The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break

In this debut novel, Steven Sherrill follows the minotaur -- a mythological creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull -- through two weeks of his life as a cook at a steakhouse in the contemporary American South. Once a devourer of virgins and lads, time and circumstances have diminished his power considerably.

Through the Minotaur's experiences, Sherrill spotlights the alienation and loneliness that are part of our society. During the two-week period we follow the Minotaur, we meet memorable characters along the way from his co-workers at the restaurant to his neighbors at the trailer park. Sherrill also manages to make mundane doings -- kitchen work, car repair, personal grooming -- interesting and even exciting. By the end of the novel, the reader is pulling for the Minotaur to find the brief moment of happiness that he has sought for so many centuries.