Backwardness

by Garielle Lutz

Longer and even odder than the fiction omnibus The Complete Gary Lutz, Backwardness is a selection of heartbreakingly hilarious excerpts from an epistolary and notebook chronicle, spanning half a century, of working-stiff miserabilia and the dark enchantments of life as a misfit.

Genres: Fiction

944 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2024

About the author

Garielle Lutz is an American writer of both poetry and fiction. Her work has appeared in Sleepingfish, NOON, The Quarterly, Conjunctions, Unsaid, Fence, StoryQuarterly, The Believer, Cimarron Review, 3rd Bed, Slate Magazine, New York Tyrant, The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories, The Apocalypse Reader (Thunder's Mouth Press), PP/FF: An Anthology (Starcherone Books), The Random House Treasury of Light Verse and in the film 60 Writers/60 Places.

A collection of her short fiction, Stories in the Worst Way, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in November 1996 and re-published by 3rd Bed in 2002 and Calamari Press in 2009. Lutz's second collection of short stories, I Looked Alive, was published by the now-defunct Four Walls Eight Windows in 2003 and republished by Black Square Editions/Brooklyn Rail in 2010. Partial List of People to Bleach, a chapbook of both new and rare early stories (published pseudonymously as Lee Stone in Gordon Lish's The Quarterly) was released by Future Tense Books in 2007. Divorcer, a collection of seven stories, was released by Calamari Press in 2011.

In 1996, Lutz was recipient of a literature grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 1999, she was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award.

In 2020, Lutz came out as a transgender woman.

Reviews

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

A depressive and beautiful accomplishment in the face of the empty American experience. And yes, the prose is perfection, visceral and revelatory. The ending guts.

I'm planning on having Garielle Lutz on the next episode of The Collidescope Podcast sometime this month. And here is the episode (it was such a pleasure chatting with Garielle): https://www.buzzsprout.com/1849671/ep...

[Babak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a long time fan of Lutz’s fiction. She is mostly known for her unique and interesting sentences. This book, however, reported in many letters and diary entries across many years of her life complements her fiction in compelling ways. Lutz is a sharp observer and a great story teller; she pulls details from minutiae of her life—her walks at nights, small interactions at fast food restaurants, and lost relationships to great effect. The result is hilariously funny; not a single boring page exists within 932 pages of this book.

[Read By RodKelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garielle Lutz has crafted an impressive and expansive work—a tome of epic scope that delves into the fascinatingly mundane aspects of life from a beautiful neurodivergent perspective. This collection captures the drudgeries, joys, and quirks of human existence through the lens of a masterful observer who uncovers the oddities and hidden corners of everyday life. Spanning fifty years, these letters, short stories, emails, and journals come together to form one of the most iconic collected works I've ever encountered. Lutz’s writing is a true delight, and I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in this collection over the past few months.

[Patrick Trotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Closer to a 4.5 out of 5. Lutz has done it again and made the impossible seem possible. The writing packs quite a punch and takes the reader inside the mind of one of the most innovative and talented writers of the past half century. Definitely rekindled my interest in their later works, which I plan on revisiting soon.

[Kristen B. Schleifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was planning to proceed to Kafka’s diaries after this, but now thinking, “Nah.”

I am instead turning to a biography of Edward Gorey, found happenstancedly at the local branch of my public library, with the promising title “Born To Be Posthumous.”

Had been considering a move to Pittsburgh but rethinking that, too. Apparently, Dollar Trees have become Dollar-Twenty-Five Trees everywhere.

Still, I muster up the inflationary quarter (there’s usually one lurking somewhere under the couch cushions) for my preferred Hot Chocolate mix. I like to add water and watch the five or six luxury “marshmallows” dissolve into a comforting nothingness.

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect.

[in8 · Rating 5 out of 5]

in light of redesigning cover for reiussue: https://5cense.com/25/1215.htm