NONE OF THE ABOVE
NONE OF THE ABOVE spans twenty-seven years (1980-2007) of the life of Increase Alt, a fearful, introverted sort who does a poor job of paying attention to things that don’t directly affect his life. Throughout grade school, high school, and college, his energies become more and more directed toward his own pursuits—the study of literature, the attempt to secure a girlfriend, the forging and maintaining of relationships with his male peers. Events happening in the world, in the country, and in his hometown of Cleveland—a Reagan-Carter presidential debate, the Iran Contra scandal, the AIDS epidemic, the first Gulf War—become important only when they threaten to pull him out of his comfort zone. As a highly educated adult, he returns to the town of his birth to discover he still has much to learn, as both personal trials and traumas in the country (and world) put his maturity to the test.
NONE OF THE ABOVE spans twenty-seven years (1980-2007) of the life of Increase Alt, a fearful, introverted sort who does a poor job of paying attention to things that don’t directly affect his life. Throughout grade school, high school, and college, his energies become more and more directed toward his own pursuits—the study of literature, the attempt to secure a girlfriend, the forging and maintaining of relationships with his male peers. Events happening in the world, in the country, and in his hometown of Cleveland—a Reagan-Carter presidential debate, the Iran Contra scandal, the AIDS epidemic, the first Gulf War—become important only when they threaten to pull him out of his comfort zone. As a highly educated adult, he returns to the town of his birth to discover he still has much to learn, as both personal trials and traumas in the country (and world) put his maturity to the test.
NONE OF THE ABOVE spans twenty-seven years (1980-2007) of the life of Increase Alt, a fearful, introverted sort who does a poor job of paying attention to things that don’t directly affect his life. Throughout grade school, high school, and college, his energies become more and more directed toward his own pursuits—the study of literature, the attempt to secure a girlfriend, the forging and maintaining of relationships with his male peers. Events happening in the world, in the country, and in his hometown of Cleveland—a Reagan-Carter presidential debate, the Iran Contra scandal, the AIDS epidemic, the first Gulf War—become important only when they threaten to pull him out of his comfort zone. As a highly educated adult, he returns to the town of his birth to discover he still has much to learn, as both personal trials and traumas in the country (and world) put his maturity to the test.
About MICHAEL COCCHIARALE
Michael Cocchiarale is Associate Professor of English and creative writing at Widener University (Chester, PA), where he teaches courses in American literature, fiction writing, and composition. He is the author of two collections of short fiction–Still Time (Fomite, 2012) and Here Is Ware: Stories (Fomite, 2018). None of the Above, his first novel, was published by Unsolicited Press in February 2019. He has coedited several collections of scholarly essays, including most recently, Critical Insights: Flash Fiction. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio (a city to which he’s always returning), he has also spent wonderful time in Athens, Ohio; Lafayette, Indiana; and Greifswald, Germany.
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Genre: Nonfiction
ISBN : 978-1947021761
Publication Date; February 12, 2019
