Review by the inimitable Pecos B. Jett
By Mike Daily
(Stovepiper Books Media)
In Mike Daily’s new novel Alarm we travel along with his fictional otherself Mick O’Grady and the voice in both of their heads known as the Alter-Narrator, as they traverse the landscape of their early thirties, deteriorating relationships, fledgling sobriety, financial insecurity, and the omnipresent signage we’re presented with every day. If that soul-stew wasn’t already hearty enough, our protagonist faces these circumstances in Los Angeles, of all places, just weeks after the events of 9/11, of all times.
In this semi-autobiographical, Dave Eggers meets Richard Linklater book, Daily presents a character living in a constant state of confusion most of us only visit when we say a word over and over again until it doesn’t seem like it could actually be a word at all. As the author states many times throughout the text, “It doesn’t seem to make any sense.” On a particularly bleak day when he must sell CDs to get some groceries, O’Grady displays how we fictionalize our own lives— “I look into the kitchen sink like it’s some stupid movie”— while he contemplates putting water in his cereal in lieu of milk.
Finally, the book chronicles Daily’s literary love affair with Portland’s own Kevin Sampsell, and how their early correspondence eventually leads O’Grady/Daily to pack up for and ship off to the Great Northwest. A little mutual admiration from two writers goes a long way.
What sets this book apart is the Alter-Narrator, a running commentary in the side margins off to the right of the text. Providing the one-liners for most of the book, the Alter-Narrator actually takes over for the last chapter and brings it all home. Alarm also includes two CDs of the text: one live and one studio as performed by Daily and friends as the band O’GRADY. I preferred to finish the book before tearing into the audio materials … for the sing-alongs of course. ---Pecos B Jett
Links:
BLOG: mickogrady.blogspot.com
MYSPACE/MP3'S: www.myspace.com/alarmdailynovel
PURCHASE BOOK FROM LARGE BUT NEVERTHELESS "INDEPENDENT" BOOKSELLER:
www.powells.com
PUBLISHER INFORMATION:
Stovepiper Books Media
8316 N. Lombard PMB #292
Portland, OR 97203
