My second novel, She Sang to Them She Sang, is now available direct from corona\samizdat, an innovative small press based in Slovenia, and which focuses on publishing exploratory fiction from the present as well as on re-publishing neglected but essential avant-garde novels from the past.
She Sang to Them, She Sang‘s three principal characters, Katie, Jo, and Manny, have got the deal of their lifetimes finally in their sights, but nowhere is it written in the Family Home Inspection Kit to triple-check the stories they tell themselves—about issues overlooked, upkeep not kept up, or damage concealed; about how more than finances flow from one generation to the next; about veiled motivations for entering into relationships of a contractual nature (be they fiduciary, informal, or solemnized); finally, about the real origins of these stories themselves, which upon closer inspection are revealed to be mere lean-tos built upon shabby foundations, and whose parlors furnish-forth tedious after-dinner speakers, who are not only the most long-winded, but also the most unreliable, of guests….
Through an innovative presentation of events (in which thoughts nested within and discoursing with other thoughts are “corralled” visually on the page), the narrative moves from one perspective to the next as each protagonist somehow manages to convince themselves of their autonomy, even as this most seemingly banal of events, the simple sale of a house, gathers to itself enough psycho-kinetic energy to threaten all who find themselves in need of shelter under its creaking joists.
She Sang to Them She Sang is set in the ostensibly fictional town of Orangefield, which is located roughly 90 minutes east of Toronto, in the rolling countryside of South-Central Ontario. The area was settled by Ulster Scots in the nineteenth century, following Treaty 20 of 1818, which called for the ceding of area lands by six Mississauga tribal chiefs for…
“£749 in goods to be delivered yearly forever to the tribes of the district. After the signing of the contract the Indians were shamefully deceived by the insertion of a joker that the government proposed to issue ten dollars in goods annually to each man, woman and child alive at the time of the sale, the payment to cease at their death; and individuals born after 1818 would receive nothing. The seven Ontario townships really passed from the hands of the Indians for a beggarly dole of merchandise”.
(The Lindsay Post)
Economic growth proved slow for much of the next 100 years. As Treaty 20 neared its centenary, however, the Provincial government opened a new four-lane express toll-route running east and north of Toronto, bringing developers and commuters alike to the area at last!
“Not only have home values in the former branch-plant city of Orangefield (pop. 78,000) increased nearly two-fold as a result, underperforming farmlands have recently been re-zoned for residential development in the surrounding townships of Antrim, Omagh, Ulster, and Ballymurphy, bringing much-needed additional tax-base to the entire region! Add into the mix those well-heeled retirees from the City who are now flocking to the quaint, rapidly re-gentrifying ‘Old West End’ of the city of Orangefield itself—and presto! A sellers’ market is born! But never fear, out-of-town buyers: you’ll be reassured to find that even the recently-doubled prices are a comparative bargain, allowing you to scoop up well-maintained century homes for little more than a song, leaving you with a nice little cushion for your active lifestyle!”
(Archibald & Aiken, Realtors)
How to Purchase She Sang to Them, She Sang
Small presses lose whatever slim margins they have to the likes of Amazon and Shopify, so Corona/Samizdat’s are being sold on Corona/Samizdat’s website, where you can use PayPal or your credit card for a secure, worry-free transaction. Books are shipped (with tracking!) from the publisher in Slovenia and usually take a week to arrive within the EU, two weeks for North America and elsewhere.
Preview of She Sang to Them, She Sang:
Check Out My Other Novel, White Mythology
My first novel, White Mythology, explores the obsessive career and ossified inner life of psychiatrist Dr. Edward Blanchette over three stormy and transformative days in December, 1993.
Just as his clinical trial for a promising new anti-depressant, Alba, appears to be hitting a snag, Dr. Ed’s wife disappears, and a young man claiming to be his son appears at his office. Dr. Ed, once always a steady hand and a rational voice in times of crisis, will be sorely tested….
White Mythology is available in Paperback, eBook, and Audiobook editions.
Reviews of She Sang to Them, She Sang:
“Clarke’s strategy helps give the novel’s satire of the casual corruption induced by capitalism as it intersects with middle class aspiration–which no doubt represents its dominant ambition–a greater continuity and cogency, but also works to keep attention on character, so that the satire does not merely disappear into plot or, by the end of the novel, melodrama. What the novel wants to “say” about the decadence of capitalism, while evident enough, does not overshadow an accompanying comedy of psychological confusion that is perhaps even more telling.” —Daniel Green, Unbeaten Paths