Circa

by Adam Greenfield

"Circa" is a dark comedy featuring Henry Colmes, a high school sophomore trying to find his place in school and life. In alternating chapters, it is also the story of Henry as a thirty-something cub reporter trying to track down an elusive cult leader in order to interview him for the man’s own obituary. Alluding to the timelessness of tragedy, "Circa" offers an examination of our collective desperation for meaningful context in which to place and rationalize the actions we take. At once heartfelt, tragic, and surreal, "Circa," the debut novel from author Adam Greenfield, looks at the pivotal moments in a person’s life that lead them to make the decisions they can never take back and, ultimately, never forget.

Genres: Fiction

Kindle Edition

Published August 12, 2018

About the author

Adam Greenfield is the author of the novels Mountain Lion Blues and Circa. His short fiction has appeared in MungBeing, Outsider Ink, and Prole, to name a few. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[Jason Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deep dive into how a hypersensitive mind works. Funny, scary, exhausting, exhilarating, I couldn't get enough. Henry, both as a teen and an adult, is in a constant struggle to keep himself up to his sister's expectations he imagined she had for him, versus flying off the handle into chaos and oblivion, yet with a humorous rationality of it all. The descriptions throughout the book keep this believable and almost dream like, even when the circumstances become so outrageous. Great read!

[Frank Mundo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book — especially the writing. It’s dark, sure, but it’s funny, smart and parts of it are downright beautiful. I found myself re-reading a lot of passages and descriptions over and over again. The character Grace, the protagonist’s sister, is unforgettable, one of the most authentic characters I’ve read about in a long time. This is the author’s first book, too, which I also like, because it’s cool pushing new writers onto my friends as my discoveries. Give it a shot. It’s pretty long but, trust me, you really need to read all the way to the last page.

[RL Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Randomly picked this one up and wasn't disappointed. It's hard to place this in a genre. There's a noir feel, some dark humor, and at it's core some of the most gut punching dramatic scenes I've read.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, Nervous Breakdown Bookclub delivers an unexpected masterpiece. This is a story about redemption and whether or not we can really atone for a poor decision. The novel splits the main character's (Henry Colmes) life into two episodes - a particularly difficult and ultimately devastating high school year and a turning point in his journalism career where he needs to meet a deadline to write the obituary of a cult leader before he dies. Going much further in the plot outline would risk a spoiler, but each time period stands like a mirror to the other reflecting choices made (and not made) and their intended (and unintended) results. The bifurcation of Henry's life is a brilliant conceit and by the end of the book I wanted to go back to page one to read it all over again. In addition to overall construction of the novel, the writing itself is witty and challenging. I look forward to Adam Greenfield's next novel!

[Adam Bregman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Particularly moving in Circa are the introspective flashback sections of the book, which may comprise more than half of it. Henry, the emotionally fragile protagonist, has a somewhat bumbling mom and indifferent father. His sister Grace is the most steady and empathetic presence in his life. Cal, Henry's best friend, is an obnoxious punker, who confuses being an asshole and rebelling. All are vivid personalities. The scenes where Henry and Grace visit their grandma's house and their dad, rather than the usual reminiscing about what became of various neighbors, tells them he's splitting up with their mom, and then their grandma asks them to place post-it notes on items in her house that they would like to claim when she dies, while their father is in the basement with a shovel looking for his childhood baseball card collection, which grandma tossed long ago, are inimitably powerful. Adam's debut novel is crammed with witty metaphors and brutal teenaged angst.

[joe]

DNF. i don’t like to DNF books, i reallllly tried to push through this but jesus christ it was so boring. i feel like nothing happened. every passage was a ramble of a thought of a ramble of a thought that happened a page ago. it tried desperately hard to be funny, every other line felt like a failed attempt at humor.

there were some interesting and funny moments but they were few and far between.

[Marc Seiden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is delightful. Easy to read but not in the least simple…a very distinctive voice comes though full of dark wit and wisdom to tell a story that is relatable and compelling. Fully enjoyed!