The Metaphysical Ukulele

by Sean Carswell

"Leave it to the audacious Sean Carswell to crack the code on this secret society of writers, especially after so many other publications (the Believer , Bitch , Vanity Fair ) have tried and failed. I'm humbled and grateful to be immortalized in this wily, coltish collection with fellow strummers Flannery, Herman and weird old Uncle Thom."—Pam Houston "On the surface, Carswell is a literary chameleon, moving effortlessly in and out of voices, genres, and styles, but underneath and above that, he is a born storyteller, always focused on his characters' hearts and minds and fitting ends."—Ben Loory, author of Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day We all know Herman Melville, Jack Kerouac, Thomas Pynchon, Flannery O'Connor, Raymond Chandler, Chester Himes, and Pam Houston. Now meet their metaphysical ukuleles. Mixing the flair of literary invention with real events in each writer's life—Herman Melville living with a tribe of cannibals; Raymond Chandler holding The Blue Dahlia hostage from Paramount Studios; Flannery O'Connor falling in love; Chester Himes threatening to decapitate his landlord, and many more—Sean Carswell takes the nonfiction of some our most famous writer's lives and turns it into exquisite fiction, with a ukulele thrown in for good measure. At times heartbreaking, at times absurd, the stories in this truly one-of-a-kind collection delightfully blur the line between what is life, and what is literature. Sean Carswell is the author of the novels Drinks for the Little Guy , Train Wreck Girl , and Madhouse Fog , and the short story collections Barney's Crew and Glue and Ink Rebellion . He co-founded the independent book publisher Gorsky Press and the music magazine Razorcake . He currently teaches writing and literature at California State University, Channel Islands.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Novels

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2016

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

In each of the twelve stories Carswell engages in a bit of literary impersonation by adapting the style of a wide range of writers, from giants like Herman Melville and Flannery O’Connor, to lesser-known writers like Leigh Brackett, who wrote The Empire Strikes Back, crime writer Chester Himes and the enigmatic Yoko Ogawa.

Take this passage from the opening of the Ogawa-inspired “The Reticent Corpse”:

“A crisp sun shone on the Naoshima seashore. Winds tore through red rental umbrellas like a stampede of sheep, stirring up the scene of coconut oil and rotting seaweed. The tide was out, and the jetty was half-exposed, a jagged edge against the surface of the sea.”

Carswell weaves not only the author’s prose style, but the authors themselves into his stories. Chester Himes hustles for money in the south of France, Flannery O’Connor goes on a very bad date. The author even works a writer named Sean Carswell into the collection’s final tale.

This doubling is underscored by an additional link: Carswell introduces a ukulele into each of the stories. Here’s Carswell channeling Raymond Chandler in “The Bottom-Shelf Muse”:

“There was something unmistakable about the model’s eyes, something unapologetic, something that seemed to look right through me even as they were looking away. These same eyes watched Cissy’s fingers dance a Twelfth Street Rag on the neck of a banjo ukulele.”

Packed with references both obvious and obscure The Metaphysical Ukulele is a literary jukebox loaded with hits.

[Rick Fonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read and it has rekindled my interest in playing the ukulele. It is not really about ukuleles; they are just an element in each of the stories which are really about different authors - some historical & some contemporary. For me, the stories became much more interesting and enjoyable when I did a little research and learned something (or something more) about the lives of the the 12 authors featured in each of the 12 chapters or short stories.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely little collection of short stories. A couple fell a little flat for me, but there are some lines that had me laughing out loud.

Perfect read for summer and I've been wanting to read more short stories.

[Karen Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an odd little book! Sean Carswell's "mixing of literary invention with real events in the lives of some of our most well-known writers" (a ukulele appears in every story!) kept me interested until the very end. I'd never heard of Leigh Brackett and her ties to the 'Star Wars' movies, never knew that Herman Melville lived with cannibals or many of the odd facts woven into this work of fiction. Worth checking out.

[Alicia Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO great! Lovers of short stories, stories about writers, lovers of ukuleles, lovers of writers who love ukuleles... Everyone should read this book. It is too much fun.

[Andy Huffaker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ho-hum and kinda wierd

Meh... Super fast read but I didn't find this as funny or as poignant as the critics did. I'm kinda left with a "so what?".

[Mt. Lebanon Public Library]

Karen B.'s Pick
Call #: CARSWELL Sean

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, funny, charming... I just wish I knew which parts were true!

[Erinn H · Rating 1 out of 5]

*I received this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway.*

I could see a lot of people enjoying these stories, but I just never connected to them. They were well written, but just not for me.