Mere Malarkey

by Alan Good

In 2019, Alan Good was given a blogging account at Neutral Spaces, an ad-free website for independent writers, which prompted him to write in a new style, more personal, less polished. Mere Malarkey collects his Neutral Spaces pieces along with essays and reviews that appeared in Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Bookslut, and Atticus Review, as well as a handful of previously unpublished essays. From the impact of ska on his literary development, to the time everyone thought his aunt really liked cows, Good reviews his life so far with humor and honesty.

160 pages, Paperback

Published July 4, 2021

About the author

Author of The War on Xmas, Mere Malarkey, and The Sun Still Shines on a Dog's Ass

Reviews

[Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

A review within a fictional situation:

You walk into your local coffee shop five days a week for your daily jolt. You see the same man, at a corner table, appearing to work intently on his laptop nearly every day. He never looks up, never talks to anyone. Eventually you sit near him to drink your coffee and just throw out "you're here every day, you must be a writer, huh?" He replies without looking up, "I am, wanna buy my books?" So you ask, "what are they about?" And he looks at you and says, "people minding their own fucking business" and goes back to his laptop. You don't reply, but leave him alone.

A few weeks later, seeing him often still and him not even acknowledging your presence, curiosity finally gets the better of you. You finally walk over to him and blurt out "yes, I want to buy one of your fucking books".

He looks at you, smirks and invites you to sit down. You're shocked, but do sit. He introduces himself as Alan and proceeds to tell you a story. He tells you about one time he got yelled at for letting his dog shit in someone's yard and not cleaning it up. He mentions how mortified he was.

Story after story that are at times hilarious, heart-wrenching, tongue in cheek, poignant, and, again, hilarious. He's snarky, self-deprecating, emotional, awkward, loving and funny.

This is what Mere Malarkey is. A wide range of non-fiction essays from Good's personal experiences and some reviews of books he has read. All written with insight and brutal honesty. I would recommend to anyone that likes a good (true) story.

[Joey Hedger · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My kids like to hear about my scars."

So starts an essay in Mere Malarkey where author Alan Good recounts the injuries he has accrued over his life to his children's (and the reader's) delight. It's a great essay and has a gut punch ending about parenting (that even I, un-childed as of writing this, found extremely relevant and moving), but the reason I highlight it here is because the first line really encapsulates what makes this book work: these stories are meant to be heard. ("Heard" as in received/read/enjoyed.) Alan Good excels at--and, might I say, perfects--the voice of the storyteller. Each essay has personality and heart, and it feels, after reading it, like I just spent a weekend camping with the author and sharing stories around a fire. I don't know if I'm conveying it well enough, but you should really read Mere Malarkey because these are stories worth hearing and stories that you cannot put down. They made me laugh and genuinely moved me in ways I've not experienced in a while. I promise you, it'll be worth your time sitting inside these pages and letting them speak to you. The essay "Roll Call" will sit with me for a long, long time.

[Suzy Eynon · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite stories in Alan's nonfiction collection are "Roll Call" and "Interstate." I cried at a few of the chapters. Alan has this way of telling a story that is heartbreaking but also funny, because life is that way. The book, as a collection, tells the story of how many different people and places can make a person, maybe how we are made up of stories of those we've met, those we choose, and those we lose.

There are a few details I see in Alan's nonfiction as parallels to my life (I know you can't really know a writer just by reading their work, etc etc), like we've lived some of the same places in the West. He expresses these experiences in a relatable and honest way, which I admire more than I can explain in this review; I've always hidden mine in my "fiction." You will probably recognize flashes of yourself in here, too.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Good's writing always bursts with personality, intelligence, and humor, and this collection brings a new level of candor and tenderness to his work. The writings about his family are especially poignant. I loved this book.

[Tyler Dempsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second by Alan I’ve read and, oh yea, baby, I’ll read more. This is a dirty, sloppy collection, compared to most “collections,” which I enjoyed. All non-fiction, but some are polished essays, some read like journal entries or tweets, some straight up are tweets, along with some book reviews shaken into the mix. The affect was a laid-back reading experience. Though subjects are anything but relaxed. As in all of Alan’s work, his humor and pathos are written into every opportunity. Love this dude’s shit and respect his self-publishing approach. He’s one of the Good ones.

[Alan ten-Hoeve · Rating 5 out of 5]

An acerbic, funny, and touching nonfiction collection. One of the best I've read in recent years.