Urbesque

by Moshe Zvi Marvit, cover art by Mat Daly (Illustrator), Michael W. Grenke (Introduction)

Fiction. URBESQUE is a collection of short (in the sense that most, though not all, of the pieces are shorter than forty pages) fiction (because they are untrue except, of course, for the parts that are). The characters who populate these stories do not travel to India or hang out with matadors. They do, however, go to job fairs, make furniture, leave their swords in the lockers at work, write letters to the objects that surround them and take pictures of it all, years after the fact, to remind them not to forget. If, one day, a copy of URBESQUE should appear unannounced on your doorstep, looking a little worse for wear, with whiskey on its breath, invite it in. Make room for it on your couch or bookshelf. Or, better yet, read it.

165 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Green Lantern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Urbesque is a collection of short (in the sense that most, though not all, of the pieces are shorter than forty pages) fiction (because they are untrue except, of course, for the parts that are). The characters who populate these stories do not travel to India or hang out with matadors. They do, however, go to job fairs, make furniture, leave their swords in the lockers at work, write letters to the objects that surround them and take pictures of it all, years after the fact, to remind them not to forget. If, one day, a copy of Urbesque should appear unannounced on your doorstep, looking a little worse for wear, with whiskey on its breath, invite it in. Make room for it on your couch or bookshelf. Or, better yet, read it.

With an introduction by Michael W. Grenke.

"...By the end of the book (if you can make it) you'll feel as if you've just read a textbook written by David Mamet while he was in a grouchy mood..."
—UR Chicago, June/ July 2007. Vol. 10, Issue 6

[Joe Drogos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gorgeous book-- hilarious and melancholy. It's beautifully bound, and you'll hold it like an orphaned finch. The stories are touched with an elliptical wit that'll leave you feeling clear and strong.

I bought this at the Printer's Row fair, and the vendor told me that the author was in law school now. I try not to wish ill on others, but I hope Marvit's becoming bored to tears with torts, because he needs to shake that shit off and and start writing more books....

And, I'd just like to add that I'm not sure who Michael W. Grenke is, but he sure wrote a helluva introduction. Man!