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FROTTAGE & EVEN AS WE SPEAK
These novellas--two powerful, two very different stories--are beautifully crafted, sometimes erotic, and always lyrical. What a wonderful surprise to discover a new voice, a teller of contemporary American stories that are assured and eloquent, witty, yet truthful to the point of heartbreak.
--Francois von Hurter, Bitter Lemon Press, London
Compelling, beautifully written, surprising--Houghton's characters are ingeniously complex.
--Robin Amos Kahn, playwright, Scrambled Eggs
Two literary bullets, packed with quiet desperation, and aimed precisely at the reader's heart.
--Jane Dobija, editor of Corridors Magazine
Frottage, a story told in letters from an attitudinal lady to her shrink, is wickedly funny, yet simultaneously wise and moving. A great read, and you could end up saving yourself a lot of $200 sessions. Even As We Speak is one of those works where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. What glistening little gems the various parts are, written in a sparse almost zen style. They add us.
--David Seidler, author of The King's Speech
--Francois von Hurter, Bitter Lemon Press, London
Compelling, beautifully written, surprising--Houghton's characters are ingeniously complex.
--Robin Amos Kahn, playwright, Scrambled Eggs
Two literary bullets, packed with quiet desperation, and aimed precisely at the reader's heart.
--Jane Dobija, editor of Corridors Magazine
Frottage, a story told in letters from an attitudinal lady to her shrink, is wickedly funny, yet simultaneously wise and moving. A great read, and you could end up saving yourself a lot of $200 sessions. Even As We Speak is one of those works where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. What glistening little gems the various parts are, written in a sparse almost zen style. They add us.
--David Seidler, author of The King's Speech
- GenresFiction
172 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2012
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14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 27, 2012
I am astonished. I want to tell the world about this book. At first I found myself laughing out loud then I kind of got pissed off because it was so disturbing and finally it left me sad. It is an excellent book.
August 27, 2019
Houghton captures the dreamy, fantasizing side of her characters that lead them like Don Quixote running at windmills to break out of their normalcy and commit absurd acts, or at least contemplate them. Both novellas are perfect for the reader living a contemporary, chaotic lifestyle that allows only a few minutes of reading at a time. And because of their surprising, sometimes ominous, sometimes humorous, twists and turns, one cannot wait to get back and read the next one.
September 17, 2015
Two novellas in this short book. But what novellas they are.
They both deal intimately with family -- with our orientation and loss of orientation in the universe, the world we make.
The first reaches us in the form of a series of disjointed letters --- a woman writing to her psychologist, at first, detailing their encounters, and his lack of response... and in these letters, she is able to tell of the very seminal bonds she had with her two brothers, the trauma that came with the loss of their inner world (the three of them had) and then the healing that starts up again.
The second deals with a collage of a series of characters whose lives by happenstance collide and come together. Family again. But through a series of equally traumatic encounters the different characters down own up to their existence (in different ways) finding their way again.
Both these stories at first, seemed to wander. Where were they going? What were they doing? But then, when you get past half the story, and the worldview of each separate piece seems established in its normality, or at least within its own internal logic of its 'scene' you get a rush in which the accumulated disturbances, the small pieces that seemed in place come together out of joint. The displacement takes you further along, faster than you had before to arrive at the breaking point, when the ending seemed too clear, and yet less clear.
And this is where the two novellas parted ways for me. The first didn't seem completed, as an ending that was befitting (although that was read over six months ago... reading it again now, it seems very much so). The second novella wrapped itself up neatly, almost too neatly for how can characters after encountering so much pain (their own pain, the pain of those around them) -- come to a satisfying ending? And yet Houghton does pull it off, by emphasizing the story is closed.
By wrapping the larger theme in a metaphysical theme, she echos the structure of narrative structure, in fact, her structure, as you see each partition in the story fragments come together as motifs in a larger tapestry, playing out all the permutations and exhausting the inner voices of her story. Finally, the story then releases us, having imparted its word and completed itself, like a classical piece of music, developed its theme out fully and yet wrapped us back to end on a note that is the essence of itself, sustained by its ending to linger a little longer than after we turn the last page.
They both deal intimately with family -- with our orientation and loss of orientation in the universe, the world we make.
The first reaches us in the form of a series of disjointed letters --- a woman writing to her psychologist, at first, detailing their encounters, and his lack of response... and in these letters, she is able to tell of the very seminal bonds she had with her two brothers, the trauma that came with the loss of their inner world (the three of them had) and then the healing that starts up again.
The second deals with a collage of a series of characters whose lives by happenstance collide and come together. Family again. But through a series of equally traumatic encounters the different characters down own up to their existence (in different ways) finding their way again.
Both these stories at first, seemed to wander. Where were they going? What were they doing? But then, when you get past half the story, and the worldview of each separate piece seems established in its normality, or at least within its own internal logic of its 'scene' you get a rush in which the accumulated disturbances, the small pieces that seemed in place come together out of joint. The displacement takes you further along, faster than you had before to arrive at the breaking point, when the ending seemed too clear, and yet less clear.
And this is where the two novellas parted ways for me. The first didn't seem completed, as an ending that was befitting (although that was read over six months ago... reading it again now, it seems very much so). The second novella wrapped itself up neatly, almost too neatly for how can characters after encountering so much pain (their own pain, the pain of those around them) -- come to a satisfying ending? And yet Houghton does pull it off, by emphasizing the story is closed.
What Susie secretly suspects (she images the scientists will someday come to this) is that there is a giant universe of universes (no exit, no entrance), and that inside it, smaller universes slip and slide against each other, constantly on the move, positions random and haphazard, always keeping the big moves mysterious, yeah, you might exit this universe and come right back in on the other side, but, just maybe (timing is everything) you might exit and slip into a whole other universe just because it happens to be sliding by the one you are escaping, the one you've played all the games in that can be played, the one you've earned the right to exit for good
By wrapping the larger theme in a metaphysical theme, she echos the structure of narrative structure, in fact, her structure, as you see each partition in the story fragments come together as motifs in a larger tapestry, playing out all the permutations and exhausting the inner voices of her story. Finally, the story then releases us, having imparted its word and completed itself, like a classical piece of music, developed its theme out fully and yet wrapped us back to end on a note that is the essence of itself, sustained by its ending to linger a little longer than after we turn the last page.
June 6, 2012
Am I biased? Because I'm her brother? You bet I am, but not in the obvious sense. Sure, I support Mona, but I've also always been jealous of her writing ability, and at a gut-deep level that can only exist between siblings born close together. So. The fact that I must tell you what a marvelous pair of stories comprise this book...it's very painful to me. I'm running out of time; she's just too good; I'm never going to catch up.
"Frottage" is an inner landscape with an "outer" component: we know a lot about Claire's world, but only as she filters it through her emotions, her desires and her search for a way to make it all make sense. "Even As We Speak" has more conventional story -- people doing things and going places, mostly the latter -- but their inner narratives are the color and the music that make the reader want to follow along with them.
These are excruciatingly personal stories, with all the humor and sensuality that comes of being human.
Excellent writing, Mona....damn you.
"Frottage" is an inner landscape with an "outer" component: we know a lot about Claire's world, but only as she filters it through her emotions, her desires and her search for a way to make it all make sense. "Even As We Speak" has more conventional story -- people doing things and going places, mostly the latter -- but their inner narratives are the color and the music that make the reader want to follow along with them.
These are excruciatingly personal stories, with all the humor and sensuality that comes of being human.
Excellent writing, Mona....damn you.
June 8, 2014
I had never heard of this book, author or press when I was reeled, slightly drunk, in to their booth at AWP. I won't say I was coerced into buying the book but I doubt I would have picked this up off the shelf otherwise. N.B. I had no idea what I was getting into with this, nor any preconceptions about the writer of novellas.
Having said this both of these novellas are absolutely wonderful. Houghton's prose is efficient to the point of being nearly invisible. These are very much character driven works and she is excellent at creating and developing them. Definitely worth a shot.
Having said this both of these novellas are absolutely wonderful. Houghton's prose is efficient to the point of being nearly invisible. These are very much character driven works and she is excellent at creating and developing them. Definitely worth a shot.
July 28, 2014
The prose is elegant and the characters vivid. Telling the story in the form of letters in the first novella works in a way I found compelling. I was surprised and thought it might fail, but no, it was perfect.
The second part of the book moves with speed as the characters race though the highway. Ms. Houghton is amazing.
The second part of the book moves with speed as the characters race though the highway. Ms. Houghton is amazing.
August 17, 2012
Two distinct novellas: both provocative, unforgettable, and beautifully written. The first one intertwines letters, therapy, humor, and heartbreak; the second sweeps the reader up in an exhilarating ride with eccentric characters in eccentric circumstances. Mona Houghton is indeed a fine writer.
April 20, 2012
Anything by Mona is bound to be good - and this is no exception! Read the reviews (caution a few spoilers in there) and enjoy!
June 6, 2012
I saw Mona at a reading for her book and it was absolutely superb. I had to buy the book immediately! Her work is funny, honest, and thoughtful. I'm really enjoying the read.
August 2, 2012
Frottage is riveting. Houghton's ability to create such depth of character through an epistolary form is inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews