An avid reader of literary fiction, fantasy, and science fiction, Mark Buchignani has more ‘favorite’ authors than he can count, among them George R. Stewart, John Wain, Martin Amis, John Steinbeck, Margaret Atwood, Nicholson Baker, Richard Flanagan… The tip of the iceberg. Novels of my own began spilling out in 2005, resulting in, among others, MTee’s Lament, a twist on a post-apocalyptic tale. Many more narratives followed. Some are published here; others languish behind “fair use” entanglements.
My stuff tends toward societal commentary, presented via normal people who find themselves in unexpected, offbeat, or abnormal circumstances – circumstances replete with threatened or actual upheaval. The choices these folks make move the action forward and expose brokenness in the culture and in the actors themselves.
I’m also a huge Tolkien fan and have written volume one of a loosely-planned five-book set: The Recitation of Ooon. Though in the same genre as Lord the Rings, Ooon is definitely not Middle Earth, and there are no Hobbits. Just people trying to find their way while engulfed in a magical upheaval driven by a clash between followers of the ancient ways and those seeking a new, less-fettered life. The narrator is a thousand-year-old man, trying to see forward, while looking back, as his existence comes to a pre-destined end.
And I have devoured everything Theodore Sturgeon and quite a bit of old school SF. Though I have yet to draft anything within this genre, ideas continually percolate.
Medina Brown is the daughter of an American man and a Turkish woman. Born in her namesake city, she grows up in the fictional town of Joseph, Illinois, an hour east of St. Louis, two west of Indianapolis. She meets Kevin Foster in kindergarten. Immediately best friends, they grow up together. He lives two blocks down. They're part of each other's families. He becomes her biographer.
Kevin records: She was extraordinary, superior, and I was... an adjunct, a plus one? No, that's not fair. She was driving and I was her passenger. That's better. She did love me too. How would she describe her feelings, describe me, if she were writing this?
Medina is energetic, attractive, participatory, electable. Where she looks, others gaze; where she goes, they charge; where she works, they labor. Her actions first help others, first share resources, first raise the less fortunate to her level. She makes many friends, some enemies. Her popularity is vast, not universal.
Twenty-first century politics shape their lives – bullies, violence, internet accusers, and homophobic trolls, who insist, despite contrary evidence, Kevin is gay.
The book, emblematic of these messy and disheartening times, explores gender dynamics and hate, while building to multiple conclusions: the consummation of Medina's and Kevin's relationship; the pinnacle of her fame and popularity; the long-brewing clash with increasingly-racist (and sexist) detractors; and the culmination of her political campaign.
By the end, you'll find yourself hoping your search engine can pull Joseph out of the Southern Illinois landscape. Maybe a drive… Maybe on August 10th. Yeah, Roosevelt Square on Medina Brown Day. I'm there!
This is a full-blooded, old-school novel, meaty and memorable, intensifying as the account progresses toward its conclusion. Long after you've closed the cover, you'll find yourself wondering about the culture you live in.
Título : Medina Brown
EAN : 9798215993422
Editorial : Mark Buchignani
El libro electrónico Medina Brown está en formato ePub
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