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Pretend I Am Someone You Like Shome Dasgupta Debut Novelist! Available October 2018 |
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Synopsis: Set in present day rural Louisiana, Mutty takes care of his younger cousin, Barn, who has not spoken since the day his father was arrested. Pepper, Mutty's love interest, is haunted by a violent past, and she's trying to escape it and start a new life. Her relationship with Mutty grows throughout the story as they learn more about each other, spiritually and physically, and Barn becomes a constant symbol of love for the two, who are trying to find a spark in their respective lives. Pepper's past catches up with her, and Mutty, Barn, Ma, and Pepper are trying to deal with a mysterious man and his attempts at thievery and kidnapping in their own little world full of mud, hay, and crawfish.
"...This is
courageously strange writing that will intrigue and beguile the
reader from the get-go, and it boasts a dénouement that would
make Quentin Tarantino squirm.
ISBN: 978-1-60489-211-0 Hard cover $15.00 ISBN: 978-1-60489-210-2 Trade paper $8.00 154 Pages |
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About
the Author: Shome Dasgupta is the author of i am here And You Are Gone (Winner Of The 2010 OW Press Fiction Chapbook Contest), The Seagull And The Urn (HarperCollins India, 2013) which has been republished in the UK by Accent Press as The Sea Singer(2016), Anklet And Other Stories (Golden Antelope Press, 2017), and Pretend I Am Someone You Like (University of West Alabama’s Livingston Press , 2019). His second collection of stories, Mute, is forthcoming from Tolsun Books. His stories and poems have appeared in Puerto Del Sol, New Orleans Review, NANO Fiction, New Delta Review,Necessary Fiction, Magma Poetry, and elsewhere. His fiction and poetry have been anthologized in The &Now Awards 2: The Best Innovative Writing (&Now Books, 2013) and Poetic Voices Without Borders 2 (Gival Press, 2009). His work has been featured as a storySouth Million Writers Award Notable Story, nominated for The Best Of The Net, and longlisted for the Wigleaf Top 50. He lives in Lafayette, LA, and his website can be found at www.shomedome.com.
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| Exceprt from the novel: |
A STABBING IN THE HAY Rain,
rain, rain, went the drop. Sink, sink, sink, went the
drip. Wipe, wipe, wipe went the squeak, and blood,
blood, blood, went the head. Woosh. And Barn, Barn, Barn
went the woosh.
Bird, bird, bird went the soar; machine, machine,
machine, went the cling and clang; house, house, house
went the fire. Ting. Song,
song, song, went the sing, and breath, breath, breath
went the fuck--bed, bed, bed went the springs, up and
down, up and down, up and down, until wind, wind, wind,
went the blow, coming through the window. Morning suns--an infinite moment
trapped in one second, penetrating pores until bodies
were helium balloons, floating in the sky, like Barn. Barn, Barn, Barn, went the float.
Ice, ice, ice, went the crunch--hammer, hammer,
hammer went the crunch.
There were horses. There was a
bear. There were animals. Cow, cow, cow, went the moo, and
cat, cat, cat went the meow, and dog, dog, dog, went the
bark, and tree, tree, tree, went the sap. There were buzzes and workers, and
they went bee, bee, bee, and ant, ant, ant. Bee, bee,
bee, went the ant, and rose, rose, rose, went the
blossom. Marigolds. Bronze fields covered in
gray--there were people there, walking fro and to and
from there to here, and Barn could see all of them and
point and laugh and shout and cry, until the people were
gone. When it's night, stars, stars,
stars, went the glow, and meteor, meteor, meteor, went
the shower, and Barn, Barn, Barn went the oooooooo.
Knife, knife, knife went the stab.
There were blades. Shine, shine, shine, went the
sparkle. |
