Sunday, February 13, 2011

This Book Will Change Your Life - Fight for Your Long Day by Alex Kudera.

Travel. Read. And so many thoughts on Fight for Your Long Day the debut novel by new TBCWYL, Inc. favorite and from what we now know one-time quasi-acquaintance Alex Kudera. In essence, we have two buckets of thoughts that we think are complimentary and explanatory and on the one hand, but sort of cancel each other out on the other, which we think may be unfortunate, or reflects poorly on us, but definitely does not on this book, and more soon, now, on that. So, first bucket, this is a highly intelligent book which references and pays homage to One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, while also touching on a wealth of other literary references including, but not limited to Frederick Exley's A Fan's Notes. Further, and related, in some fashion, let's call it skill, this is a well-crafted book, the sentence structure and layering and flow, and Kudera, and yes we know this follows, is truly a craftsman. These are positives, big time, and yet as we thought, and now write, about them, we began to worry that such attributes might scare people off, we hope not, but that's we thought and we got worried, which made us think how important it was to not forget that there is a whole other bucket in place as well, and that bucket, is one comprised of humor, pop culture and political touchstones, sex, flow, and easy to readness, yet still packed, and it is packed, with vibrant imagery and secondary characters and all sorts of fascinating commentary on work, corporate life, the state of education, and the profound, at times, insipid, is that the right word, impact of terrorism on our lives, all of which makes for a wonderfully electric read about the world today and what we struggle with, and think about, and encounter, all of us, not just adjuncts, which might be my other concern, this book has been celebrated as an insightful and colorful description of the adjunct life, and it is, but it's so much more as well, really, and totally, so read it now, okay, and enjoy it, now, cool? Thanks.

1 comment:

Gone Dog Press said...

Disclaimer: I'm the publisher of Kudera's e-novella, The Betrayal of Times of Peace and Prosperity.

If you like Fight for Your Long Day (like I did), you might also like The Betrayal of Times of Peace and Prosperity.

Here's the description:
This novella is a compelling first-person narrative about the final days of a college career at fictional Ward. Featuring Macbeth-like witches, comic angst, brooding humor, and hallucinogenic ennui, the narrator’s “I” could disintegrate, but the dog food will sizzle. From the author of Fight for Your Long Day, Alex Kudera, The Betrayal of Times of Peace and Prosperity is a fun, edgy, funny work, still managing to have an undercurrent of seriousness.

It's on Amazon and at Smashwords.com.