Making nice
Matt Sumell
Sold by Bill & Ben Books, Faringdon, United Kingdom
AbeBooks Seller since 3 March 2025
New - Hardcover
Condition: New
Ships from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketSold by Bill & Ben Books, Faringdon, United Kingdom
AbeBooks Seller since 3 March 2025
Condition: New
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basket"In Matt Sumell's blazing, heartbreaking first book, our rage-filled hero Alby is flailing wildly against the world around him--he punches his sister (she deserved it), "unprotectos" broads (they deserved it and liked it), gets drunk and picks fights (all deserved), defends defenseless creatures both large and small and spews insults at children, slow drivers, lunch ladies, and every single surviving member of his family. It seems he is the angriest young man in the history of angry young men, and in each of these stories, we watch him run at life with a breakneck speed. But after the loss of his mother to a long battle with cancer, swirling at the center of Alby's fury is a grief so big, so life-shatteringly profound, it might swallow him whole. As Alby drinks, screws, and jokes his way through his pain--from his childhood home on Long Island to a houseboat in a California and many somewheres in between--his heartache, his anger, his kindness and his capacity for good bubble up when he (and we) least expect it. One part Junot Diaz and one part Barry Hannah, MAKING NICE is a naked, hysterical rendering of a heart sorting through its broken pieces, clinging to laughter and rage to survive. With prose that is by turns mirthful, jagged, and devastatingly raw, Sumell delivers a powerful, full-steam-ahead debut that will wrestle you to the ground and keep you laughing even as you try to catch your breath. MAKING NICE is a new classic about love, loss and the fine line between grappling through grief and fighting for (and with) the only family you've got"--.
Seller Inventory # 0051260
Named a book of the year by BUSTLE and ELECTRIC LITERATURE
“Alby is Holden Caulfield in the Internet age..." --Los Angeles Times
Hailed as "indelible" by Entertainment Weekly, a "cringe-inducingly funny" (The Wall Street Journal) gut-punch of a debut about love, grief, and family "unleashes one of the most comically arresting voices this side of Sam Lipsyte's Homeland" (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
In Matt Sumell's blazing first book, our hero Alby flails wildly against the world around him—he punches his sister (she deserved it), "unprotectos" broads (they deserved it and liked it), gets drunk and picks fights (all deserved), defends defenseless creatures both large and small, and spews insults at children, slow drivers, old ladies, and every single surviving member of his family. In each of these stories Alby distills the anguish, the terror, the humor, and the strange grace—or lack of—he experiences in the aftermath of his mother's death. Swirling at the center of Alby's rage is a grief so big, so profound, it might swallow him whole. As he drinks, screws, and jokes his way through his pain and heartache, Alby's anger, his kindness, and his capacity for good bubble up when he (and we) least expect it. Sumell delivers "a naked rendering of a heart sorting through its broken pieces to survive.*"
Making Nice is a powerful, full-steam-ahead ride that will keep you laughing even as you try to catch your breath; a new classic about love, loss, and the fine line between grappling through grief and fighting for (and with) the only family you've got.
*Mark Richard
Matt Sumell is a graduate of UC Irvine's MFA program, and his fiction has since appeared in Esquire, the Paris Review, Electric Literature, One Story, Noon, and elsewhere. He lives in Los Angeles, California. Making Nice is his first book.
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Bill & Ben Books Ltd
All books are shipped in New or Used condition as described in the listing. We post promptly, orders usually ship within 1-2 business days. We are happy to accept returns up to 30 days from purchase. Domestic Shipments are sent by Royal Mail, and International by Airmail. Please contact us directly if you wish to return an order.
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Orders usually ship within 1-2 business days. Domestic Shipments are sent by Royal Mail, and International by Airmail. We are happy to accept returns upto 30 days from purchase. Please contact us directly if you wish to return an order
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