Not I

by Sebastian Castillo

In this imaginative hybrid of fiction? poetry? autobiography? we are brought into the mind of Sebastian, who narrates a continual stream of thoughts, dreams, regrets, and memories. As the book progresses, a larger picture comes into focus. It's a stunning cumulative effect-strange, funny, and moving. In Not I, we miraculously get it all: a gleeful dismantling of literary expectation, a story of a life, and a dive into the mind of an artist in the world.

Genres: Fiction

181 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2020

About the author

SEBASTIAN CASTILLO is a writer and teacher living in Philadelphia. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela and grew up in New York. His work has appeared in NY Tyrant, Peach Mag, Electric Literature, The Fanzine, BOMB, and elsewhere. He is the author of 49 Venezuelan Novels (Bottlecap press, 2017), NOT I (word west, 2020), and SALMON (Shabby Doll House 2023).

Reviews

[Franco Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book got to my house the day of a winter storm. I put on my boots and trudged about half a mile to get it out of the mailbox. It was quiet outside, even though I live in a part of the city that's usually loud and alive. The world seemed mildly more gentle. I saw a different angle of it, briefly. I read this when I got back into my house, grateful for warmth and drank 1 cup of Trader Joe's Mint Tea while I read it. The tea lasted all 180 pages. And this book did the same thing the snow did. It showed me different angles of reality, though in the case of the book and its sentences, the reality it showed me different sides of was language; it reminded me how mysterious and even enchanting it is when given the opportunity. So I would say, yeah, buy the book and buy it from the press itself, which is a sweet small press that deserves your dollars. And if you can read this book in a winter storm, I would say that's the best time to do it. If you can get to Trader Joe's before you start and get yourself some mint tea, I'd say drink some of that while you read it. That's the best way.

[Laura Brower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for these days. Completely throwing structure to the wind in order to create it's own structure. Willfully different in order to rewire the way things should be written, whilst at the same time wholly personal.

[ay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t understand tiny little freak books like this one, but I do quite like them. Would recommend to a friend.

[Benjamin Niespodziany · Rating 5 out of 5]

How a list becomes a novel. How an exercise turns into an offering. This book stretches the possibilities of the narrative, of the storytelling's possibilities, and provides both a micro and macro look at statements and confessions and reflections and hopes. With each line beginning with ‘I’ and each section focusing on a particular verb tense, Not I creates a whirlwind combination of language and imagery. It’s somehow the most organized autobiographical novel and also the most abstract.

Here's an interview I conducted with Castillo: http://www.neonpajamas.com/blog/sebas...

[Nico · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel my mind wander

[Claire Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in an abnormal book format. Easy breezy read. The format is out of the box, I appreciate that in the age of everything being so standardized.

Would be fun to incorporate into an English class as a teaching tool.


How I rate books:
5 Stars= I absolutely loved it, felt very moved. Extraordinary. Maybe I cried. I rarely give this rating.
4 Stars= Well done. I was well engaged.
3 Stars= I enjoyed it but wasn't wowed. My most common rating
2 Stars=Meh
1 Stars= The kind of book that I feel shouldn't have been published be it might discourage some from becoming readers.

[Shannon McLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book felt like a meditation on the strangeness of reality. The cadence is droning yet addictive. Must be read in one sitting. Grammar nerds will appreciate the structure, where each section is made up exclusively of sentences in a specific verb tense. I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Josh Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s so much grammatical variety happening, where it feels almost like each line can be its own micro-poem. At times witty and comedic, at times obscure and interesting, this collection activates a dormant part of the brain. Try reading some aloud, too. Worth it.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need more.

[David Catney · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I will be having a breakdown.

I will be doing more harm than good.

I will be saying the words incorrectly.

I will be getting a high-five from the neighborhood.

I will be making out like a bandit.

I will be going out of my gourd.

I will be known for more or less nothing.”

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love anything that plays with language in ways I've never seen before. This took the 25 most commonly used verbs in the English language and the 12 verb tenses and created a book of sentences that somehow told a story?

[alexggrandma · Rating 4 out of 5]

great little book it will see through you and spoil some of your life 🤭

[Luis Fraga Lo Curto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sebastian Castillo is one of the funniest and most intelligent contemporary writers I’ve ever read.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

It fucking rips—delightful little thing. It is a blessing that it works as well as it does. Would be great if a theater would perform it a la Beckett’s “Not I”, with a single mouth on stage.