So far, 2015 has offered more than its share of excellent debut novels. Some of these were the first works we’d heard of from the authors in questions; in other cases, we found ourselves looking at works that fulfilled the promise of the fantastic short fiction that preceded it. Whether on presses large or small, these are some of the debut novels that have caught our attention so far this year.
In our afternoon reading: new fiction from Sofia Samatar and Kelly Luce, an interview with Amitava Kumar, Kevin Maloney talks film, and more.
In our weekend reading: interviews with Joshua Cohen and Juliet Escoria, thoughts on books by Jamie Iredell and Kevin Maloney, and much more.
At times jarringly comic, and at times horrifyingly visceral, Kevin Maloney’s novel Cult of Loretta is a difficult book to shake. It follows several years in the life of Nelson, a young man living in and around Portland in the late 1990s. Nelson’s fixation on a woman named Loretta prompts several damaged souls to enter the same orbit; breakups, addiction, madness, and other horrors ensue. After reading the book, I reached out to Maloney via email with some questions about […]
Today, we’re pleased to present “The Rave,” an excerpt from Kevin Maloney’s novel Cult of Loretta. Set largely in Portland in the late 1990s, it follows the life of Nelson, a young man who embarks on a self-destructive relationship with a woman named Loretta. Along the way, Nelson encounters everything from Y2K-inspired survivalists to Capoeiera enthusiasts to Heatmiser (the band, not the character). At times, it’s bleakly funny; at others, it ventures into seriously unsettling physical and emotional territory.
The trailer for Kevin Maloney’s Cult of Loretta (due out later this month on Lazy Fascist Press) begins with images of Portland looking idyllic. Soon enough, though, narration adds an ominous tone to the proceedings, after which things get downright psychedelic. Given that the works of Richard Brautigan are among the reference points used when discussing it, that might not be much of a shock, but the presence of black metal as the visuals turn chaotic adds even more of […]