Publishers Weekly
12/24/2018
Variety, both in style and subject matter, is a hallmark of Mathews’s quirky collection of 10 morally complex short stories. The author of The World of Tomorrow delves into the mind of an emotionally traumatized Bosnian journalist, incongruously going on an apple picking expedition in suburban Chicago, in “Heroes of the Revolution.” He channels a disturbed clown in the chillingly antic “My Last Attempt to Explain to You What Happened with the Lion Tamer.” And in the haunting “Look at Everything,” he jumps into the consciousness of a depressed manager of an art house cinema in Chapel Hill who takes a photography class at a local community college and accidentally discovers the joys of arson. The ambitious title story imagines a photographer reconstructing her life with her primary subject, a female rock star, using a scrambled set of photos as touchstones, while “Henry and His Brother” darts precipitously between the thoughts of two uncomfortably intertwined siblings. The tormented, misguided protagonists raise common human miseries to a higher power and unconsciously reveal the seedy motivations behind their actions. This is an eclectic, accomplished collection. Agent: Gail Hochman, Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
"Lovely...Ambitious...A stirring exercise in world building...Mathews invests his characters with vitality and pathos...This is vibrant, risk-taking realism; a slim volume that bursts at its seams."—Taylor Antrim, Vogue
"Each story is appealing and often fascinating...Featuring a variety of both subject and presentation, often in a humorous way, Mathews's collection is an excellent example of how entertaining today's short stories can be."—Winnipeg Free Press
"The emotional exiles of This Is Not a Love Song are as fierce in their desire to love as they are afraid that they're not built for it. Brendan Mathews is wonderful on how visceral and messy our longing for each other can be, as well as on the complexities of class, and worlds as varied as Sarajevo and the circus. These are funny and wrenching stories."—Jim Shepard, National Book Award finalist and author of The Book of Aron
"A collection of stylistically varied stories that highlight the tricky business of emotional investment...This book certainly is not a love song of the homely, sentimental sort. It's realism without cynicism, more of an extended aria for a range of intimacies and attachments that never run smoothly. There's some respite in its humor...Mathews is a restless stylist...An impressive collection from a resourceful writer."—Kirkus Reviews
"Mathews demonstrates in these stories an uncanny ability to inhabit characters with just a few well-crafted sentences. A master impersonator, Mathews employs a variety of voices, capturing the subtle nuances of dialect and pop lingo to explore with psychological acuity the doubt and insecurities that plague these varied individuals...Mathews excels at portraying the emotional pain felt by those without a clear place in the world and the universality of self-doubt. The versatility of literary techniques shows a writer in the process of sharpening his unique voice."—Booklist
"Variety, both in style and subject matter, is a hallmark of Mathews's quirky collection of 10 morally complex short stories...The tormented, misguided protagonists raise common human miseries to a higher power and unconsciously reveal the seedy motivations behind their actions. This is an eclectic, accomplished collection."—Publishers Weekly
