Memory and Madness

by Luke Hartwell

A likeable, intelligent high school senior, Mateo Bernard is new to Little Rock. Cody Redan has lived there all his life. Yet, when they meet, there's a familiarity, a sense they've known each other before. By turns funny, romantic, insightful, and sad, this evocative novel brilliantly recreates the landscape of late adolescence, when friendships seem eternal and loves reincarnate. Memory and Madness is a unique contribution to coming of age literature. Earlier versions of the novel were published under the titles of Cody and Clicking Beat on the Brink of Nada. .......... 'A haunting vision of young friendship shattered by an outrageously cruel world. The novel aches with adolescent first loves. It is tender, funny, and true." - William S. Burroughs, author of Naked Lunch .......... "Commands much of J.R. Ackerley's honesty, intimacy, and ease of style. Real warmth." - Jonathan Williams, Musings .......... "A sense of life, the search for identity, intellectual militancy, the ambiguity of human relationships, unsatisfied desire, and weakness in facing existence are just some of the facets of life that the author evokes with precision." - Livres (Brussels) .......... "This novel is a must." - RFD (Asheville, NC) .......... "Poetically evokes the pathos of early friendships and the frailty of adolescent dreams." - The Advocate .......... "The author has given his novel characters with tenderness, wit, and humanity. You should rush to purchase this book-a remarkable novel that deserves wide readership." - Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco) .......... "Top of the heap of gay fiction." - Gay Community News (Boston) .......... "The message transcends common reality. ... The author charts the victory of substance over appearance, of everlasting truths over transient physical relationships. His characters give off warmth and forthrightness in equal portions." - This Week in Texas (Houston) .......... "One of the best of its generation, this novel is beautifully written, exciting (and sexy), and full of incident and charm. Even minor characters are treated with Dickensian relish." - Gay Star (Belfast) .......... "A novel about individualism, the right to be whatever you want to be. ... This book should be read by kids and adults alike ... A gay teen coming out classic." - Lambda Rising Book Report (D.C.) .......... "The real triumph of the novel is its portraits of adolescent love. This reviewer can think of no recent novel that has done it better... A very considerable achievement." - English Language Book Review (Amsterdam) .......... "This book is about being gay, and being straight, and a teenager, in Little Rock, Arkansas, but it is about so much more that it defies definition. ... It contains exquisite poetry, beautiful prose, very little sex, and lots of love. ... I recommend this book without hesitation." - SAFE teen (London, Ontario) .......... "I urge everyone to get a copy of this book." - Arkansas Advisor .......... "The realistic loves of young people and the moving plot keep the reader interested throughout the novel." - Tulsa Week .......... "Evokes the pain, strong emotions, and exclusiveness of adolescence. It deserves a broad audience." - Voice of Youth Advocates (Virginia Beach) .......... "Packs a powerful punch in its darkly realistic portrayal of adolescent sexuality; it will leave you shaken in its honest examination of the evolution... of friendship. Don't miss this one." - TLN (Eugene, OR) .......... "This story evolves into a quietly poignant and painful portrait of young love and loss with surprisingly little pretension." - OUT! (Pittsburgh) .......... "What takes this novel above the pack is its unique combination of teenage angst, political controversy, and male/male love." - The Weekly News (Miami) .......... "A triumphant portrait of adolescent love." - Just Out (Portland)

Genres: LGBT, Young Adult

210 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2018

About the author

Readers can track Luke Hartwell's book releases on the Watersgreen House website. Luke's books are available from Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Gardners, Baker & Taylor, Smashwords, Scribd, Odilo, and OverDrive.

Reviews

[LenaRibka · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I was surprised that there was a NEW novel by Luke Hartwell that I had overlooked. I am a HUGE fan of the author's works and I wish he could publish at least one novel per year (like some other authors do).

Anyway, I checked it and read a publisher note and now I know that Memory and Madness is not Luke Hartwell's NEW novel, but his first novel Clicking Beat on the Brink of Nada that was first published over 20 years ago, in 1983, not only under different title but under a different name. I learned that Keith Hale =Luke Hartwell and that Luke Hartwell has spent the past two years rewriting all of his previously published books. *sigh* Why not to write something new? This publisher's note is bit hidden and it is not in the description of this book. Well, I won't probably read the re-written Locomotives in Winter that you can have under the title Love Underneath, just because this novel doesn't belong to my favorite by the author and because I am not a re-read type actually. But I am extremely happy that I have yet another gem to discover, a semi-autobiographical work Who You Are and Where You Come From: With Outtakes, the second novel by Luke Hartwell that was also first published long ago under the name of Keith Hale.

About this book...
i can only endorse what SAFE teen (a reviewer) said:

This book is about being gay, and being straight, and a teenager, in Little Rock, Arkansas, but it is about so much more that it defies definition. … It contains exquisite poetry, beautiful prose, very little sex, and lots of love.


No doubt, this book belongs to the best works of classical gay literary fiction.
I can't recommend it highly enough.

[Shane Pennell · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anyone, like me, has wondered what Hartwell has been doing for the last three years, now we know. His publisher has released four titles already in the spring of 2018, with the promise of more to come. It appears that Hartwell has rewritten his entire catalogue, adding a lot of new material. This book, in its previous form, has been my favorite novel for a long, long time. Although I am very attached to the original version, I have to admit that this version is far better, something I didn't think possible. It's an astonishing book. Read all the reviews on amazon from when it was first published. It deserves every word of that praise. And if, like me, you've read the previous version, read this one too. There's a whole new brilliance going on. Wish I could give it ten stars.

[Hemmel M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written prose about a boy and his friends. Lots of focus on literature, philosophy, existentialism and substance abuse. Less focus on the plot. Somewhere halfway through the arc started showing, in this collection of ideas and events.
The narration could be more lively and the narrator kept handling his microphone, which was sometimes distracting.

[Silvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking

This book is so much more than a coming of age book. It reminded me of how I felt as a teen. How the majority of my ideas and beliefs were an extension of my father’s beliefs. Like the MC’s parent, my dad was a single parent and he had the biggest influence on my young life. Reading this account of Mateo and the nucleus of family and friends that surrounded him brought back fond and wistful memories.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional Read

A thorough and multidimensional exploration of friendship, love, family, and spirituality - and the expression of all of it as a personal experience. Simple and yet intense.