Stealing: A Novel in Dreams

by Shelly Brivic

Two brothers growing up in the 1950s Bronx navigate a toxic home environment headed by an emotionally abusive father and an unhappy mother. One brother eventually finds escape through academic achievement and a new life on the west coast, while the other brother remains entangled in the darkness of his existence, his life and mind slowly unraveling. By presenting the conscious and unconscious connections between family members, this experimental novel explores the concept of individuality, the psychological influences of family, and the very nature of reality.

About the author: Shelly Brivic is an internationally recognized James Joyce scholar and a retired university professor. He has written extensively on Joyce and other modernists from the perspective of Lacanian psychology. His most recent scholarly book is Revolutionary Damnation: Badiou and Irish Fiction from Joyce to Enright, from Syracuse University Press. Stealing: A Novel in Dreams is his first work of fiction.

260 pages, Paperback

Published November 30, 2018

Reviews

[Cameron Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable book. By turns funny, sweet, and searing, Brivic's narrative deftly weaves together the lives of two brothers who hang on to one another for dear life as they grow up in the Bronx under abusive parents, only to grow apart as one goes off to school and the other descends into schizophrenia. Told through a stunning series of split reminisces that are both demanding and profoundly correct, Stealing surprises on every page with its incisive and penetrating prose, its soulful voice, and its wonderful characters who are all bawdy and sad and stuffed full of life. A beautiful story perfectly told.