Forgotten Work

A New York Times New & Noteworthy Book "Strange and affectionate, like Almost Famous penned by Shakespeare. A love letter to music in all its myriad iterations."Kirkus Reviews "This book has no business being as good as it is."Christian Wiman In the year 2063, on the edge of the Crater formerly known as Montral, a middle-aged man and his exs 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 (theres metamorphic smart print for music mags; the Web is called the Zuck). Some things dont (poetry readings are still, mostly, terrible). But the characters, including a robot butler who stands with Ishiguros 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. Its a love story about fandom, an ode to music snobs, a satire on the human need to value the possible over the actualand a verse novel of Nabokovian virtuosity.