Forgotten Work

A New York Times New & Noteworthy Book * "e;Strange and affectionate, like Almost Famous penned by Shakespeare. A love letter to music in all its myriad iterations."e;-Kirkus Reviews * "e;This book has no business being as good as it is."e;-Christian WimanIn the year 2063, on the edge of the Crater formerly known as Montral, a middle-aged man and his ex's daughter search for a cult hero: the leader of a short-lived band named after a forgotten work of poetry and known to fans through a forgotten work of music criticism. In this exuberantly plotted verse novel, Guriel follows an obsessive cult-following through the twenty-first century. Some things change (there's metamorphic smart print for music mags; the Web is called the "e;Zuck"e;). Some things don't (poetry readings are still, mostly, terrible). But the characters, including a robot butler who stands with Ishiguro's Stevens as one of the great literary domestics, are unforgettable.Splicing William Gibson with Roberto Bolao, Pale Fire with Thomas Pynchon, Forgotten Work is a time-tripping work of speculative fiction. It's a love story about fandom, an ode to music snobs, a satire on the human need to value the possible over the actual-and a verse novel of Nabokovian virtuosity.