Like all of you BigOther contributors & readers, I am passionate about books. & when I read a book that I love, I have to spread the word.
I received Jame Kaelan’s signed, first (seeded cover) edition of WE’RE GETTING ON, & was blown away. I had read some excerpts of this book early on & was worried, just in part, that perhaps the Zero Emission Tour & seeded-cover (while genius & wonderful) would overshadow the book or make more of the story than it actually was. Not the case, not at all.
Holding the seeded cover is a tremendous feeling, the art & titling are letterpress quality & beautiful, & being a part of something new & big & different is a bad-ass moment for sure. & then I read the story, this narrative of a man who wants to break down the world, or at least himself, & I was enthralled. The language is just concrete enough to make for a quick & smooth read while also remaining poetic enough to avoid any genre labels.The narrative is gritty & unexpected, the characters not inundated with expositional elements but rather cast in quick, shadowed light, the way characters should be written. A dance of words on a page that turns into a spruce tree.
This is good good writing, stellar design, & a book that is haunting me still, two days later. I want this to haunt you. I want you to be haunted. Pick up a copy Pick up a copy Pick up a copy.