Michael O’Flaherty Reads Shiny Shiny

Oct ’10
2
4:00 pm

ShinyShiny

Shiny, Shiny: A Novel by Michael O’Flaherty is a retooled, rocket-fueled Alice In Wonderland for the grandchildren of Marx and Coca-Cola.

In his critical essays on rock and roll for The Baffler, Michael O’Flaherty investigated the complex attempts of human subjectivity and imagination to transcend the political and social constraints of everyday life. Now, in his novel Shiny Shiny, that exploration broadens and deepens into the realm of dreams and possible worlds. The narrative tracks the protagonist, Jane, as her quest for a place to open up and become one takes her from memories of her ‘70s/‘80s girlhood, to exurban family life, to armed communist revolution, only to end in the one destination she never expected….

When put on the spot, O’Flaherty will cite writers like Jane Bowles, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Jean Rhys, and Eduardo Galeano as having influenced his work.  But comic books, punk rock, and the wide world of TV (sometimes observed while semi-conscious) have played an equally important role in his writing.

For more info: http://www.goodbaitbooks.com/index.htm