Contrary Motion

by Andy Mozina

By turns hilarious and bittersweet, Andy Mozina's winning debut novel introduces a charming new hero for our times: a dysfunctional, divorced family man whose passion for life comes straight from the harp.

Matthew Grzbc is a talented musician who plays the concert harp. He is a divorced dad who lives in Chicago, has a sexy girlfriend, and has a major, potentially life-changing audition with an orchestra on the horizon. At least that’s how he appears on paper. But take a closer look and a very different man starts to emerge: an obsessive, self-sabotaging Midwesterner, fumbling through his relationship with his curiously neurotic six-year-old daughter and headed for destruction in his romantic life by grasping at any remotely affectionate warm body, including that of his ex-wife. Instead of playing to sold-out concert halls, he spends his days plucking out "Send in the Clowns" at hotel brunches, and his weekends serenading the captive audience at the local hospice.

When his father dies unexpectedly (while listening to a meditation tape), Matt’s life begins to come untethered. In quick succession his ex-wife gets engaged, his girlfriend begins to pull away, and his daughter starts acting out. With his audition rapidly approaching, Matt is paralyzed by panic — why can't he hold it together and follow his dream? And what does that even mean, if you're not sure what it is you really want?

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2016

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting if somewhat uneven story about a guy who finds himself at a stumbling point in his life. Matt's divorced from Milena, the only woman he's ever had a mature romantic relationship with and struggling to make the relationship with, Cynthia, his girlfriend of four months work. He's trying to be a good dad to his six year old daughter, Audrey, but feels like he's failing at that as at most things in life. He's under a lot of extra pressure right now as he's gearing up for an audition with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Having made it to the finals in several previous auditions he's hopeful but not optimistic. Matt's self-confidence isn't very high but his anxiety is.

All of the characters are just a little...tilted to one side or off-center, I never completely connected with any of them but I liked the story and found myself rooting for Matt. Once I finished the book I missed him a little bit. I wish he'd had a mentor, someone to encourage him and teach him to be proud of his abilities and accomplishments. He comes across as a bit of a loser but he just lacks confidence and could benefit from someone who appreciates and understands him.

I enjoyed the musical thread throughout the book, I'm not at all musical but I loved reading about Matt's harps and harp playing and found the audition details very interesting and exciting. The resolution to the story was satisfying and believable.

[Kelly R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This is the most accurate work of fiction I have ever read that captures the struggles of a self-employed musician -- the financial struggle, anxiety, family balance, and pressure to be flawless. If this author is not a musician himself, he more than did his research. His depiction of the self-sabotaging thought process in preparation for an audition was so vivid and real. I LOVED that the harp excerpt that was most difficult for the main character to prepare was Symphonie Fantastique (which is a composition about a man's struggle with a recurring theme, wanting something that he can't have). This is the theme of this book and although the parallel between Matthew Grzbc's life and the Symphonie Fantastique is never discussed, the writing is executed brilliantly. A very gifted author.

[Lorilin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matt Grzbc is going through a period of adjustment. He's a newly divorced dad, and he's trying really hard to maintain a somewhat meaningful relationship with his six-year old daughter. (So far, he's not doing well.) He's also a professional harpist, and though he always has a steady stream of smaller gigs lined up, his career has plateaued. To top it off, his dad has just died, and now Matt is having dizzy spells and panic attacks on the regular. In short, Matt is struggling. He's living day to day, basically praying to the universe that he can keep it all together for just a little bit longer.

This book is a lot more serious and depressing than I thought it was going to be. I was expecting humor and lightness, but there isn't much here. So many things go wrong in Matt's life; it's one thing after another. And as more and more things pile up for Matt, the story starts feeling really unbelievable. The crazy incident that happens with Matt's daughter, especially, is completely bizarre to me. As a parent of a six-year old, I just couldn't buy it. Truthfully, his entire relationship with his daughter confused me. It seemed very out-of-touch and unrealistic.

More troubling to the story, though, is that Matt, as a character, doesn't really change or develop much over the course of the book. All these bad things happen, but he doesn't ever know how to deal with any of it. I wish he had had at least SOME insight into his own problems. Instead, he acts like a frightened child most of the time--just kind of standing there wide-eyed, hoping that if he doesn't make a move or say anything, no one will notice how terrified he is. I get that people are like that in real life, but it doesn't make for interesting reading.

In the end, I appreciated author Mozina's willingness to write a story like this from the perspective of a single dad trying to figure things out. I also liked learning about the harp, and I was happy with how things worked out for Matt. But I still wish there had been more to Matt's character. I finished the story and thought, "Yeah, I'm glad I don't know that guy in real life." He just didn't engage me at all.

ARC provided by Amazon Vine. See more of my reviews at www.BugBugBooks.com.

[Joan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book because I am a pianist, and I've always wanted to try the harp. The book cover and summary suggested an interesting journey of a guy who is trying to figure out the next stage in his adult life. Playing for hospice, preparing for an audition, learning how to father through a divorce, these are all fantastic starting points. Unfortunately, none of these aspects of the book were fully developed.

What I actually read resembled a bad late night showtime movie. I was distracted by all of the f-bombs, and it appeared that this author was trying to appeal to some audience out there who needs every explicit detail spelled out for them. Parts of the story were overdeveloped (I was so over his bedroom), and other aspects were overlooked.

It was disappointing, because the idea behind the book was so fresh. I could't decide whether to finish it or toss it back in the return pile. I did finish it, and even now, I'm not sure it was worth my time.

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Some of it was mildly amusing, but the MC's whining got on my nerves, especially his constant complaint about his erectile dysfunction. It never occurred to him that maybe he wasn't attracted to the woman he was with and the mutual lack of enthusiasm or interest in their relationship might've been a big player as to why he couldn't get 'er done. I gave it up about halfway through and took it back to the library.

[Jeff Clausen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A debut novel that tackles a number of uncommon subjects, it carried me along as it described all the roller-coaster episodes of a man I’ve been: a divorced dad, searching for a satisfying career, finding my way in the dating world. The unusual specifics of the story just made it better, from the intricacies of playing a harp professionally, to playing that same harp for folks dying at a hospice. The protagonist isn’t totally together, as he has crippling anxieties, doubts about his sexual abilities, and plenty more bites at the crazy pie, but I could see his worth, and get behind him. Toss in a scary medical emergency with his daughter, and this man has his hands full with life. Take a ride with him and hang on tight.

[Cheryl Dietr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another situation where Goodreads should have 1/2 stars.

Let me start by saying that the author, Andy Mozina, is a fantastic writer with witty insights. I loved his clever and hysterical self-limiting observations such as:
"...she reveals a career-limiting amount of gums and tragically short teeth."
" Or is she still afraid to see herself as the type of woman who would dump an impotent guy with a freshly dead dad?"
"I stare stupidly; her eyes are full of tears, yet they suggest an intensity capable of lifting a car to free a crushed child."

On the other hand I may be going through a divorce in the near future and with my state of mind being what it is I found the somewhat gloomy Matt to bring me down as he tries so hard yet fails in so many areas. Maybe his life hit a little too close to home for me right now. Perhaps if I was in a different place in my own life the star rating would be higher but as it is they all seem to be plunging to earth like dangerous and unhappy asteroids. So read this review with a grain of salt and an umbrella in your drink.

*I received this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program. Thanks Goodreads and Spiegel&Grau for the opportunity to read this novel*

[Mrs. Danvers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read for me, an amateur harpist. I gather that the writer's wife is a harpist and I'm willing to bet they own a Volvo wagon -- it's the best car for moving a harp from place to place and it's what the protagonist drives. I was reminded of Love Warps the Mind a Little throughout the book but this one is much lighter. For me, this is beach reading and much appreciated! (I can't help but mention that the image of the harp on the cover is reversed -- looking at that side of the harp, the column would be on the right) (I've seen worse such as a photo in an old Ladies Home Journal of a woman seated at the column end, pretending to play) (but maybe it can be corrected in other editions)

[Heathyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw a harp on the cover and pulled it out of the library without even investigating what genre the book was. His grasp on a harpist's life is quite good; I was wondering throughout the novel if he himself played harp, or someone in his close circle. (He's actually got a list of harpists in the back he thanks.) Ze internet has told me that he is married to the harpist Lorraine Alberts, which also would explain why everything he writes about the harp is dead on.
The author has a quirky and humorous voice, which is quite different from many other things I've read. It was a pleasant book. As a novel it was ~ok~, but nothing to write home about. The plot was quite predictable in areas, and the character development was a slow plod in no particular direction. I enjoyed it because I've never read an extremely accurate novel about a harpist before.

[Annette Steadham · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry Andy, but as an avid reader and writer,one star is all I can give. Except a few interesting pages, I found Contrary Motion to be boring. I wanted to give it up after a few pages but I felt compelled to read on since Goodreads sent it to me to get a review. It was interesting to read about Matt's harp career and all he gave up for his niche. His daughter seemed to be smarter and more intelligent than her dad. Reading this seemed like being lost in the woods, going around in circles and ending up where you started and everything was same. What was the plot?

[Pwagner858gmail.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! A page turner - Matt is a memorable character - equal parts witty, funny and pathetic.

[Kat Walter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice writing, but the story not very captivating. Even though it brought back jitters I had playing both the piano and harp, it made me homesick for both. I may start playing again.

[A. S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as part of the Goodreads Giveaways program.

Contrary Motion is the story of a harpist and father trying to audition for a seat in the St. Louis Orchestra. This would be a huge break for Matt Grzbc's (pronounced Gree-bic) career, and requires a lengthy portfolio of pieces to practice. Except every time Matt sits down to practice, a new distraction pops up: his father's recent death and the revelation that he had a mental illness while Matt was young; various jobs trying to make ends meet as a single father; a date with Cynthia, a pretty and savvy lawyer who Matt continually feels he can't please sexually; his lingering feelings for Milena, his ex-wife; and most importantly, his six year old daughter Audrey's misbehavior in trying to process the breakup of the family.

This book's writing and the story won't set the world on fire, but the author does a great job in making Matt very relatable and likable in spite of his flaws. Much like most of us, Matt is kind and caring, but his deep self doubt causes him to cause all the problems in his life. A character like this if written poorly can just come off as a loser, but Matt's moments of kindness and his absolute love for his daughter make him seem much more real.

Overall worth a read if you're craving something slice of life, or if you're interested in something where the protagonist is a musician.

[Ethan Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

i had the privilege of being andys student at kalamazoo. at the time i felt embarrassed since some of my work covered sexuality. actually, andy is someone who embraces sexuality in his work. its funny to think of him as the character in the book, and it sort of fits perfectly in some ways. he embraces awkwardness (can you tell by the name of the character that has no vowels?) in everything, including sex. not that the book is about sex, but it plays a big role in the characters life, as it should. andy is not afraid to address the potentially awkward mechanics and emotional issues that can come from a relationship.

i was also impressed with andy's ability to handle the musical knowledge required to write about the harp - I don't know where he got it from or if he is a musician himself, but many writers aren't able to put into words something that is by nature non-verbal. of course, i suppose that is the goal of all writers. or perhaps it is that his style is more straight forward - instead of trying to wax poetic about music, andy relays a thought process that i found believable, myself being a musician that has participated in auditions.

overall i found the book to be a very engaging read - i finished it in a week - compared to the last book i read which took me a year to get through...

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The jury is out on whether I like the main character, Matthew. His life is a shambles for a variety of reasons and now he has an opportunity to audition for the part of harpist for the St. Louis orchestra. If he wins the part it will literally turn everything around for him. It will be that definitive moment in his life that he can point to and say, "Everything hinged on this." I liked that he pushed himself out of his own comfort zone and started playing the harp for hospice patients. Those sessions fulfilled him and prepared him for the audition. They helped him come to terms with how other people spend their lives. Set in Chicago, I loved all the Chicago references. And I loved how much I learned about the harp. A couple of, in my opinion, "out there" incidences left me feeling weird and trying not to create spoilers so: a) a sex act with a musical instrument b) a possibly suicidal six year old. But, overall, I kept listening to the story and I was riveted at the end.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

"If you've ever been trapped in a refrigerator only to have the door flung open just before you black out, you have some sense of what a Chicago spring feels like."

I enjoyed reading this somewhat uneven work. Some of the lines, as above, made me laugh out loud. Mr. Mozina captured the bitter sweet aspects of life very well. The main character's life seems to be going nowhere. He is recently divorced and an underemployed harpist. Yet the author wrote a feel good book which included harp playing in a hospice and male sexual performance issues.

I found the work entertaining and original. I would read another work by the author.

[Dan Hintz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andy Mozina is a very funny writer with an acute attention to detail that kinda reminds me of Raymond Carver. All of his short stories, and now his novels, have a peculiar universe or distinct atmosphere to them, and there is usually something slightly askew and not quite right about things. I tend to prefer his often absurd and surreal short stories due to my limited attention span, but I really loved this novel.

[Stevelarson1685 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a refreshingly honest and straight forward novel about one man's struggles with relationships, self-esteem and career choices. The author uses language artfully to make us feel a part of the protagonist's life. He uses present tense throughout. I was afraid this would be a distraction, but it wasn't. It lent a sense of immediacy to the reading experience.
It was a "quick read" which I was looking for, but definitely delivered some substance. It left me thinking and reflecting--always a good sign.

[Darrin Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mozina knows how to build a story -- with a rich blend of comedy and heart -- page by page. The events and characters are recognizable and believable, but the liveliness of the prose and the careful observations, depth, and humor elevate the smallest moments into something larger, as great literature does.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this author's writing style and the way he captured simple things in a sentence- vivid imagery and first person narrative feeling. A little too much on the male reproductive issues, but overall an easy read that could be related to those who have been through divorce or took a long while to finally find their path.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written, draws you into the mind of Matthew.

[Autumn Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

i can appreciate an insight into a man’s mind that is ruled by the battle of anxiety and inferiority. that feeling was a bit overruling at times but still an interesting enough read.

[Colleen Alles · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10. I loved every beat of this one

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent novel. It's fun to root for the protagonist.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won Contrary Motion, the debut novel by Andy Mozina, in a GoodReads Giveaway. I received an hardbound book reminiscent of those received in discount book clubs of the 80's - a plain, simple black hardcover with a minimal, well-designed 2-color dust jacket.

Contrary Motion weighs in at 270 pages plus Acknowledgement, About the Author and a never-before seen, About the Type page, revealing the typeface to be Sabon, and its history in print usage. Contrary Motion does read easily, with a well chosen, tall serif font and classic line-and-a-half space leading.

Contrary Motion is told in first-person by its protagonist Matt, a working harpist and divorced dad of a sitcom-like six-year old daughter. Matt struggles with impotence, relationships, life, what to say, self-sabotage and dullardry.

Contrary Motion is written well enough. It has its own voice, feels natural and is often clever in wit and metaphor. But Contrary Motion is tedious in its consistency of its main character's stubbornness in refusing to conform to our expectation. As readers we expect our characters to develop, to learn and to grow. And at restaurant Contrary Motion, these items are not on the menu.

I was reminded of the darkness of Phillip Roth and the hapless every-man of Tom Sharpe's Henry Wilt. Mix it together with a bit of noir - where bad luck never changes and the character never learns or evolves or does better - and hang it all upon the rather well-portrayed struggle of being a working harp player, and you might have something resembling Contrary Motion. An exercise in portraying reality au naturel and without an agenda of improvement or concern for appearance.

If you take your hot beverage without sweetener and your humor without insight you may well enjoy Contrary Motion, Andy Mozina's debut novel. I found it a depressing portrayal of one who shoots himself in the foot, over and over and over.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt is a musician who is attempting to make a living playing the harp. While attending a symphonic performance, I've often wondered what determines the choice of instrument, and have often marveled at the presence, sometimes but not always, of a harpist, and what drives that artist to choose one of the most unwieldy instruments in the orchestra and deal with the logistics of its care, transport and effort it takes to play it. Andy Mozina, surprisingly, is not a harpist himself, given the wealth of detail provided here. For one thing, how does a harpist make a living without harnessing one of the very few slots with a symphony orchestra?

Matt struggles with his residual love for his ex-wife, his strong love for his 6 year old daughter, his confusion over his feelings for his current girlfriend, in addition to trying to prepare for an important audition, the possibly demise of his harp. Each character is richly and believably portrayed, and next time I go to the symphony, I'll be even more impressed by what it took for that certain musician to occupy that seat.

[Barbara Uenaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rcvd this copy from a Goodreads giveaway. Very good! talented Chicago harpist Matthew Grzbc broke p’ divorce fr Milena now engaged to rich Steve/juggles 2 days/wk custody 6yo precocious sensitive dtr Audrey/tchg lessons/brunch & wedding performances, starts playing for dy’g pts @ hospice= fulfillment, failed 2 auditns for major orchestras now trying for top 10 St Louis Symph orch/pressure on to learn 25 pcs, can’t afford new $18K hard p’ damaged his, crisis p’ A od’s on Tylenol took fr MG apt/? suicide try/MG eval by family svcs re custody for A safety, atty gf Cynthia crisis @law firm 2o boss sex harass/MG impotent/breakup, audition-makes 1st cut/semifinals, pedal broke 1 hr before final/borrows SLSO harp/gets job, to live 45 min fr SL/keep Chi apt to see A/will seek closer jobs for A,

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A random pick at the library which caught my interest mainly because of the music angle. (At one time my son was an aspiring musician.) While I enjoyed listening to this audio book, there was just too much going on: the audition, the daughter's issues, the ex-wife, the girlfriend, health issues, including a congenital heart problem and impotency, the father's death, the hospice patients, the hospice director, the landlord, several gay over and under tones. Further, many of these tangents were not resolved in the end, so what was the point? And while there were humorous parts, some of the humor seemed a bit contrived.

On a side note (no pun intended), it was amusing to me that the main character, Matt Grzbc, was of Slovenian descent.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seemed well written but I just wasn't enjoying the story so I stopped reading. About a professional harp player who is floundering in life. Divorced, with young daughter, has a girlfriend, but harp playing seems to be getting in the way. I just didn't find the story interesting and can't stand when he and his girlfriend's sex life keeps being brought up. Not necessary to the story.

[Tom Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was half interested in this book, but found it rather depressing as I just felt the character did not develop and his relationships were all pallid and unbelievable!
I liked the hospice and lunch gig parts of the book and enjoyed learning about the harp. But the book was unsatisfying to me in the end!