me. Totally non-engaging. I couldn't even finish it.

The first audiobook I've ever returned

What disappointed you about The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break: A Novel?

I wanted to like this book. I'm a fan of Neil Gaiman, and as part of his curated collection I thought I would enjoy this book, but it's just too arduous. I don't have anything against a sad or unfortunate story, but this one is melancholy in that bleak, hopeless way that just makes you want to turn it off and do something else rather than keep listening to see if it changes or turns around. The characters were unlikable, the settings were dull, and the Minotaur seemed like the least necessary character in a story ostensibly about him. Maybe the story picks up after hour 3, but my interest has been lost.

What was most disappointing about Steven Sherrill’s story?

The writing is-from a technical standpoint-extremely well done, but the story itself is plodding, dull, and just plain uninteresting. There are way too many unnecessary tangents where the author goes into such detail about totally unimportant things that I found myself turning it off because I was just too frustrated waiting for the book to go somewhere.

Which character – as performed by Holter Graham – was your favorite?

The Minotaur. Holter Graham did a fantastic job with the grunting.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break: A Novel?

While there were many scenes that seemed extraneous, the description of all five trailers and their tenants that the Minotaur lives next to jumps out at me. It was the final straw that made me lose interest completely.

Any additional comments?

I really tried to like this book, but it just made me tired of listening to it. This is the first audiobook in several dozen that I could not finish.

Goes Nowhere Slowly....

Don't be seduced by Neil on this one. I was and it was not worth it, this story stumbles about and goes nowhere slowly.