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 Montr?al, 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 "Zuck"). 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 Bola?o, 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.

Jason Guriel is the author of several collections of poems and a book of essays. His writing has appeared in Slate, The Atlantic, and other magazines. He lives in Toronto.