Böcker av Will Clattenburg

Giving a nod to The Decameron and The Divine Comedy, Last Time Around moves through three sections or "books," as the four central characters travel from German beer garden to Brooklyn music venue to Polish diner. Along the way, the characters eulogize and disparage former acquaintances, lovers, and total strangers in an attempt to mask and skirt around the tender spots in their own lives.The book's narrator, Ian, is himself going through a significant period of change when the novel opens. He is starting a new job, moving apartments, and attempting to get over his ex-girlfriend Olivia. Introspective by nature, he grasps the night's significance when he realizes his friends are also moving in their own directions.Hovering on the periphery of the evening is Nick Amante, Ian's undergraduate nemesis from Yale-a vague, stalker-like person and double for Ian. Amante is a young writer whose most recent book, Inferno, has earned minor recognition. Even while Ian dismisses Amante as a hack (quoting liberally from Inferno's most purple passages), it becomes clear that Amante has a guide-like role to play in Ian's life. The night ends in a room full of fake mariachis where Ian finally connects with Amante and Olivia, and receives the inspiration to write his own story.

At times reminiscent of John Cheever, The Art of Fugue is the very stuff of reality: mundane and extraordinary allat once. With an eye for detail and a knack for dialogue, Clattenburg celebrates the minutiaeof modern American life-oversized parking lots, Led Zeppelin, the elliptical machine-to create characters who feel like friends and lovers we have known. Throughout this collection, often breathless in nature, small moments make an unknowingly large impact, forcing us to reconsider past relationships we may have tried (and failed) to put to rest. -Amy Dupcak, author of DustThe stories in Will Clattenburg's The Art of Fugue are banal revelations, and it is precisely the banality-its realness-that makes epiphany hurt. Each story captures perfectly an imperfect moment, with a quiet flash, with the most subdued flamboyance. It is a rare treat to watch such a dexterous and skilled storyteller at work! -Lily Hoang, author of A Bestiary