#gods
ORDER HERE
A RADICAL NEW MYTH ABOUT SEX, FAITH,
AND THOSE OF US WHO WILL NEVER DIE
A young boy wanders into the woods of Harlem and witnesses the abduction of his
sister by a glowing creature. Forty years later,
now working as a New York City homicide
detective, Gus is assigned to a case in which he
unexpectedly succumbs to a vision that Helen
is still alive. To find her, he embarks on an
uorthodox investigation that leads to an ancient
civilization of gods and the people determined
to bring them back.
In this colossal new novel from the author
of The Metropolis Case, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice collides with a new religion founded by three corporate office workers, creating something
beautiful, illogical, and overwhelming. Part sex
manifesto, part religious text, part Manhattan
noir—with a dose of deadly serious, internet inspired satire—#gods is a sprawling inquest
into the nature of faith and resistance in the
modern world. With each turn of the page,
#gods will leave you increasingly reborn.
Praise for #gods
“#gods is a mystery, an excavation of myths, an index of modern life, a gay coming-of-age
story, an office satire, a lyrical fever dream, a conspiracy. One of the most ambitious
novels in recent memory—and a wild, possibly transformative addition to the canon of
gay literature—it contains multitudes, and seethes with brilliance.” —Mark Doten,
author of The Infernal
“Matthew Gallaway’s #gods is a novel so brilliant, so funny, so full of strange and marvelous
things, I couldn’t stop writing OMG WTF I <3 THIS SO MUCH in its margins. It’s rare to
find a novel that so dazzlingly reinvigorates age-old meditations on faith and f&!*ing, art
and eros. Luminous, enterprising, and sublimely cheeky, #gods tells the story, the myth,
the dream of the human soul in all its glorious complexity.” —Suzanne Morrison,
author of Yoga Bitch
“Matthew Gallaway’s storytelling manages to be both dreamy and serious; lean and luxurious.
His words carry an incantatory power of mythic storytelling where beauty and
savagery wrap around each other like bright threads in a gorgeous tapestry.”
—Natasha Vargas-Cooper,
author of Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America
“If the ancient gods were just like us, only more so, then the same could be said for this
strange, wonderful book, in which the mundane sorrows and small triumphs of very
ordinary lives glow ever so slightly around the edges, sometimes quite literally. At once
an oddly romantic send-up of dead-end office culture and an offbeat supernatural procedural,
#gods is terrifically weird, melancholy, sexy, and charming.” —Jacob Bacharach,
author of The Bend of the World
OMG! What beautiful photos! Thank you Matt! As you know, I virtually lived in Fort Tryon Park for 7 years (lived there (walked up there almost every day from 168th St.), err, ahh, "played" there, and wrote my Columbia thesis there, and loved it 24/7/365). I am very glad to see that it's even in much better condition now.
Posted by: David Fox | 02/22/2010 at 03:30 PM
Thanks David!
Posted by: Matthew Gallaway | 02/22/2010 at 03:37 PM
I think, in connection with this weeping elm,
of "Kindred Spirits" at the edge of a rockledge
overlooking a stream:
Thanatopsis-invoking tree-loving Bryant
conversing with Thomas Cole
in Asher Durand's painting of them
under the filigree of an elm overhead.
No doubt they had seen other trees -- lindens,
maples and sycamores, oaks and the Paris
street-tree, the horse-chestnut; but imagine
their rapture, had they come on the Camperdown elm's
massiveness and "the intricate pattern of its branches,"
arching high, curving low, in its mist of fine twigs.
The Bartlett tree-cavity specialist saw it
and thrust his arm the whole length of the hollowness
of its torso and there were six small cavities also.
Props are needed and tree-food. It is still leafing;
still there. Mortal though. We must save it. It is
our crowning curio.
Could the "ancient cherry?" be a camperdown elm?
Posted by: CG | 02/23/2010 at 07:42 PM
Oooh, thats a good guess, CG!!!! When it leafs out this spring, I will return for a definite verification...
Posted by: Matthew Gallaway | 02/23/2010 at 08:18 PM
Ulmus 'camperdownii' is my favorite, I look for it everywhere. The leaf buds and the high graft look right for it though.
The heather garden looks incredible, do you know if it's a restoration or if the old garden was maintained?
Posted by: CG | 02/23/2010 at 08:48 PM
Makes sense, CG. My understanding is that the present garden is a restoration that began in the late 80s/early 90s (after decades of complete neglect) but was based on the original plans from 1935, when it was created.
Posted by: Matthew Gallaway | 02/23/2010 at 08:59 PM
Thank you (MG) it's really beautiful. I've never seen it but will have to check it out.
Posted by: CG | 02/23/2010 at 09:02 PM
You wont be disappointed -- its beautiful at any time of the year!
Posted by: Matthew Gallaway | 02/23/2010 at 09:32 PM
Matt-- If you are going to be doing any more readings from your book, give us a heads-up ASAP. This post only arrived to me today, Feb. 28, so I missed the earlier one on Feb 18 (I think that was the date on the other post).
Posted by: James van Maanen | 02/28/2010 at 09:11 PM
Will do, Jim -- I didnt publicize this one too much but Ill certainly keep you posted!
Posted by: Matthew Gallaway | 02/28/2010 at 10:00 PM