Vexation Lullaby

by Justin Tussing

Winner of the 2017 Maine Literary Award for Fiction • One of Amazon's Best Books of the Month, April 2016

"Justin Tussing rocks the rock novel. Vexation Lullaby is pure raw pleasure from start to finish." —Lily King, author of Euphoria

Peter Silver is a young doctor treading water in the wake of a breakup—his ex–girlfriend called him a ""mama's boy"" and his best friend considers him a ""homebody,"" a squanderer of adventure. But when he receives an unexpected request for a house call, he obliges, only to discover that his new patient is aging, chameleonic rock star Jimmy Cross. Soon Peter is compelled to join the mysteriously ailing celebrity, his band, and his entourage, on the road. The so–called ""first physician embedded in a rock tour,"" Peter is thrust into a way of life that embraces disorder and risk rather than order and discipline.

Trailing the band at every tour stop is Arthur Pennyman, Cross's number–one fan. Pennyman has not missed a performance in twenty years, sacrificing his family and job to chronicle every show on his website. Cross insists that ""being a fan is how we teach ourselves to love,"" and, in the end, Pennyman does learn. And when he hears a mythic, as–yet–unperformed song he starts to piece together the puzzle of Peter's role in Cross's past.

Genres: Fiction, Music

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2016

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off very promising, with Pete Silver, a doctor in Rochester, New York, being summoned by ageing rock star Jimmy Cross for a consult. Jimmy knows Pete’s mother from way back and wants to know if he’ll accompany him on the airplane during this comeback tour as his personal physician. However, after that there was a lot of downtime filling in Pete’s backstory and introducing a first-person voice that didn’t feel relevant. This is Arthur Pennyman, a fan who’s seen every Jimmy Cross show and writes them up on his website. I didn’t care for Arthur’s sections and thought they pulled attention away from Pete’s story. That’s a shame, as the plot reminded me of Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. Thank you to Catapult Publishing for sending a digital review copy; I’m sorry it didn’t work out for me. [Read the first nearly 100 pages.]

[Douglas Lord · Rating 2 out of 5]

This ought to be more likable, because it has rock and roll at its base and three dudes needing a resolving force driving it. One is Peter, a wishy-washy doctor invited along as personal physician to the second, aging rock star Jimmy Cross. So far, so good. The wild card is a groupie named Arthur, who has been deadheading behind Jimmy for 20 fucking years. One planet, two moons, all seeking (basically) the stability of love. Though Jimmy is cast like a Bob Dylan/Leonard Cohen type (grizzled, mythic, deep), he seems pretty bored—and boring. He invites Peter along not only because he needs a doc but because he was “friendly” with his mother. Aside from the obvious daddy issues on both sides, there’s not a lot of spark to their relationship. It seems akin to being a team doctor taping up the same ol’ injuries every night. Arthur is in a wide, erratic orbit of his own. He left behind a wife and kid, so he can get no esteem from any self-respecting family-loving dude, but he crashes into a woman who may be the answer to his groundlessness. And straitlaced Pete is a classic fish-out-of-water-who-just-broke-up-with-someone-and-will-try-anything-right-now like Ben Stiller in Along Came Polly. What could have been a gonzo journalism–style descent into debauchery (there are some funny moments) or the chronicle of three lonely cowboys on the road who find fellowship and spirituality with one another turns simple; Arthur and Peter resolve their issues independently and in WAY too much overly specific detail. Jimmy remains a cipher, merely an elemental catalyst than anything actually interesting. VERDICT What’s your midlife crisis going to look like? If it’s this, could you call me? Because I think we could write it a little better.

Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You want to get out of here?" she asks.
I do. But wanting is fleeting. Besides, leaving early--regardless of the circumstances--would only feed ammunition to my detractors. A life is defined through a million opportunities to abandon principles.



~~An aging Bob Dylan poses for the camera. Several reviewers compare the character of Jimmy Cross--an aging, hippie rock and roll singer--to Dylan. Jimmy has hit his 70th birthday, has fallen at least once, and is starting to have problems with his memory. He asks Peter Silver, a young internal medicine doctor, to come on tour with him and personally treat him. Silver has recently gone through an emotionally-wrenching breakup. His mother also happens to be an old flame of Jimmy Cross. Then there's the character of Arthur Pennyman, self-professed #1 fan of Jimmy. He has been obsessively following the band for 20 years, and hasn't missed a show. But along the way he has abandoned his marriage and daughter. Can he find balance in his life? Will touring with the band loosen Peter up a little? And will Jimmy Cross ever take his medical advice seriously? Read this interesting novel to find out!

First two sentences: See the man on stage. He's been called a genius, a lovable misanthrope, a national treasure, a fraud.

Vital statistics: Author's home: A graduate of Iowa Writers' Workshop, he now lives in Portland, Maine
Year written: 2016
Length: 383 pages
Setting: A rock-band touring mostly the mid-west in present time.
Genre: contemporary fiction dabbling in the practice of medicine as well as the rock-and-roll lifestyle
Read if: You enjoy novels character driven novels with multiple perspectives/narrators

My two cents: Tussing knows how to write! The prose is beautiful at times. I was intrigued by the premise of the novel, but the story-arc lost steam and went into the weeds towards the end of the book. I had a hard time identifying with the characters. Despite that, it was a quick and enjoyable read, and I laughed out loud numerous times. Given a rating of 3.5 stars or "Very good." Recommended as a library check-out if you're looking for a vacation read with some substance.

Other favorite quotes: When Rolling Stone sent a stringer out to Cross's Texas ranch in '83, it was clear that they weren't interested in rescuing him. The profile opened: "For two hours I sat on a silk damask sofa beside Jim Cross and watched TV while the legend sipped RC Cola from a can. I had a speech prepared for the occasion. I wanted to tell him that I believed Midnight at the Bazaar and Double Ditz to be more important than the Declaration of Independence and the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, combined. At some point--we were watching St. Elsewhere --he began to snore. A woman who may have been his wife came into the room and removed his crocodile boots. She carried the boots upstairs. His feet smelled like rotting meat. It occurred to me 1) I might snuff him with a throw pillow and 2) he might want me to."

~~Some women get used to sadness in the same way some men get used to having a mustache--they think it is part of who they are and forget that it's a choice. Heaven forbid a father try to impart this wisdom to his daughter.

~~Patricia specializes in the parting shot. Sometimes it feels as though she's giving herself an alibi in case anyone ever accuses her of caring about me. It doesn't escape me that she knew I was in Buffalo--she bothered to check.

~~One can't forget that it's a fine line between an audience and a mob.

~~Alistair would offer either a humorous or a tragic explanation for why a thirty-year-old man had the muscle tone of a pate.

~~"How come we never slept together?" Mindy asks me.
It's like asking Wilbur Wright why he never flew to the moon.

[Benjamin Rubenstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A life is defined through a million opportunities to abandon principles.

Should a person be heartened to learn she can survive without all her original parts, or will it remind her that everything we love is on loan?

Like Tussing's previous book, I think this one flies along without telling the reader exactly what the quest is. He writes such fun characters here that we don't need to know the ultimate purpose--we can just tag along for the ride. I also like how his "acknowledgements" take up less than half a page. That's just like Justin, my former writing program's director, to keep it lean and kinda jokey.

Also: it's just more fun reading a good book written by someone you know.

[Stefanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of the book is a really interesting character study of Peter Silver and Arthur Pennyman. Yet as Pennyman’s trajectory generally climbs upward, we see Peter’s trajectory nose dive off a cliff within the first few pages and never really gets better. What happens that by saving a life, you lose your own? I was hooked until the end when I felt like so much potential was had been wasted. I wasn’t expecting the obvious twist, but I had been hoping for something that made better use of the major characters. The writing was very good, I will give the novel that but I wanted more resolution.

[Grace Wilcox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book offa list called “the 15 best books you’ve never heard of “It was a decent story, but sort of pointless. Classic self discovery novel....however it felt like all the redemption and self revelation was crammed into the end and it left me feeling a little like “so what, who cares”. Also the flipping back and forth between 1st person and 3rd person was strange at first but oddly it worked.

[Olga]

I couldn't figure out if I was enjoying this book or not but I kept reading, thinking I'd start leaning one way or another. That didn't happen. While the chapters from Peter's point-of-view were great and kept me intrigued, the ones from Pennyman's ended up taking me out of the story. They were quite abrupt when they changed.

[Lizzy Garner · Rating 3 out of 5]

(SPOILERS) I wish there was more writing about the road trip itself. I loved the character Peter, like someone you would want to be friends with, genuine. I loved his chapters. Not so much Cross and his career or Arthur. They were typical rock star/fan. I loved how Peter was like “meh” and peaced out to attune to his own life, would definitely read a book just about him.

[Vicky Boackle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok.I wish the characters had been fleshed out more.It was a little confusing jumping from one character's pov to another's.I was looking forward to seeng the behind the stage life of a rock star and it did not get there.Good effort but went flat.

[Marci · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read, a little slow to start (but that seems pretty common). Very few women, otherwise an enjoyable read. And you don't have to know anything about music to follow the story line.

[Tom Janowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished in the sense that I simply stopped reading. I will say it was well written. However, it was simply a story I couldn't get into.

[Kate Kastelein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. As someone who has seen crazy fandom, and also a touring musician in my family, this book nails the depiction of both. Sad, hopeful, and funny. Highly recommend.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an alright read. Ending really kinda sucked that third star I was going to use.

[Devon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It made me cry. It was very poignant.

[Kristin]

I chose to read this book entirely because of its cover. I even read the synopsis several times, which put me off reading it, but in the end couldn't resist simply because of the cover art. (Oy.) I found that I enjoyed it at first-- the writing was good and the main character likable. But it deteriorated fairly early on due to some unfortunate and avoidable flaws. That is, you're drawn in by the captivating voice of the narrator, but then it switches gears with increasing frequency to a different voice that is both annoying and goes unexplained for too long. It then branches out into even more perspectives and different formats until the story that you found yourself following initially is basically buried under a lot of pretentiously obscuring crap. And that's what you get for judging a book by its cover.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. I always try, in keeping with the spirit, to give an honest review when I've finished any giveaway book. So here it is.....
I honestly loved this book. And now I think I may even have a crush on the author Justin Tussing. Vexation Lullaby is a heartbreaking love song with a good beat that's easy to dance to.
Tussing takes us on the road with musical wild man Jimmy Cross (think if Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan had a baby), his reluctant physician, ne'er do well offspring, and official unofficial biographer Arthur Pennyman. And I loved, felt for, worried over, and cared about each one. One of the best books I've read so far this year.
Thank you Goodreads, Catapult, and Justin for taking me on tour . I'll see you next year, same time.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In some ways this book was very easy to read. The style of writing was so accessible that before you knew it you had devoured a few more chapters very easily.
The novel to me was not "atypical", as in it did not have the structure of a beginning, a middle and an end. It was a journey, one of an open road, drifting ... and how the main characters Dr Silver and Mr Pennyman find purpose for themselves in this roadtrip. Emotions are hung out to dry in most parts and it does make you think about really seizing the moment and not taking things for granted. The kind of novel that you read, finish, then afterwards you start thinking about it again.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

[Chris Roberts · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fragments (the expandable time line) do not always make a whole and indeed there is a hole dead center in the narrative of this anti-arcing novel which goes on fifty pages too long. Rock star Jimmy Cross is straight out of B movie, his very essence done cheaply, one-dimensional.

The other characters are dragged into the story by the wearisome Justin Tussing, if for no other reason than to get the word count up, they are shadows of shadows and how is one to empathize with such a bit of nothingness?

Chris Roberts

[Anne Derkat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book from Goodreads.

I got as far as page 280 but then gave up. It's the story of a doctor who is asked to look in on an aging rockstar and also of an aging groupie. It started out quite promising even though it was sometimes rather confusing who was telling the story. But then it got bogged down in so much detail that it got to the point where I didn't care what happened to any of them and totally lost interest.

[genna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to get an ARC of this at ALA Midwinter 2016, and my bias toward this novel is doubled by the fact that I once took a class with the author. I enjoyed this much more than The Best People in the World, and laughed out loud frequently while reading it. It is a zany but good-natured look at celebrity culture evolving in the 21st-century, and examines how we treat our cultural heroes and how a cultural hero changes meaning over time.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked parts of this well written novel (loved the starfish part) but others went on too long (the hospital hearing). Liked the alternating voice of the "groupie" too but on balance, this wasn't my cup of tea. Suspect others will really enjoy. THanks to Edelweiss for the arc.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vexation Lullaby manages to hold sharp dialogue, an aging Dyan-esque lyricist/musician and his fans, heartbreak, two narratives, wit and hope within its covers. I should also mention the frequency with which I laughed out loud.

[PENNEY GANLEY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Catapult for the free Arc. This was an interesting book.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to Catapult for the advance reading copy. Loved, loved, loved this book for its memorable, vibrant characters and laugh-out-loud moments! I couldn't put it down.

[Aaron Segal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book.

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into the atmosphere and the eccentric entourage swirling around the aging rock star. But I never dreamed of being a groupie either, so it might be fascinating to some.

[Sashi Kaufman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story-telling and superb writing usher this strange cast of rock stars, their hanger ons and children through this book. A wholly original and modern story -fantastic read!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

good story, the ending just fizzled out. Not sure why the rock star really wanted him around, implausible.

[txtrvlgal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book sounded so promising but did not deliver.

[Gina]

Strange story of a doctor forced to go on tour with an aging rock star his mother used to know.