The Parallel Apartments by Bill Cotter (2014, Hardcover)
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Item specifics
- Condition
- Country/Region of Manufacture
- United States
- ISBN
- 9781938073779
- Book Title
- Parallel Apartments
- Publisher
- Mcsweeney's Publishing
- Item Length
- 9 in
- Publication Year
- 2014
- Format
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- Item Height
- 1.7 in
- Genre
- Fiction
- Topic
- Crime, General, Literary
- Item Weight
- 30.5 Oz
- Item Width
- 6 in
- Number of Pages
- 500 Pages
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Mcsweeney's Publishing
ISBN-10
1938073770
ISBN-13
9781938073779
eBay Product ID (ePID)
167760759
Product Key Features
Book Title
Parallel Apartments
Number of Pages
500 Pages
Language
English
Topic
Crime, General, Literary
Publication Year
2014
Genre
Fiction
Format
Hardcover
Dimensions
Item Height
1.7 in
Item Weight
30.5 Oz
Item Length
9 in
Item Width
6 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
Reviews
"Reading Bill Cotter's The Parallel Apartments is like taking some kind of word drug, but a new one, synthesized in a desert lab from molecules of Lipsyte, Dickens, Pynchon, Williams, Chabon, DeWitt, and Joyce, and then spun together with Cotter's own unique particles to yield a book that produces an actual high when read. There's micro-attention paid to sweatpants material and the feel of artificial cheese powder on fingertips and the bouillon smell of nether regions. There is sadness. There is loneliness. There are riffs that make me wish an actor were there to read to me aloud, so I could cry from laughter without needing to clearly see the page. This book is an experience—it is a never-read-anything-like-it-before work of brainy, heartfelt joy." —Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishers and The Effect of Living Backwards "Bill Cotter writes with so much dark wit, such a keen eye for unsettling detail, such a perfect ear for the ways in which his bruised yet hopeful characters think and speak, that the sheer force of his fictional mind took me by surprise. The Parallel Apartments is an amazing read." —Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me "Four generations of Austin women—or five or three, depending on how you count—rivet our attention in this ribald and absolutely compelling novel. Both playfully absurd and absurdly playful, The Parallel Apartments is full of fresh language, exact observation, and—best of all—an underlying and genuine tenderness." —Scott Hutchins, author of A Working Theory of Love "Funny and profane and more than slightly unhinged." — Texas Monthly "Inventive and hilarious, The Parallel Apartments delights in the oddities of people and language. Inhabiting a mesmerizing and unnerving kaleidoscope world, Bill Cotter's vivid characters turn extreme" into the new normal. " — Full Stop "Apartments produces anxiety but ultimately rewards tribulation, recalling at times Updike's capacity for wringing both pathos and humor from vulnerable circumstances. Cotter's characters are both endearing and cringe-inducingly maladroit, and he does his best work in the awkwardness created by mishandled moments of human frailty. … Cotter's stunningly constructed prose provides comfort from the mayhem." — Time Out New York "Cotter manages to be surreal, gruesome, and snortingly funny. Do yourself a favor and give in to The Parallel Apartments ' gravitational pull." -- Entertainment Weekly "By the time you're finished with The Parallel Apartments … you're going to want the author to accompany you everywhere for the rest of your life." — The Austin Chronicle " The Parallel Apartments is difficult to define. One part kooky comedy, one part family drama, one part exploration of womanhood, and one part gruesome catalogue of emotional dysfunction, Cotter's second novel defies any particular genre, except, perhaps, Cotter's own." — The T'exas Observer, "Reading Bill Cotter's The Parallel Apartments is like taking some kind of word drug, but a new one, synthesized in a desert lab from molecules of Lipsyte, Dickens, Pynchon, Williams, Chabon, DeWitt, and Joyce, and then spun together with Cotter's own unique particles to yield a book that produces an actual high when read. There's micro-attention paid to sweatpants material and the feel of artificial cheese powder on fingertips and the bouillon smell of nether regions. There is sadness. There is loneliness. There are riffs that make me wish an actor were there to read to me aloud, so I could cry from laughter without needing to clearly see the page. This book is an experience—it is a never-read-anything-like-it-before work of brainy, heartfelt joy." —Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishers and The Effect of Living Backward "Bill Cotter writes with so much dark wit, such a keen eye for unsettling detail, such a perfect ear for the ways in which his bruised yet hopeful characters think and speak, that the sheer force of his fictional mind took me by surprise. The Parallel Apartments is an amazing read." —Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me "Four generations of Austin women—or five or three, depending on how you count—rivet our attention in this ribald and absolutely compelling novel. Both playfully absurd and absurdly playful, the Parallel Apartments is full of fresh language, exact observation, and—best of all—an underlying and genuine tenderness." —Scott Hutchins, author of A Working Theory of Love, "Reading Bill Cotter's The Parallel Apartments is like taking some kind of word drug, but a new one, synthesized in a desert lab from molecules of Lipsyte, Dickens, Pynchon, Williams, Chabon, DeWitt, and Joyce, and then spun together with Cotter's own unique particles to yield a book that produces an actual high when read. There's micro-attention paid to sweatpants material and the feel of artificial cheese powder on fingertips and the bouillon smell of nether regions. There is sadness. There is loneliness. There are riffs that make me wish an actor were there to read to me aloud, so I could cry from laughter without needing to clearly see the page. This book is an experience—it is a never-read-anything-like-it-before work of brainy, heartfelt joy." —Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishers and The Effect of Living Backwards "Bill Cotter writes with so much dark wit, such a keen eye for unsettling detail, such a perfect ear for the ways in which his bruised yet hopeful characters think and speak, that the sheer force of his fictional mind took me by surprise. The Parallel Apartments is an amazing read." —Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me "Four generations of Austin women—or five or three, depending on how you count—rivet our attention in this ribald and absolutely compelling novel. Both playfully absurd and absurdly playful, The Parallel Apartments is full of fresh language, exact observation, and—best of all—an underlying and genuine tenderness." —Scott Hutchins, author of A Working Theory of Love "Funny and profane and more than slightly unhinged." — Texas Monthly "Inventive and hilarious, The Parallel Apartments delights in the oddities of people and language. Inhabiting a mesmerizing and unnerving kaleidoscope world, Bill Cotter's vivid characters turn extreme" into the new normal. " — Full Stop "Apartments produces anxiety but ultimately rewards tribulation, recalling at times Updike's capacity for wringing both pathos and humor from vulnerable circumstances. Cotter's characters are both endearing and cringe-inducingly maladroit, and he does his best work in the awkwardness created by mishandled moments of human frailty. … Cotter's stunningly constructed prose provides comfort from the mayhem." — Time Out New York "Cotter manages to be surreal, gruesome, and snortingly funny. Do yourself a favor and give in to The Parallel Apartments ' gravitational pull." -- Entertainment Weekly "By the time you're finished with The Parallel Apartments … you're going to want the author to accompany you everywhere for the rest of your life." — The Austin Chronicle " The Parallel Apartments is difficult to define. One part kooky comedy, one part family drama, one part exploration of womanhood, and one part gruesome catalogue of emotional dysfunction, Cotter's second novel defies any particular genre, except, perhaps, Cotter's own." — The Texas Observer Bill Cotter's darkly comic stories are powered by his delightfully strange and sometimes disturbing imagination, his empathetic character, and his graceful way with words." — The Rumpus "Trying to describe The Parallel Apartments is like trying to pat your head while rubbing your stomach while reciting the alphabet backwards." — The Texas Observer, "Reading Bill Cotter's The Parallel Apartments is like taking some kind of word drug, but a new one, synthesized in a desert lab from molecules of Lipsyte, Dickens, Pynchon, Williams, Chabon, DeWitt, and Joyce, and then spun together with Cotter's own unique particles to yield a book that produces an actual high when read. There's micro-attention paid to sweatpants material and the feel of artificial cheese powder on fingertips and the bouillon smell of nether regions. There is sadness. There is loneliness. There are riffs that make me wish an actor were there to read to me aloud, so I could cry from laughter without needing to clearly see the page. This book is an experience—it is a never-read-anything-like-it-before work of brainy, heartfelt joy." —Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishers and The Effect of Living Backwards "Bill Cotter writes with so much dark wit, such a keen eye for unsettling detail, such a perfect ear for the ways in which his bruised yet hopeful characters think and speak, that the sheer force of his fictional mind took me by surprise. The Parallel Apartments is an amazing read." —Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me "Four generations of Austin women—or five or three, depending on how you count—rivet our attention in this ribald and absolutely compelling novel. Both playfully absurd and absurdly playful, The Parallel Apartments is full of fresh language, exact observation, and—best of all—an underlying and genuine tenderness." —Scott Hutchins, author of A Working Theory of Love, Praise for Fever Chart: "Bill Cotter's Fever Chart proves there is still fresh wit and fierce life in the American tongue. Read this book." -- Wells Tower " Fever Chart is one of the year's most wonderfully dark and entertaining novels, and its protagonist Jerome Coe an unfortgettable literary character." -- Large Hearted Boy " Fever Chart is not about the destination so much as the reckless, driving-with-your-knees journey, and Jerome Coe is an antihero for the ages." -- Texas Monthly, "Reading Bill Cotter's The Parallel Apartments is like taking some kind of word drug, but a new one, synthesized in a desert lab from molecules of Lipsyte, Dickens, Pynchon, Williams, Chabon, DeWitt, and Joyce, and then spun together with Cotter's own unique particles to yield a book that produces an actual high when read. There's micro-attention paid to sweatpants material and the feel of artificial cheese powder on fingertips and the bouillon smell of nether regions. There is sadness. There is loneliness. There are riffs that make me wish an actor were there to read to me aloud, so I could cry from laughter without needing to clearly see the page. This book is an experience—it is a never-read-anything-like-it-before work of brainy, heartfelt joy." —Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishers and The Effect of Living Backwards "Bill Cotter writes with so much dark wit, such a keen eye for unsettling detail, such a perfect ear for the ways in which his bruised yet hopeful characters think and speak, that the sheer force of his fictional mind took me by surprise. The Parallel Apartments is an amazing read." —Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me "Four generations of Austin women—or five or three, depending on how you count—rivet our attention in this ribald and absolutely compelling novel. Both playfully absurd and absurdly playful, The Parallel Apartments is full of fresh language, exact observation, and—best of all—an underlying and genuine tenderness." —Scott Hutchins, author of A Working Theory of Love "Funny and profane and more than slightly unhinged." — Texas Monthly "Inventive and hilarious, The Parallel Apartments delights in the oddities of people and language. Inhabiting a mesmerizing and unnerving kaleidoscope world, Bill Cotter's vivid characters turn extreme" into the new normal. " — Full Stop "Apartments produces anxiety but ultimately rewards tribulation, recalling at times Updike's capacity for wringing both pathos and humor from vulnerable circumstances. Cotter's characters are both endearing and cringe-inducingly maladroit, and he does his best work in the awkwardness created by mishandled moments of human frailty. … Cotter's stunningly constructed prose provides comfort from the mayhem." — Time Out New York "Cotter manages to be surreal, gruesome, and snortingly funny. Do yourself a favor and give in to The Parallel Apartments ' gravitational pull." -- Entertainment Weekly "By the time you're finished with The Parallel Apartments … you're going to want the author to accompany you everywhere for the rest of your life." — The Austin Chronicle " The Parallel Apartments is difficult to define. One part kooky comedy, one part family drama, one part exploration of womanhood, and one part gruesome catalogue of emotional dysfunction, Cotter's second novel defies any particular genre, except, perhaps, Cotter's own." — The Texas Observer Bill Cotter's darkly comic stories are powered by his delightfully strange and sometimes disturbing imagination, his empathetic character, and his graceful way with words." — The Rumpus "Trying to describe The Parallel Apartments is like trying to pat your head while rubbing your stomach while reciting the alphabet backwards." — The Texas Observer "Cotter has mastered, from the lowest to highest orders, the elements of fiction; his sentences are as grand as the sweeping architectural details of his book's structure." –– Rain Taxi, "Reading Bill Cotter's The Parallel Apartments is like taking some kind of word drug, but a new one, synthesized in a desert lab from molecules of Lipsyte, Dickens, Pynchon, Williams, Chabon, DeWitt, and Joyce, and then spun together with Cotter's own unique particles to yield a book that produces an actual high when read. There's micro-attention paid to sweatpants material and the feel of artificial cheese powder on fingertips and the bouillon smell of nether regions. There is sadness. There is loneliness. There are riffs that make me wish an actor were there to read to me aloud, so I could cry from laughter without needing to clearly see the page. This book is an experience—it is a never-read-anything-like-it-before work of brainy, heartfelt joy." —Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishers and The Effect of Living Backwards "Bill Cotter writes with so much dark wit, such a keen eye for unsettling detail, such a perfect ear for the ways in which his bruised yet hopeful characters think and speak, that the sheer force of his fictional mind took me by surprise. The Parallel Apartments is an amazing read." —Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me "Four generations of Austin women—or five or three, depending on how you count—rivet our attention in this ribald and absolutely compelling novel. Both playfully absurd and absurdly playful, The Parallel Apartments is full of fresh language, exact observation, and—best of all—an underlying and genuine tenderness." —Scott Hutchins, author of A Working Theory of Love "Funny and profane and more than slightly unhinged." — Texas Monthly "Inventive and hilarious, The Parallel Apartments delights in the oddities of people and language. Inhabiting a mesmerizing and unnerving kaleidoscope world, Bill Cotter's vivid characters turn extreme" into the new normal. " — Full Stop "Apartments produces anxiety but ultimately rewards tribulation, recalling at times Updike's capacity for wringing both pathos and humor from vulnerable circumstances. Cotter's characters are both endearing and cringe-inducingly maladroit, and he does his best work in the awkwardness created by mishandled moments of human frailty. … Cotter's stunningly constructed prose provides comfort from the mayhem." — Time Out New York "Cotter manages to be surreal, gruesome, and snortingly funny. Do yourself a favor and give in to The Parallel Apartments ' gravitational pull." -- Entertainment Weekly "By the time you're finished with The Parallel Apartments … you're going to want the author to accompany you everywhere for the rest of your life." — The Austin Chronicle " The Parallel Apartments is difficult to define. One part kooky comedy, one part family drama, one part exploration of womanhood, and one part gruesome catalogue of emotional dysfunction, Cotter's second novel defies any particular genre, except, perhaps, Cotter's own." — The Texas Observer Bill Cotter's darkly comic stories are powered by his delightfully strange and sometimes disturbing imagination, his empathetic character, and his graceful way with words." — The Rumpus, "Reading Bill Cotter's The Parallel Apartments is like taking some kind of word drug, but a new one, synthesized in a desert lab from molecules of Lipsyte, Dickens, Pynchon, Williams, Chabon, DeWitt, and Joyce, and then spun together with Cotter's own unique particles to yield a book that produces an actual high when read. There's micro-attention paid to sweatpants material and the feel of artificial cheese powder on fingertips and the bouillon smell of nether regions. There is sadness. There is loneliness. There are riffs that make me wish an actor were there to read to me aloud, so I could cry from laughter without needing to clearly see the page. This book is an experience—it is a never-read-anything-like-it-before work of brainy, heartfelt joy." —Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishers and The Effect of Living Backwards "Bill Cotter writes with so much dark wit, such a keen eye for unsettling detail, such a perfect ear for the ways in which his bruised yet hopeful characters think and speak, that the sheer force of his fictional mind took me by surprise. The Parallel Apartments is an amazing read." —Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me "Four generations of Austin women—or five or three, depending on how you count—rivet our attention in this ribald and absolutely compelling novel. Both playfully absurd and absurdly playful, The Parallel Apartments is full of fresh language, exact observation, and—best of all—an underlying and genuine tenderness." —Scott Hutchins, author of A Working Theory of Love "Funny and profane and more than slightly unhinged." — Texas Monthly "Inventive and hilarious, The Parallel Apartments delights in the oddities of people and language. Inhabiting a mesmerizing and unnerving kaleidoscope world, Bill Cotter's vivid characters turn extreme" into the new normal. " — Full Stop "Apartments produces anxiety but ultimately rewards tribulation, recalling at times Updike's capacity for wringing both pathos and humor from vulnerable circumstances. Cotter's characters are both endearing and cringe-inducingly maladroit, and he does his best work in the awkwardness created by mishandled moments of human frailty. … Cotter's stunningly constructed prose provides comfort from the mayhem." — Time Out New York "Cotter manages to be surreal, gruesome, and snortingly funny. Do yourself a favor and give in to The Parallel Apartments ' gravitational pull." — Entertainment Weekly "By the time you're finished with The Parallel Apartments … you're going to want the author to accompany you everywhere for the rest of your life." — The Austin Chronicle " The Parallel Apartments is difficult to define. One part kooky comedy, one part family drama, one part exploration of womanhood, and one part gruesome catalogue of emotional dysfunction, Cotter's second novel defies any particular genre, except, perhaps, Cotter's own." — The Texas Observer Bill Cotter's darkly comic stories are powered by his delightfully strange and sometimes disturbing imagination, his empathetic character, and his graceful way with words." — The Rumpus "Trying to describe The Parallel Apartments is like trying to pat your head while rubbing your stomach while reciting the alphabet backwards." — The Texas Observer "Cotter has mastered, from the lowest to highest orders, the elements of fiction; his sentences are as grand as the sweeping architectural details of his book's structure." — Rain Taxi, "Reading Bill Cotter's The Parallel Apartments is like taking some kind of word drug, but a new one, synthesized in a desert lab from molecules of Lipsyte, Dickens, Pynchon, Williams, Chabon, DeWitt, and Joyce, and then spun together with Cotter's own unique particles to yield a book that produces an actual high when read. There's micro-attention paid to sweatpants material and the feel of artificial cheese powder on fingertips and the bouillon smell of nether regions. There is sadness. There is loneliness. There are riffs that make me wish an actor were there to read to me aloud, so I could cry from laughter without needing to clearly see the page. This book is an experience--it is a never-read-anything-like-it-before work of brainy, heartfelt joy." --Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishers and The Effect of Living Backwards "Bill Cotter writes with so much dark wit, such a keen eye for unsettling detail, such a perfect ear for the ways in which his bruised yet hopeful characters think and speak, that the sheer force of his fictional mind took me by surprise. The Parallel Apartments is an amazing read." --Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me "Four generations of Austin women--or five or three, depending on how you count--rivet our attention in this ribald and absolutely compelling novel. Both playfully absurd and absurdly playful, The Parallel Apartments is full of fresh language, exact observation, and--best of all--an underlying and genuine tenderness." --Scott Hutchins, author of A Working Theory of Love "Funny and profane and more than slightly unhinged." -- Texas Monthly "Inventive and hilarious, The Parallel Apartments delights in the oddities of people and language. Inhabiting a mesmerizing and unnerving kaleidoscope world, Bill Cotter's vivid characters turn "extreme" into the new normal. " -- Full Stop "Apartments produces anxiety but ultimately rewards tribulation, recalling at times Updike's capacity for wringing both pathos and humor from vulnerable circumstances. Cotter's characters are both endearing and cringe-inducingly maladroit, and he does his best work in the awkwardness created by mishandled moments of human frailty. ... Cotter's stunningly constructed prose provides comfort from the mayhem." -- Time Out New York "Cotter manages to be surreal, gruesome, and snortingly funny. Do yourself a favor and give in to The Parallel Apartments ' gravitational pull." -- Entertainment Weekly "By the time you're finished with The Parallel Apartments ... you're going to want the author to accompany you everywhere for the rest of your life." -- The Austin Chronicle " The Parallel Apartments is difficult to define. One part kooky comedy, one part family drama, one part exploration of womanhood, and one part gruesome catalogue of emotional dysfunction, Cotter's second novel defies any particular genre, except, perhaps, Cotter's own." -- The Texas Observer "Bill Cotter's darkly comic stories are powered by his delightfully strange and sometimes disturbing imagination, his empathetic character, and his graceful way with words." -- The Rumpus "Trying to describe The Parallel Apartments is like trying to pat your head while rubbing your stomach while reciting the alphabet backwards." -- The Texas Observer "Cotter has mastered, from the lowest to highest orders, the elements of fiction; his sentences are as grand as the sweeping architectural details of his book's structure." -- Rain Taxi, Praise for Fever Chart: Bill Cotter's Fever Chart proves there is still fresh wit and fierce life in the American tongue. Read this book." — Wells Tower Fever Chart is one of the year's most wonderfully dark and entertaining novels, and its protagonist Jerome Coe an unfortgettable literary character." — Large Hearted Boy Fever Chart is not about the destination so much as the reckless, driving-with-your-knees journey, and Jerome Coe is an antihero for the ages." — Texas Monthly, "Reading Bill Cotter's The Parallel Apartments is like taking some kind of word drug, but a new one, synthesized in a desert lab from molecules of Lipsyte, Dickens, Pynchon, Williams, Chabon, DeWitt, and Joyce, and then spun together with Cotter's own unique particles to yield a book that produces an actual high when read. There's micro-attention paid to sweatpants material and the feel of artificial cheese powder on fingertips and the bouillon smell of nether regions. There is sadness. There is loneliness. There are riffs that make me wish an actor were there to read to me aloud, so I could cry from laughter without needing to clearly see the page. This book is an experience—it is a never-read-anything-like-it-before work of brainy, heartfelt joy." —Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishers and The Effect of Living Backwards "Bill Cotter writes with so much dark wit, such a keen eye for unsettling detail, such a perfect ear for the ways in which his bruised yet hopeful characters think and speak, that the sheer force of his fictional mind took me by surprise. The Parallel Apartments is an amazing read." —Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me "Four generations of Austin women—or five or three, depending on how you count—rivet our attention in this ribald and absolutely compelling novel. Both playfully absurd and absurdly playful, The Parallel Apartments is full of fresh language, exact observation, and—best of all—an underlying and genuine tenderness." —Scott Hutchins, author of A Working Theory of Love "Funny and profane and more than slightly unhinged." — Texas Monthly, "Reading Bill Cotter's The Parallel Apartments is like taking some kind of word drug, but a new one, synthesized in a desert lab from molecules of Lipsyte, Dickens, Pynchon, Williams, Chabon, DeWitt, and Joyce, and then spun together with Cotter's own unique particles to yield a book that produces an actual high when read. There's micro-attention paid to sweatpants material and the feel of artificial cheese powder on fingertips and the bouillon smell of nether regions. There is sadness. There is loneliness. There are riffs that make me wish an actor were there to read to me aloud, so I could cry from laughter without needing to clearly see the page. This book is an experience?it is a never-read-anything-like-it-before work of brainy, heartfelt joy." ?Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishers and The Effect of Living Backwards "Bill Cotter writes with so much dark wit, such a keen eye for unsettling detail, such a perfect ear for the ways in which his bruised yet hopeful characters think and speak, that the sheer force of his fictional mind took me by surprise. The Parallel Apartments is an amazing read." ?Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me "Four generations of Austin women?or five or three, depending on how you count?rivet our attention in this ribald and absolutely compelling novel. Both playfully absurd and absurdly playful, The Parallel Apartments is full of fresh language, exact observation, and?best of all?an underlying and genuine tenderness." ?Scott Hutchins, author of A Working Theory of Love "Funny and profane and more than slightly unhinged." ? Texas Monthly "Inventive and hilarious, The Parallel Apartments delights in the oddities of people and language. Inhabiting a mesmerizing and unnerving kaleidoscope world, Bill Cotter's vivid characters turn ?extreme" into the new normal. " ? Full Stop "Apartments produces anxiety but ultimately rewards tribulation, recalling at times Updike's capacity for wringing both pathos and humor from vulnerable circumstances. Cotter's characters are both endearing and cringe-inducingly maladroit, and he does his best work in the awkwardness created by mishandled moments of human frailty. ? Cotter's stunningly constructed prose provides comfort from the mayhem." ? Time Out New York "Cotter manages to be surreal, gruesome, and snortingly funny. Do yourself a favor and give in to The Parallel Apartments ' gravitational pull." ? Entertainment Weekly "By the time you're finished with The Parallel Apartments ? you're going to want the author to accompany you everywhere for the rest of your life." ? The Austin Chronicle " The Parallel Apartments is difficult to define. One part kooky comedy, one part family drama, one part exploration of womanhood, and one part gruesome catalogue of emotional dysfunction, Cotter's second novel defies any particular genre, except, perhaps, Cotter's own." ? The Texas Observer ?Bill Cotter's darkly comic stories are powered by his delightfully strange and sometimes disturbing imagination, his empathetic character, and his graceful way with words." ? The Rumpus "Trying to describe The Parallel Apartments is like trying to pat your head while rubbing your stomach while reciting the alphabet backwards." ? The Texas Observer "Cotter has mastered, from the lowest to highest orders, the elements of fiction; his sentences are as grand as the sweeping architectural details of his book's structure." ? Rain Taxi, "Reading Bill Cotter's The Parallel Apartments is like taking some kind of word drug, but a new one, synthesized in a desert lab from molecules of Lipsyte, Dickens, Pynchon, Williams, Chabon, DeWitt, and Joyce, and then spun together with Cotter's own unique particles to yield a book that produces an actual high when read. There's micro-attention paid to sweatpants material and the feel of artificial cheese powder on fingertips and the bouillon smell of nether regions. There is sadness. There is loneliness. There are riffs that make me wish an actor were there to read to me aloud, so I could cry from laughter without needing to clearly see the page. This book is an experience—it is a never-read-anything-like-it-before work of brainy, heartfelt joy." —Heidi Julavits, author of The Vanishers and The Effect of Living Backwards "Bill Cotter writes with so much dark wit, such a keen eye for unsettling detail, such a perfect ear for the ways in which his bruised yet hopeful characters think and speak, that the sheer force of his fictional mind took me by surprise. The Parallel Apartments is an amazing read." —Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up With Me "Four generations of Austin women—or five or three, depending on how you count—rivet our attention in this ribald and absolutely compelling novel. Both playfully absurd and absurdly playful, The Parallel Apartments is full of fresh language, exact observation, and—best of all—an underlying and genuine tenderness." —Scott Hutchins, author of A Working Theory of Love "Funny and profane and more than slightly unhinged." — Texas Monthly "Inventive and hilarious, The Parallel Apartments delights in the oddities of people and language. Inhabiting a mesmerizing and unnerving kaleidoscope world, Bill Cotter's vivid characters turn extreme" into the new normal. " — Full Stop
TitleLeading
The
Synopsis
Justine Moppett is 34, pregnant, and fleeing an abusive relationship in New York to dig up an even more traumatic childhood in Austin. Waiting for her there is a cast of more than a dozen misfits -- a hemophobic aspiring serial killer, a deranged soprano opera singer, a debt-addicted entrepreneur-cum-madam, a matchmaking hermaphrodite -- each hurtling toward their own calamities, and, ultimately, toward each other. A Texan Gabriel Garc a M rquez who writes tragicomic twists reminiscent of John Kennedy Toole, Bill Cotter produces some of the most visceral, absurd, and downright hilarious sentences to be found in fiction today. The Parallel Apartments is a bold leap forward for a writer whose protean talents, whose sheer exuberance for language and what a novel can do, marks him as one of the most exciting stylists in America., Justine Moppett is 34, pregnant, and fleeing an abusive relationship in New York to dig up an even more traumatic childhood in Austin. Waiting for her there is a cast of more than a dozen misfits -- a hemophobic aspiring serial killer, a deranged soprano opera singer, a debt-addicted entrepreneur-cum-madame, a matchmaking hermaphrodite -- each hurtling toward their own calamities, and, ultimately, toward each other. A Texan Gabriel Garcia Marquez, with tragicomic twists reminiscent of John Kennedy Toole, Bill Cotter writes some of the most visceral, absurd, and downright hilarious sentences to be found in fiction today., Justine Moppett is 34, pregnant, and fleeing an abusive relationship in New York to dig up an even more traumatic childhood in Austin. Waiting for her there is a cast of more than a dozen misfits ? a hemophobic aspiring serial killer, a deranged soprano opera singer, a debt-addicted entrepreneur-cum-madam, a matchmaking hermaphrodite ? each hurtling toward their own calamities, and, ultimately, toward each other. A Texan Gabriel García Márquez who writes tragicomic twists reminiscent of John Kennedy Toole, Bill Cotter produces some of the most visceral, absurd, and downright hilarious sentences to be found in fiction today. The Parallel Apartments is a bold leap forward for a writer whose protean talents, whose sheer exuberance for language and what a novel can do, marks him as one of the most exciting stylists in America.
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- r***r (10)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseExcellent quality for an unbeatable price. Condition and appearance of the book are as advertised, but far better than one might expect. No surprises. Service was extremely efficient. Excellent experience. Highly recommended seller for honesty in advertising and speedy shipment. Would most certainly use again.
- a***l- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchaseHighly Recommend for Excellent Service, Product, Packaging, Great Communication & Speedy Delivery ** Twenty Stars Plus ✨ Thank you so much!
- l***c (532)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseA+ Seller! Book arrived in better-than-expected condition. Fast shipping, great packing.
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