Spanking New by Clifford Henderson

Spanking New by Clifford Henderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is one of those books that's probably somewhat impossible to pin down genre-wise. It is a strange book concept wise and in actuality. And I loved 99.9% of every second of it. I laughed, I cried, I . . . um . . completed the book.

An entity has been ripped from the collective knowledge and been forced to be. To be an I, instead of a we. The entity is somewhat annoyed about that separation from The Knowledge, but what’s done is done. And now it’s time to look for parents. To make the next step. All the while losing bits and pieces of knowledge until ‘the great forgetting’ that occurs at birth. But for now the entity can float around, observing, knowing, and sliding into people’s thoughts, memories, and brains. Watching.

Finds itself in an alley behind a theatre. Looks around, curious, wondering why they are there. Spots Rick and Howie talking and smoking a joint. Next to a dumpster. Ew, this can’t be . . . wait, there’s something about this Rick guy . . .. Sliding from one to the other the entity examines their thoughts and desires and feelings. Having knowledge they do not. Learning that the Rick guy is there because he’s showing Howie a ‘good time’ on his last night before he has to return to duty with the military; and because a girl he is interested in is there – no not in the alley – she had been on stage in a really weird play.

The entity, seeing and feeling Rick and Howie, experiences things and comes to a decision – the entity . . . is a he! He will be a boy when he finally gets his parents together.

Time passes. It is possible that Rick and Nina (that girl that Rick was interested in) might not actually get together. Stupid stupid entity! Choosing two people to be his parents when they hadn’t even meet yet! So thinks Spanky – the name used for the entity in the book description (for a reason) and so I use now so I can stop saying ‘the entity’.

Spanky slides along, watching, feeling, visiting the parents and families of both Rick and Nina, sliding along, watching Dink and Pablo – two of Nina’s friends – interact. At first Spanky is worried about Pablo, less so about Dink – for Nina is really into Pablo. I mean really. Will Spanky not get to be born? Will he get reabsorbed? But! And this is something Nina actually knows but is suppressing, Pablo is a gay man. Massively gay. On the other hand . . . the friend that Spanky didn’t initially worry as much about, Dink, is really into Nina – the way Nina is into Pablo. Though Dink keeps pretending to herself (and mostly herself) that she isn’t a lesbian, so there’s still an opening for Rick. For Spanky to be born.

And time passes. Relationships build, fall apart (more background characters than main characters), and build again; romantic and family relationships fluctuate. Spanky continues watching and learning and knowing that once he is born that he will stop knowing – that he’ll go through the veil of forgetfulness and forget all that he knew.

Strange thing occurs, though, once Spanky actually ‘gets inside’ Nina (and yes there is a rather graphic depiction of Spanky ‘getting inside’). Spermy and (I’ve forgotten now what Spanky called Miss Eggy) have merged, but . . . XX. They have created an XX entity! Spanky is . . . a girl?!? Spanky is confused. Then considers the idea that he just saw Rick and Howie’s and the father’s interactions and wanted to be with them – tossing a baseball, playing a guitar – manly stuff (eventually learning more about ‘boy things’, ‘girl things’ and fluidity).

This is an awesome book, a great book, had me in tears, from laughter and otherwise. I want a sequel _ want to watch the life that I saw being created – live. Grow. Spanky, by the way, does not actually get named ‘Spanky’ – that’s just her name while ‘inside’ Nina. A joke – probably drug influenced (there’s a lot of drugs, alcohol, and stuff going on in this book).

Rating: 5.5

April 19 2017



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