ZERO STATION

Look out, people...

ZERO STATION
by Greg Ippolito

Ostensibly, this is a coming-of-age story about a Jersey kid growing up in 1991. John Saylor is sixteen, pissed-off, from a disaster of a family, and feels generally let down by the post-hippy adult world (whose “once-revolutionary spirit limped forward to settle on voluntary recycling, Volvo driving, and flaccid support for Walter Mondale”). He lethargically plods along — listening to loads of indie rock, smoking tons of pot — trying to avoid anything of meaning or consequence...until his modus operandi results in the drugging of his two-year-old brother, Billy.

Heartbroken, John goes on the lam — fleeing from his enraged stepfather as well as the cops — for three days and nights that coincide with the end of the Persian Gulf War. As we follow John from point to point, the many layers of his inner turmoil are subtly revealed. All the while, John’s internal war is punctuated by a kind of newsroom/typewriter backbeat that comes in the form of Desert Storm updates that come over radios and TVs. There are some wonderful characters here (especially Derrick, the older brother of John’s best friend, who may be the most hilarious and fascinating character I’ve read in years). And the ending just floored me; it lingered in my mind for days after.

Ippolito’s style harkens to Camus (spare and existential), with a hint of Hornby (the music references, mostly), and a healthy dose of Richard Yates (gut-wrenching honesty). Do NOT miss this one.

THE SKINNY: THE BEST NEW NOVEL OF 2010 (SO FAR)

P.S. Zero Station won’t be available until late this year, but you can request a free sample download by clicking here.

THE NAME OF THE NEAREST RIVER

My first short-story-collection review this year...

THE NAME OF THE NEAREST RIVER
by Alex Taylor

Alex Taylor’s debut comprises a series of heart-wrenching stories set in rural Kentucky. And what a cast of characters he employs. Cattle killers, coal thieves, angst-ridden teens, demolition derby enthusiasts, and the like. In both the way his characters are drawn — with an almost impossible empathy for the often hopeless, desperate, and/or cruel — and the way he describes the dreary Kentucky environs in which the stories are set, Taylor evokes a sense of despair that lingers with you.

Shades of Raymond Carver, William Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy here; but make no mistake, Taylor’s voice is his own. These stories will hang on you, disturb you. And yes, you’ll be much better off for reading them.

(Highlights: “Winter in the Blood,” “The Evening Part of Daylight.”)

THE SKINNY: BLEAK, BEAUTIFUL, RESONANT.

BROKEN GLASS PARK

My latest find...

BROKEN GLASS PARK
by Alina Bronsky

Sascha Naimann is a 17-year-old Russian girl living in Germany. Vadim, her brutal stepfather, kills Sascha’s mother and is sent to prison. While she and her younger siblings are being smothered by distant relatives and social workers, all Sascha can think about is exacting vengeance on Vadim.

When a story runs in the local paper about Vadim’s lauded in-prison reformation, Sascha goes ape-shit — storming to the newspaper office to confront the writer. There, she meets Volker Trebur, an editor who had known her mother and offers to make things right. Sascha holds him to it, and winds up moving in to Volker’s guestroom where she becomes uneasily involved with the Trebur family.

At the story’s conclusion, Sascha ends up in “broken glass park” — the most seedy and dangerous area in her neighborhood — where the varied, complicated layers of her struggle are laid bare.

THE SKINNY: A WONDERFUL, MOVING READ...WITH A “WOW” ENDING.

LOVE IN MID AIR

I’m back, kids! Alas, my first Friday pick of 2010...

LOVE IN MID AIR
by Kim Wright

I can’t possibly do this spectacular debut novel justice.

On the surface, it appears like a story you’ve heard tens of times before: woman in an unhappy marriage (Elyse) silently decides to leave her husband...before making any official move, she meets another man and becomes embroiled in an affair...all the while, she vicariously enjoys the second marriage of her gorgeous best friend (Kelly), who is hitched to a suave, older, wealthy man. Boring, right?

But this is a wistful, insightful take on a modern woman at an existential crossroads. And the dialogue between Elyse and Kelly is rich and genuine, pulling you in and drawing your empathy.

THE SKINNY: A FRESH, AUTHENTIC TAKE ON A COMMON TALE.

THE GIN CLOSET

My Friday BNF pick…

THE GIN CLOSET
by Leslie Jamison

Within the first ten pages of Jamison’s debut novel, I wondered how many other books she has hidden away on her C drive. Because prose this beautiful can only come from years and years, and pages and pages, of practice.

This is the tale of young, hip, existentially dissatisfied Stella, who reaches out to her family’s black sheep — former-prostitute, alcoholic aunt Tilly. The two women tell the story through alternating first-person accounts. At first, Stella seems to be the wise and stable one, and perhaps the only person who can help Tilly. But as the narrative unfolds, we find the two to be rather similar. The way they see the world and express their views on it are different, sure, but they’re both contending with the specific disillusionment that is the province of women (i.e., struggles around men, self-identify, etc.).

The skinny: POETIC, GUT-WRENCHING PROSE.

THE DREAM OF PERPETUAL MOTION

My Friday BNF pick...

THE DREAM OF PERPETUAL MOTION
by Dexter Palmer

Does “sci-fi” generally make you gag? Me, too. But while this book may be classified as such, don’t let it turn you off. Palmer’s debut novel is more of a literature/sci-fi hybrid. More importantly, it’s an absolute wonder.

The story begins in an alternate universe where a young boy (Harold Winslow) has his deepest wish magically granted...and it all goes haywire from there. As narrator, Harold’s voice is fresh and strange, and the story he weaves — a montage of dreams and journal entries and bizarre monologues — acts like a sort of centrifugal force: flailing you to the edges of your mental orbit, but keeping you reeled in the whole time.

The skinny: A DARK, FANTASTIC VOYAGE.

Welcome to BNF: Best New Fiction!

Hey there.

If you’re a fiction lover — moreover, if you have a special affinity for literary fiction — you’re gonna be glad you found me.

There is soooo much great literature entering our stratosphere...but most of it goes undetected by the populist radar. That’s why I’m here. So each week, I’m going to shed light on a new piece of outstanding literature — a novel or short-story collection that you just NEED to know about.

That’s pretty much it. So add me to your “favorites,” kick back, and wait to hear from me each Friday. Ciao!

- Liz “The Book Babe”

P.S. Feel free to email me if you want to talk. I love hearing from like-minded fiction philes.