novella
Active Member
Nick Flynn deserves a thread. I think people have probably mentioned him here and there, but I think he’s great, and he’s definitely coming up.
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City is his autobiographical account of his teens and early 20s. Let the title be a warning that it’s not a happy story. The interesting thing about it is that, given what he’s been through, the lack of self-talk is stunning. It’s almost as though written from outside his own consciousness, like he’s taken a novelist’s perspective on his own life and not tried to build an inner life for the characters. There’s no psychologizing about people’s motivations, no second guessing this brother or that parent. The story just unfolds, along with his rationale, and enough is left out to make it clean and cool.
Simultaneous with Suck City, I read his book of poetry, Some Ether, which was kind of like the mournful cello playing below the melody line of the larger story. I recommend both, though not for people who like bright and shiny. Just as a sample, I'll say that the guy lived on a broken down boat off the coast of Massachusetts alone for quite a while.
If you do read this book, its interesting to reflect on the fact that he's published several books and obtained a professorship (he's probably in his 30s now), and then think about what he's left out of his story. His inner struggle is almost absent, which I'm sure was an intentional choice.
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City is his autobiographical account of his teens and early 20s. Let the title be a warning that it’s not a happy story. The interesting thing about it is that, given what he’s been through, the lack of self-talk is stunning. It’s almost as though written from outside his own consciousness, like he’s taken a novelist’s perspective on his own life and not tried to build an inner life for the characters. There’s no psychologizing about people’s motivations, no second guessing this brother or that parent. The story just unfolds, along with his rationale, and enough is left out to make it clean and cool.
Simultaneous with Suck City, I read his book of poetry, Some Ether, which was kind of like the mournful cello playing below the melody line of the larger story. I recommend both, though not for people who like bright and shiny. Just as a sample, I'll say that the guy lived on a broken down boat off the coast of Massachusetts alone for quite a while.
If you do read this book, its interesting to reflect on the fact that he's published several books and obtained a professorship (he's probably in his 30s now), and then think about what he's left out of his story. His inner struggle is almost absent, which I'm sure was an intentional choice.