Books like The Anomalies

This was my first read by *Joey Goebel*, a young novelist from Kentucky.....When I started this slim kooky novel, I thought Goebel was from Germany.... where he’s found his largest audience. Nope- all American. I was hoping to find a new ‘comic-tragic’ - ( mostly funny) - author - similar to *Erlend Loe*, from Denmark, or Jonathan Trooper, from the states.....“Anomalies”, was as much of a mixed-bag for me, as are the characters we come to know. I felt it to be a little slap silly at the start... but this book grew on me - with some deeper thinking going on. It’s definitely not perfect - but I’d consider reading the author again. A very odd configuration of friends (perhaps ‘friends’ is stretching it), come together in the heart of middle-America ...Henderson, Kentucky to form a rock band. Meet the group:....Lester: the 24 year old boy genius is the leader. ....Opal: The oldest - 80 years of age. She’s running away from family members who want to place her in an old folks home. Opal is a sex-crazed party granny! ....Ember: the youngest - coming in at 8 years old age. Never mind that it’s past her bedtime...she brought her babysitter who is also in the band. Ha.. Ember is doing most of the babysitting for her sitter. This child has mouth on her with angry outbursts. ....Aurora: beautiful blond babysitter - wheelchair bound satanist.....Ray: Iraqi Gay immigrant.These bizarre mix of characters are rebel’s, angry and disenchanted by society. They are ‘supposedly’ representing diversity in America with their cultural and racial differences. They want to show the ‘humanoids’ in the real world that it’s their insincerity and ignorance that fuels them out of a dead end town. The rest of the world is pathetic to them - at the same time - we’re not so clear they are any happier with themselves. My favorite parts of the dialogue is when it’s a balance of sad reality and defensive aloofness.Aurora ( wheelchair bound)...says: “Does anyone ever look at me and feel guilty for having legs that work? Do they count their blessings? Do they pity me? Or do they curse the fact that I’d make a lousy whore and I’m a useless waste of ass?” Besides the rock band themselves- we meet wives, boyfriends, fathers, a cop, a therapist, family and friends, and hear the customers take on the band players. These folks help us see deeper into each of the individuals in the rock band. .. and our problems in the world at large. Some looking back thoughts....( when thinking about Ember the child in the band): Aurora says: “I’d give anything to be a kid again, before breasts, drugs, jobs, boyfriends, death and those nagging thoughts that make you constantly question everything around you and inside you. I didn’t know how good I had it as a kid”.Aurora’s epiphany for the day: “When you’re a kid, you’re as close to perfect as you’re ever gonna be”. This is ‘mostly’ a great first novel. We feel the loneliness- the grief - the unhappiness - and the absurdities. “Anomalies” highlights the peculiarities of life though emotions and behaviors....AndSometimes like this:Lester comes on stage and screams into his microphone: “It is Anomalies! The Anomalies!I see a lot of good looking widows, orphans, introverts, extroverts, latchkey kids, amputees, and Jewish Carpenter’s out there tonight! My name is Lester Johnson, and I’m doing well!I am not going to ask you all how you are doing, because I am sure you would just reply by yelling, Wooo”. It’s a strange little book - no question about it... yet weirdly engaging. 3.5 stars.