The Menstruating Mall

I've been a fan of Carlton Mellick III's work and the work of many of his fellow bizarro authors for many years now, and I've always wanted to read this book but never got around to it until recently. Chances are you already know the story either from having read it or by having read the synopsis on the product page, but long story short it's a book about several stereotypes who find themselves unable to leave a mall one day and just start living there.The main character is kind of unlikable, that was my main problem with this book. I saw a little of myself in him, in that I'm a consumerist, too, but not to the degree the character was written. There's actually a part in this book where the main character goes into the movie theater in the mall, starts up "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," but can't get the movie to play past those commercials they show in movie theaters before the previews (the ones you already see on TV) and he finds himself laughing at them really hard and sincerely enjoying himself. I'm a total consumer, but even I don't like those commercials, so I felt like my intelligence was being insulted a little bit in that part of the book.The most likable character is called "Spider," I think, he's a punk rock type who wants to program video-games. Then there's this goth girl who falls in love with the main character and she's got some sort of living area inside the ventilation system of the mall where she keeps all the things she needs, even a laptop-- it made me think of that scene in "Aliens" where the little girl is living in the vents of the terraforming compound and she's got everything she needs in there to have survived the aliens' attacks over the weeks since things went south.But I had a hard time liking the main character and the book is written in the first person from his perspective. Like I said, I saw stuff in him that I see in myself that a punk-rock type like CM3 might not like, but I do like about myself. Yes, I am a consumer, but I am also a human being who consumes to gain more insight. That's why I love Amazon, so much, and want to work for them, some day. I think consumerism is a good thing if applied to society correctly-- it could even lift the world out of poverty if we applied it properly. But I don't want to get political here.One thing that really stuck out about this book like a sore thumb was the ending. It's extremely rushed. It feels like CM3 spent a lot of time drafting 99% of this short book, writing bios for the characters and descriptions of the mall, but he couldn't come up with a proper ending to conclude the story with so he just made one up on the fly. This is not uncommon in CM3's work. His endings are usually rushed, and reach into this lofty realm that don't make a whole lot of sense even in a bizarro context. When I was finished with the book, I felt a little unfulfilled because the ending was just so rushed.I don't want to spoil too much, so I'll just say I liked this book. I'm a mallrat in real life, I spend a lot of time at my local mall. When the weather is warm I'll ride the bus there every day just to be there because it's an important place in my life. I've often said that if I become a ghost when I die that my spirit will haunt my local shopping mall. I grew up there. The story CM3 has crafted, while delightful in some respects, also seems kind of slap-dash and rushed in others. It's a very solid story with an extremely weak ending. But if you're a fan of CM3's work, don't hesitate to buy this book. I'd recommend you get it on Kindle though because paying for a physical copy of a book this short seems like kind of a waste of paper.

Mellick's earlier works spent more time being weird for the sake of it, rather than having a compelling conclusion. Still, all of his books are worth a read.

10 stereotypical characters become trapped in the mall, for no reason at first, but then the menstruation explains it all! Doesn't it always? The characters are great, especially the goth girl and the random guy she ends up hooking up with. These are the people we see in the mall, the one dimensional appearances of the everyday shoppers and the kids hanging out in the food court.Mellick has his finger on the pulse of societal trivialities. Here he shows us the mall shopper, in "Sex and Death in Television Town" we get the television watchers. No consumer is safe! Spread the word. He just keeps getting better... Of course this will be compared to "Dawn of the Dead" even though there are no zombies. What the mall becomes is very interesting and I wish there had been more about it. Overall, the pacing is very fast. Chapters are rarely more than three or four pages, so even the shortest of attention spans can get through this quickly. Food Fortunata's drawings are very creative and add a lot to the story. If you've never read Mellick before, this is a great place to start.

This book blew my mind! Often, with Mellick's books, I see reviews that say "not one of his weirder ones, but..." well, THIS IS ONE OF HIS WEIRDER ONES!The premise is simple: a stereotypical consumer finds he is unable to leave the mall one day. Nothing is stopping him. The doors are not locked. He just can't make himself leave. So, he hides out in the bathroom and basically lives in the mall for a while. Then, one day, he discovers he is not alone. There are other people living in the mall as well. Lots of them. All of them horrible stereotypes. They band together when it is discovered someone(or something)is killing them off, one by one.Mellick uses this "Exterminating Angels"-esque premise to incredible effect. The weirdness is at an all-time high, and the blood flows and the humor abounds and, and, and...So much happens it is impossible to go into it all here. Anybody who is already familiar with this author will instantly love this one. And anyone who has yet to experience the addictive magic of Carlton Mellick 3? Well, this is a great place to start.

This book is probably closer to a reading a dream than anything in print I have come across before. At first, things appear specific, yet with closer inspection become vague. You seem to grasp it and then it slips away. Seemingly familiar people suddenly change into strangers. This book definitely belongs in the Bizarro genre and it is quite a ride, accomplished in classic Mellick style.The social commentary is very amusing, but the author dives into a lot more areas and, by the end, somehow manages to pull it off with impressive fashion. Mellick describes the book as his homage to Luis Bunuel's "The Exterminating Angel", Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" (aka Ten Little Indians), and "The Breakfast Club". While this isn't my favorite by Carlton Mellick, it is certainly worth reading and a nice addition to his eclectic body of work.

I always figured I would never have this book, I have ordered it several times, and each time the date just kept getting put back until I cancelled it. This, the third time, was doing the same, and yet it arrived this morn in the post!Luckily Saturday is my chill and read day, so it was perfectly timed!Hampshire Mall is the place to be, a Mall all mapped out on the first page. Who doesn’t like a Mall? (Okay, I don’t like them, I prefer Charity shops)A story about consumerism and how it can seriously screw you up.And so, 10 people trapped in a Mall that appears to be Menstruating, one by one they begin to die, killed off because they were too mundane. Although who defines mundane, everyone is different in some way, I suspect?And so trapped within the building, some die and some transform into something more, something freer and darker, until only a handful remain.There is a message here about consumerism and freedom of expression and how to view and judge it, or perhaps not judge it.This, I felt, was weaker than the usual CMIII, as if he lost the point at the end, but maybe others feel differently?

'The Menstruating Mall' is the tale of several shoppers who come to find they are unable to leave a mall, which it turns out is menstruating.This book is pure entertainment and I loved every minute of it. Admittedly it didn't have as much depth as the other books I've read by this writer, but I still found it to be a great read and totally unpredictable. I love this author's sense of humour. There was one really weird and gross bit that made me laugh hysterically for at least five minutes!Suffice it to say this book is worth picking up for the entertainment factor alone!

bit like Agatha Christies " And then there were none "10 people find themselves trapped in a shopping mall. mysteriously they are unable to leave and have to stay there all day and all nightthen one by one they are mysteriously killedeven more mysteriously the shopping mall begins to menstruatethe killer ( female of course ! ) has them all trapped in her weband delights in slaughtering them one by onewomen !

As an avid fan and reader of Mr Mellick's unique and fantastic work, I highly-recommend The Menstruating Mall because it contains a brilliant story, has very well-developed characters, tons of black humour, lashings of gore and horror and is a downright excellent read!I'm purchasing and reading all of his books, one by one, and can't wait to read the next one! He really is that good.Five out of five stars from me because this brilliant author deserves it in my opinion.

10 stereotypical victims are trapped in the mall, nothing is stopping but they cant leave, days pass then they start being murdered. Ridiculous characters make this book a lot of fun to read. An awesome example of mellick at his best will keep his old coming back for more whilst drawing in new fans with this accessible novel.