Book Review: Paul Toth

Finale is Michigan writer Paul Toth’s third novel. It’s a story of travel and of re-visiting the past. The main character in the book is quite the pathetic man; so much so that he’ll boost anyone’s ego who reads this book. His life is that sad.

The book teaches the reader vague lessons about life and love and effort. And while I found some of the style to be forcefully literary, the drive of the plot helped me enjoy this story for what it was. Finale is an interestingly designed book, and for those curious enough to check it out, I suggest you go with your impulses.

– C.J.

Book Review: David LaBounty

Affluenza, David LaBounty’s third novel, is dark. Very dark. Even the cover of the book is pitch black. The story is a roller coaster ride balancing precariously upon tracks of credit card debt and support beams of little to no conscience.

The main character, Chas, is an extremely unreliable narrator. And personally, that is one of my weaknesses in fiction. A big weakness. So I was instantly in love with this messed up insurance agent. Beyond that, though, Affluenza has a lot to say about society and the functionality of its current structure. It is worth reading for its meaning, even beyond its eerie, dark, and sometimes disturbing plot line. I recommend this book to… well, everyone.

– C.J.

An Interview with David LaBounty

Five Fishes got a hold of David LaBounty to discuss his novel, Affluenza, which was reviewed by us here. David LaBounty is a fiction writer and a poet, and he’s from my hometown-area near Detroit. Give it up for Michigan writers! And be sure to check out this book, as it might change the way you think about money.

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Five Fishes: Affluenza has a lot to say about the credit industry. What inspired this idea in the first place?

David LaBounty: I was listening to NPR while driving in the car. A professor from Harvard, I think, was being interviewed to promote her new book. I don’t remember her name or the name of the book but It was about the underhandedness of the credit industry and a few things resonated with me. She mentioned how the credit card companies want you to be late on your monthly bill so they can charge you late fees, there’ s big money in late fees. They do this by having you mail your bill on the opposite side of the country, to some little processing center in some off the wall kind of place. I checked my statements, it’s true! Also, they will move your due dates without telling you. Say you’ve had to pay your Visa bill on the 15th every month for a year, all of a sudden they change the date to the 10th without telling you and you don’t even notice as you habitually pay your bill on the 15th and voila, they got you with a thirty dollar late fee. The credit card companies also love it if you only make the minimum payment, they want you to send them money forever. And I thought, those bastards….. The book was borne from that interview. It was going to be more revenge oriented but as I wrote it that changed, I wanted to really illustrate the dangers of consumerism, how it can make one sick.

F.F.: Who did you model the main character after?

D.L.: Well, he’s based off of a lot of people, but no one in particualar. Charles Dash is an exaggeration, I don’t think any one is as selfish, vain, sexually addicted or cold-hearted as he is.I needed him to be a disgusting but believable character in order to make the book work
F.F.: While writing this novel, your third, did you have a clear idea of the ending or did you just wing it and write whatever felt right?
D.L.: I don’t work off of outlines or anything like that. I usually have an idea what the ending is going to be but the ending can change sometimes. I think starting to write a book without having some idea where it’s going to go is like starting a marathon without an end, tough to do and daunting.

F.F.: How much did living in Michigan affect the writing process for this book, apart from it being set here?

D.L.: That’s a good question. I had no setting when I first started writing the book. I just had Dash living in some anonymous suburb. Suburbs are kind of the same. I remember hearing an interview with Al Franken when he was still funny and not a politician. Someone asked him where he was from and he basically said it didn’t matter, that he was a suburban- American, just like any other suburban-American.

But I decided to set it in Michigan after all. I know Michigan the best as it is my home. Also Michigan seems to be the poster child for economic disaster, we are the best of the worst as far as bankruptcies, foreclosures, unemployment goes. It just seemed to be a natural setting, even if I wasn’t from Michigan.

F.F.: How often did you think of your own family while writing this novel?

D.L.: Not that much. I did think of the early part of my wife’s and I relationship and marriage but only from the aspect of how carefree it was as far as responsibilities go. We didn’t have responsibilities, really. Children do change that and I have two sons. Again, Dash’s family is an exaggeration. His wife Deidre is a soulless minivan driver and his kids are zombies who watch a lot of television. My own family isn’t like that at all. I don’t want to give too much of the book away but what Dash does to his own family towards the end made me nervous, as far as what kind of reaction my own wife would have upon reading it but she loved the book

F.F.: Affluenza, to me, seemed to have great potential for a movie. I pictured Edward Norton as the lead character. Who would you have cast for everyone?

D.L.: That’s funny, my wife has a crush on Edward Norton. She would love that. I never thought about it much but I would have to pick Russell Crowe for Dash. He easily plays a bad guy and he can almost morph into any role. I could see him as a slightly overweight bland guy in a suit. Deidre I don’t know, Marcia Gay Harden maybe, I don’t know. I’m not that much of a movie guy, I don’t watch them nearly enough.

F.F.: There is very little dialogue throughout the book. In fact, most of the words on the page are thoughts directly from the main character. Why did you choose to model the book this way?

D.L.: I wanted to expose the mind of Dash, his impressions of his family, culture and surroundings and the best way to do that was with a first person narrative. It also made him more believable. There wasn’t a lot of need for dialogue, in my opinion, to accomplish that.

F.F.: What have your experiences with insurance companies – like the one focused on throughout the book – been like in the past?

D.L.: You know, I haven’t had too much experience with insurance companies, good or bad. I had Dash work at an insurance company because it seemed understandable enough but I could have used any familiar corporate structure where the bottom line is everything, I really didn’t do any research as far as the workings of an insurance company goes. I just assumed it was like any other company. Keep all the dollars you can, and I had Dash serve as the guy in charge of denying claims, as claims eat the profits.

F.F.: What’s next for you as a writer?

D.L.: I have finished a fourth and fifth book. Both of them are completely different from Affluenza. I also write a lot of poetry and short fiction that is published from time to time. I feel very fortunate to have had the success I’ve had. Writing is tough, tough to get noticed, tougher still to get read by people other than your family or friends.

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Five Fishes thanks David LaBounty lots for this interview. He’s a good guy, go ahead and look up some of his stuff. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

– C.J.

Book Review: Jeff Vande Zande (Part II)

Jeff Vande Zande, previously interviewed right here on Five Fishes, recently came out with a new novel, Landscape With Fragmented Figures. This story is one about art, love, family, and life. Yes, life. That thing we are all up to. It’s a powerful subject, but this book covers it in such a way that you don’t realize how deep into the topic you are until the very end, when you exhale a soft and admiring “oh.”

Landscape is a medium-length, can’t-set-this-book-down type of novel that grabs hold of the reader and doesn’t let go. There’s something about Jeff’s writing that is so addictive and believable. I strongly urge everyone to check this book out. Now.

– C.J.

Book Review: Jeff Vande Zande

If readers of Five Fishes have figured me out at all, they might understand that I kind of have a thing for fish. Guilty. Maybe a little bit because of this, Michigan writer Jeff Vande Zande‘s book Into the Desperate Country is one of my favorites. It’s got plenty of river and plenty of fish for me.

Aside from the gills and the ripples, though, this is an intimate look at a man who doesn’t quite know what he wants in life, but knows that it’s not what he’s got at the moment. He flees his city life and ditches it for a simpler one. But, his indecisions get him into some trouble along the way. It’s really a battle between self and self-induced situation. Which, in case anybody is wondering, I love.

Though the book is a bit slow, it’s just the right pace for the subject. It’s outdoors-y, personal, and captivating. I recommend this book to just about anyone who isn’t one-hundred-percent sure about their life.

– C.J.