Shadows

by Julian Gallo

New York City, sometime in the 1990s. On his way to a Brooklyn loft party, Julio is about to spend yet another drunken evening that will forever change him. Through a series of flashbacks, childhood and adolescent memories, fever dreams, and drunken reverie, Julio reflects on his choices in life, as well as his generation’s as a whole. What had they actually achieved? His inward journey opens a Pandora’s box in which he comes face to face with himself, perhaps for the first time in his life.

172 pages, Paperback

Published October 11, 2017

About the author

Julian Gallo is the author of 'Existential Labyrinths', 'Last Tondero in Paris', 'The Penguin and The Bird' and other novels. His short fiction has appeared in The Sultan's Seal (Cairo), Exit Strata, Budget Press Review, Indie Ink, Short Fiction UK, P.S. I Love You, The Dope Fiend Daily, The Rye Whiskey Review, Latinoture, Angles, Verdad, Modern Literature (India), Mediterranean Poetry (St. Pierre and Miquelon), Borderless Journal (Singapore), Woven Tales, Wilderness House, Egophobia (Romania), Plato’s Caves, Avalon Literary Review, VIA: Voices in Italian Americana, The Argyle, Doublespeak Magazine (India), Bardics Anonymous, Tones of Citrus, The Cry Lounge (Germany), Deal Jam, 22/28, Active Muse (India), Zero Readers, Hominum Journal, Write Now Lit (Nigeria), MiniMAG, Paradox Magazine, Penman Review, Lowestoft Chronicles, Marrow Magazine, Lanae Literature and Review, Helix Literary Magazine, Interweaved Magazine, Pattern Recognition, October Hill Magazine, Lit Ezine, Inkwell, Microficciones y Cuentos, Laid To Rest, Shared Draft Project, Peony Magazine, Rang Yan Review, Forwritten, Ozymandeus, Diamanté Lavender, Blue Seagull Review, Confetti Magazine, Parentheses, and Star to Write  
His poetry has appeared in over 40 journals throughout the Unites States, Canada and Europe. He is the author of 9 poetry books, "Standing on Lorimer Street Awaiting Crucifixion" (Alpha Beat Press 1996), "The Terror of Your Cunt is the Beauty of Your Face" (Black Spring Press 1999), "Street Gospel Mystical Intellectual Survival Codes" (Budget Press 2000), "Scrape That Violin More Darkly Then Hover Like Smoke in the Air" (Black Spring Press 2001), "Existential Labyrinths" (Black Spring Press 2003), "My Arrival is Marked by Illuminating Stains" (Beat Corrida, 2007), "Window Shopping For a New Crown of Thorns" (Beat Corrida, 2007), "A Symphony of Olives" (Propaganda Press 2009) and "Divertimiento" (Propaganda Press 2009).

A collection of flash fictions, 'Bedtime Stories: Subconscious Fictions 1987-2017' (Surreal Estate) was published in 2018.

His most recent chapbook, "Letter To My Seven Year Old Self" was published by Budget Press in 2015.

He has also contributed articles to Expats Post, Creative Flux, The Operating System, Angie's Diary, Life Riddles, The Good Men Project, and Ovunque Siamo

He was also a featured guest speaker at the Blogger Interactive conference in Austin, Texas in 2013.

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scarecrow Christ

Julio travels the streets, bars, coffee shops, and art galleries of nineties New York City searching for meaning and love in his life.

[William Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a hard read. The first chunk is about Julio, drunk, in a type of stream-of-consciousness state wanderingaround Manhattan. What a detestable character. He hates every creative in nyc who wasn't born there. Theyre phonies. He hates people with educations. They're stuffed shirts. He hates Christians, and fills the pages with sacrilegious, blasphemous imagery, like Jesus tied off, shooting junk. About halfway thru, Julio meets up with a couple guys from work at a loft party. Thats more hate he pours out on the hipsters he meets. Finally, the last chunk is abput Julio's would be girlfriend Neva, a poet chick he meets in another book. Its basically a love bomb. So the book has no real plot.