Shriek: an absurd novel

by Davide A Cottone

An anger tsunami often tosses and rolls the eccentric Aleph McNaught because he doesn’t have the means to compete or the gall to exploit others. Nor does he possess the nerve to take advantage of a situation, or the sense of self-worth to confront an adversary. When he has endured enough torment and can take no more, he changes up a gear from a scream to something turbocharged to vent his frustration and help alleviate the pain. Disenchanted and exhausted by a dysfunctional government, social rejection and the economy and religion encroaching on his personal life, Aleph proposes an absurd other-worldly alternative government that ‘offers nothing but keeps its promises’. He invites the reader to participate in this love affair with his beloved crippled country on the promise that it will linger longer than the usual tryst and can last forever if the reader dares commit to it. Author Uses Absurd Genre for Social Brisbane author Davide Cottone ventures into the absurd with 'Shriek' and puts readers into the shoes of the 21st century 'idiot savant' - McNaught - confronting a maelstrom of social, political, economic, technological and religious upheaval. The historical fiction novelist, poet and playwright chose the absurd genre to, in his words, “deliver a manifesto for a new world order”. “I found a possible answer to the state of the world dilemma as I became immersed in the work of proponents of existentialism and nihilism in philosophy, and surrealism in art.” “Albee, Beckett, Camus, Kafka, Sartre, Heller, Ionesco and Pinter in literature, and Breton, and especially Dali in art coalesced as a Freudian tapestry called ‘absurdism’.” The main character, Aleph McNaught, is at a crossroads in what he sees as a meaningless life. Abused as a child, he turns to drugs and ends up locked up in an asylum before launching into a new and wild life populated by a host of multiple personalities. Rejected in love, his only weapons against a society gone mad are his irrational thought patterns, absurd actions, and his projected versions of his own psyche. McNaught, as narrator, takes the reader on a psychotic ride into his crazy headspace while commenting on the state of a fictitious society.

228 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 14, 2017

Reviews

[Bernadette Rowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly well written book with disturbingly real descriptions. At times found it hard to read but can highly recommend.