A contemporary literary novel set in New York, exploiting multiple points of view to expose how theft is committed by people in the cause of justice—but experienced by others as just plain retribution.
In this kaleidoscopic novel, stories unfold in tandem with two groups of seemingly disconnected characters. In New York City, Midwestern transplant Paul Boustrophedon leaves his fiancée, disheartened by what apparently lays in store for his life: years of hard work and little pleasure. Disaffected, he bails on dinner with the usual crew at the usual place and stumbles upon film set on his block, where theft of a single éclair from catering services leads to a conversation with lead actress Silvie Virgule. An LA native, Virgule is lonely and entertained by this aloof and unpretentious character. She hires him to act as his Spiritual Advisor during shooting of Love & Theft.
Hank Delaney and Ray Ramirez, meanwhile, are two rural New Yorkers, nearing 40, underemployed and short on options. They concoct a plan to steal a vintage muscle car from Delaney’s high school nemesis, John Segal. What they don’t know is that the car is on lease to a company filming a series in Brooklyn titled Love & Theft. Ramirez, begins a con, wooing Shelby Segal, the sister of the car’s owner, by playing into her desire for stardom as a singer. Using an alias, Ramirez plays the role of music promotor, with the aim of getting close to her and copying the key to her brother’s auto shop.
There are those who play at theft, like Sylvie. There are those who claim theft, like Nolan Pilcrow, Paul’s new roommate who insists Love & Theft is based on something he wrote. There are those who protect corporations from theft, like Paul. Those who steal to survive, like Hank. And those whose thefts leave them with a nagging conscience, like Ray.
The return of the leased muscle car upstate brings the two groups together in a spectacular, uplifting, mind-bending way. Thematic unity pervades this marvelously structured work that contains the merging of countless opposites: urban and rural, rich and poor, black and white, right and wrong, and Love & Theft.
The world of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY, early twenty-tens; and the autobody shops and racetracks of Ulster Co., NY; the world of independent filmmakers and intellectuals moving into series TV; the world of a 5-year-old Canadian prodigy and his mother's Nova Scotia yoga studio.
The manuscript is 91,000 words. The work fits squarely into the genre of Literary fiction, being character-focused, theme-driven.
“Loading Zones” by Kurt Vile.