Synopses & Reviews
There's Strawberry Fields, Grey Gardens, Baton Rouge... And then there's Blue, Minnesota. Almost twenty years have gone by since Thomas Germaine sped out of that ramshackle icebox-town in a jerry-rigged Cadillac, but even now, two-thousand miles away amidst the sunbaked streets of Los Angeles, he can still hear the sounds of the church bells, the crackling of the ice, the sirens. Will his kid brother ever forgive him?
By turns feverish and meditative, heartbreaking and heartbreakingly funny, Blue, Minnesota is a transcendent story about fractured pasts, the bitter aftertaste of tainted love, the wars we wage against ourselves, and freedom. Are we as a people moving forward? Are we happy? Debut author Todd Furlong's masterful novel may just have the answers we're looking for.
Review
"Just what makes Blue, Minnesota so captivating? Is it the taut power of debut author Todd Furlong's storytelling? Is it the seductive purr of his prose? Above all, I think, it's the novel's protagonist. Deeply flawed, intensely human, Thomas Germaine embodies our longing and vulnerability as he finds himself at the proverbial precipice of his life. When he falls, will he land on his feet? Will any of us?"
Publishers Daily
Review
"Never in my life have I read a novel such as Blue, Minnesota. Words can't describe...Mr. Furlong has certainly done it. He's in a class all his own....Not to be easily forgotten."
Necessary Ink
Review
"The voice of a generation....Furlong doesn't just trace the edges of the cultural chasm dividing this great country; he dives headfirst into the abyss. If only we could all be so bold."
The New New Yorker
Review
"An intimate story of family, forbearance, and personal transformation, Blue, Minnesota is a breakout triumph for debut author Todd Furlong. Beautifully nuanced symbolism abounds. The recurring theme in which narrator Thomas Germaine finds himself helplessly hypnotized by a goldfish in a bowl speaks to humanity's inability to escape from, even turn away from, its fate. Captivating."
Bookside
Review
"If you've ever forgotten your way home. If you've ever looked around and realized you could throw it all away without a second thought. If you've ever been told you should 'get some help fast.' This book will be your salvation."
The Lonely Mole
About the Author
Todd Furlong is a freelance essayist living in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. His work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. This is his first novel.
Todd Furlong on PowellsBooks.Blog
My latest book,
Blue, Minnesota, is a meditation on boundaries, memory, identity, and family; it explores the liminal places that define us and the inherent sadness of the American Dream. Ultimately, it is a tragic love song to the vast expanse of our inner maps....
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