In 2010, we published Adam Novy's The Avian Gospels as two volumes, kind of Old and New Testament style. Having sold out of the two-volume edition, the book is now newly available, now been recombined back into a single volume with rounded corners, gilded edges, a ribbon bookmark, and Bible-style line numbering.
We are super excited! To celebrate, we are calling this "Adam Novy Week" and will feature an excerpt, interview, trailer, or some other kind of Adam Novy miscellany every day.
A year or so ago, Chicago's Book Cellar knew Adam Levin (who's The Instructions and Hot Pink are both ridiculously amazing and you should go out and read them immeditately. Or, you know... right-after-you-(re)read-The-Avian-Gospels-immediately) had been raving about Novy's book and so got him to write a kind of awesome local guy recommends card and so today... don't take our word for it. Take Levin's. He's smart people.
Purchase the book here.
Novy’s AVIAN GOSPELS is a novel (originally) in two short volumes about a foreign boy in an unnamed city-state that borders Hungary and Oklahoma. The city-state is run by a despot, its local Gypsies invent first- and second-wave ska, the boy falls in love with the despot’s daughter, and when a plague of birds descends upon all of them, only the boy and his father (who are much at odds) can protect the city-state from total destruction, for the boy and his father can both control birds. Just to be clear: the foregoing two sentences contain no spoilers. All I’ve described is in play by page 20. Did I mention this novel’s really funny? It’s funny in the way BLOOD MERIDIAN is funny, and AMERICAN TABLOID, and IN THE PENAL COLONY. I want to say that the book reminds a reader that his life is fleeting, that he’ll be separated from everything he loves pretty soon, that he’ll disappear forever and rot and be forgotten, but I worry that might sound like overstatement (if not—ick—oversharement), or, even worse, that it might lead you, fellow lover of fiction, to assume the book is an unfun read, when, in fact, it's playful and joy-bringing. What reminds you you’ll die is its in-your-face aliveness, its assured immortality.
-Adam Levin
