Huron by Johnny Coley

More info: https://sweetwreath.com/Huron

Huron is teaching a communications class in London when he begins receiving mysterious messages written on the back of his overcoat in chalk. A series of erotic and metaphysical encounters ensue as Huron becomes aware of a presence called "the dead animal" which is devouring reality. The story unfolds in London then follows Huron into a Non-Euclidean space called Little Whirlby; an anomaly in terms of ordinary geography, ordinary physics, and ordinary "life" as we call it. A strange array of people and magic animals enter the narrative as Huron attempts to continue his life above ground despite the effects of "the dead animal." The book recounts his existential musings, comedic exchanges, and queer romances across international locales and in "The Badger Realm."

Written entirely on his phone, Coley's novel is composed of short improvisational chapters which move in a stream-of-consciousness, refracting prismatically outward from elements of his lived experience. The text reflects his rich conversational abilities and sense of humor as he deploys marathon run-on sentences that exquisitely trace the paths of thoughts coming into being. Zigzagging like a switchback road through the French Alps, these passages play with common speech and syntax while invoking a wide swath of literary references and philosophical ideas. Coley skillfully weaves many strands of contemporary thought and lyrical asides into a metaphysical prose wholly his own. He is deeply interested in each character's idiosyncratic form of language, in colloquialisms and misunderstandings, and in the magic of words as agents of potential. Huron's world opens up fabulous possibilities. Those familiar with Coley's work in poetry and spoken word will find an entirely different and compelling dimension of his literary practice in this book.

Fringe, USA

sweetwreath.com