A Saturday night...reading

I thought my first music post to this blog would be about the Mountain Goats show at the Tractor on Saturday night. But throughout the day I just didn't feel well, I tried to be in denial about it but when the evening rolled around going out was the last thing I wanted to do. So instead, I wrote a little and read a lot. The book of choice for this Saturday evening was T Cooper's Some of the Parts.

This debut novel reminded me a lot of Kent Haruf's Plainsong in the way it introduces four characters who lead seemingly separate lives and each chapter tells the story from their vantage point. Both novels deal with a similar theme of families, those you are born into and those you make. Earlier in the day, a friend said something that was entirely appropriate for this story. "Friends are the family you choose."

The first character we meet is Isak, who happens to be at Coney Island "the night the hermaphrodite's parents came to take her away." Right away you know this is going to be an interesting book. Isak is a "gender freak", who in addition to being in the freakshow also hustles in the park to make ends meet. Isak lives with Charlie, an AIDS survivor who is currently living on disability, in an apartment in New York. Charlie's sister Arlene is a long divorced pill-popping, antique store owning mother in Providence, RI. Arlene's bisexual daughter, Taylor, is so beautiful that people tend to do anything for her, and the only thing unusual thing about her appearance are her large hands.

While the vehicle for delivering the story and some of the themes are very similar to that of Haruf's, the story and characters are quite unique. A number of times I found myself identifying with the characters' behavior in a way I hadn't with other books before. But I wasn't choosing sides because I saw myself in both sides of a situation. Charlie's feelings of abandonment when Isak leaves. Isak's need to get away and figure things out. Arlene's feelings of loneliness and efforts to change who she is.

Some of the Parts is a fantastic debut novel for T Cooper and a very enjoyable, thought provoking read. Some of the Parts is published by Johnny Temple's (of Boys Against Girls and New Wet Kojak fame) indie book publisher Akashic Books.

Speaking of indie book publishing, we all know about indie music and the consolidation of record labels and radio stations, but the same thing is happening in the world of publishing. These big publishing houses are so concerned with the bottom line that they're only going to put out books they think will sell a certain amount of books. Because of this, a lot of new voices in the world of literature might not get heard if it weren't for publishers like Akashic, Seven Stories Press, Soft Skull Press, etc. So get out there and read. If you can, look for some indie authors at your local independent bookstore.