Manic Sonata: Movement I

by Justin Bohardt

Gaius Julius Mahler is a thirty year old bipolar pianist who exists in three Mania- when he is possessed of enough energy to stay awake for five straight days, playing piano, getting high, and finding unprotected sex in any location he can get it; Depression- where he wallows in his old familiar friend pathos and allows himself to be weighed down by his parents' suicides, the miseries of his own failings, and the iniquities done unto him; and the Middle- that purgatory known as Des Moines where he is capable enough of function, but is buried under enough phobias and anxieties to leave him socially crippled. His roommate is the ghost of Ludwig van Beethoven, and he is quite aware that it is a hallucination, but he finds Ludwig's presence rather comforting even though the composer is often quite annoying.Gaius is currently in the middle, waiting to see which direction the conductor will send him an accellerando to mania or a diminuendo to depression, when his few friends give him an odd impetus to head out and socialize. Certain that any societal contact will send him spiraling into a depression (and seeing nothing wrong with that- the middle can be awfully tiresome), he instead meets a girl named Lenore and goes on a manic trip through a night of zombie waiters, sentient hamburgers, stormtroopers in ambulances, shifts in planetary gravity, Papageno from Mozart's The Magic Flute, and the moon, which he stole from the night sky.

104 pages, Paperback

Published September 8, 2016

Reviews

[K.T. Munson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall

I'd like to start by saying the story surprised me. Mostly because going into I wasn't sure how all of the pieces were going to fit into the overall puzzle. After a bit of a rocky start, the story picks up pace and goes into overdrive. Gauis is a sort of sad character but he endears himself to you somehow. Especially after he meets Lenore. It is an odd but interesting story. Melding music with mental illness. Not to mention if breaks the fourth wall. It made me laugh out loud a few times. As the first installment of this dark comedy, it finishes with a bit of a non-ending, but I'd be interesting in reading the next one. An intellectual read with a trippy feel. 

Rating

4 stars

A dark comedy that after a confusing start evens out and takes you on one wild ride! 

Where did I get a copy?

From the author. This is a voluntary review. More reviews at creatingworldswithwords.wordpress.com.

[William Steffey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rollercoaster of grandiose proportion, Manic Sonata takes readers on a wild ride through a week in the life of Gaius Mahler; a bipolar classical pianist with an insatiable appetite for life.

Justin Bohardt is an unstoppable force in an emerging tide of writers disassembling the stigma of mental illness by personalizing the surreal experiences of those afflicted by it.

[J.B. Trepagnier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I come from a family of bipolar musicians, so I was excited to pick this up. While it is kind of like this, it also kind of isn't. I know it's fiction and the author was trying to show it like a symphony. There were funny moments, endearing moments, and moments where I was sitting there like, "oh, honey, you can't do that while you're bipolar."

This is more like a wild ride of mania set behind the drop of Beethoven's 5th, even though that piece isn't mentions, or perhaps the 3rd movement of the Moonlight Sonata, which is mentioned several times.

I found the story to be a bit of blowing up what it's like to be bipolar, but all together, a vivid and beautiful read

[Jaela Lynndon · Rating 4 out of 5]

You had me at the dedication – I thought, “Here’s an author with a sense of humor. I’m gonna like this.” And I did.
Then I got to the description of Des Moines. Having grown up within maybe 200 miles of there, I can assure you that this depiction could easily be applied to the entire area.
I also loved every word of Chapter IX.

There are some errors that a good editor would have fixed, but not nearly as many as most self-published books, so kudos to the author for that much.
Fixing such issues could bring this story to five stars, but it holds a solid four as it stands.

[Samantha Burnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very clever and intelligent piece of writing that draws its inspiration from Beethoven, the pace of the writing and the moods of the characters are all pitched and measured throughout to keep time with the musical background to the work. The story has some very well crafted romantic moments, beautifully written and presented, along with some amusing dialogue that lifts the tone as well. Recommended.

[Daniel Yetman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manic Sonata is a very clever piece of writing which anybody who has experience with Bipolar disorder or who enjoys classical music will be able to appreciate. The writer manages to produce an intelligent piece of writing while keeping clear and concise writing style. I particularly liked the banter between the protagonist (Gaius) and his invisible friend “Ludwig” who is a sardonic version of Ludwig Van Beethoven. Overall, I recommend this story, of course while listening to Beethoven.