The Anomalies is the story of five quirky nonconformists who come together to make sweet rock music in their small Midwestern town primarily inhabited by tiny-minded, walking stereotypes.

Luster wants the ultimate form of the American dream — rock stardom — despite being a twenty-four-year-old man living in the ghetto with his crack-dealing brothers. Opal is a sex-crazed party machine despite being an eighty-year-old woman. Ember hates the world and wants to destroy it despite being an eight-year-old girl. Ray loves America and all of its inhabitants despite being a middle-aged, effeminate Iraqi soldier. Aurora is frigid and deplores young people despite being a sexy, Satan-worshiping teenager.

And now these misfits have formed a band — a band so different, so utterly unpredictable that they might just be able to slip between a crack, rise above their small-town existence, tour the world, and in the process make us all reconsider our tired old conventions.

"The players are introduced awkwardly, by multiple narrators in writing that stumbles from social realism to cartoonish whimsy....Unfortunately, Goebel's formulation is tired and the battle lines not sharply drawn. We are left with a buzz of angry voices....Dispensing with plot, Goebel wings it, credibility take the hindmost. It doesn't work." Kirkus Reviews

"I'm not sure if Joey Goebel is brilliant or psychotic. A bit of both, I suspect. Whatever the case, The Anomalies is a hilarious, irreverent, and wildly original roller coaster ride of a novel. Refreshing in its political incorrectness and about as unique as they come, this book introduces a loud new voice that I expect to hear much more from in the future." Silas House, author of Clay's Quilt and A Parchment of Leaves

The Anomalies is the story of five quirky nonconformists who come together to make sweet rock music in their small Midwestern town primarily inhabited by tiny-minded, walking stereotypes.

Joey Goebel was born and raised in Henderson, Kentucky. He has a BA in English from Brescia University and his short stories have appeared in two anthologies. He is the former lead singer of the punk band The Mullets (Higher Step Records) that toured for five years in the Midwest. The Anomalies is his first novel.