Old Open

by Alex Higley

Overview

Aging widower Russ Lanaker knows he doesn't know his neighbors—but when he finds out one of them was a witness to, and career expert on, the strange UFO phenomenon known as the Phoenix Lights, he realizes that's a situation he'd like to change. What follows is an odyssey out of his air-conditioned comfort zone, through the sun-baked Arizona suburbs, and onto the franchise-lined (and not-so-great) American road.

In an existential style reminiscent of Don DeLillo, but with the humor and heart of a Coen Brothers film, Alex Higley takes us along as Russ strikes out in search of knowledge about an alien encounter, and perhaps something far more bizarre—genuine human connection.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780998632537
Publisher:	Tortoise Books
Publication date:	11/07/2017
Pages:	164
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.41(d)

Editorial Reviews

10/02/2017
Higley (Cardinal and Other Stories) sets this contemplative, humorous story in a Phoenix suburb where a recent widower is adjusting to an increasingly empty life. Russ Lanaker works from home as a tech consultant and rarely interacts with anyone in person anymore. His only relationship of note is the superficial one he has with his neighbor, Terrell Presley, whom he also has a habit of spying on. Their relationship takes a drastic turn when Russ learns that Terrell travels nationally giving talks on UFOs and other unexplained phenomenon. Intrigued, Russ decides he is going to see one of these talks and accompanies Terrell’s sister on a road trip to the next event. Things appear to be getting better for Russ as he strikes out into the expansive, quiet landscape of the American Southwest, but his easy ride out of his curmudgeonly shell hits some bumps pretty quickly. Higley wonderfully captures Russ’s self-conscious interactions through clever ruminations on what he believes others are thinking (as when Russ, voyeuristically, imagines the thoughts of two cleaning women entering Terrell’s house). Crisp writing and splendid descriptions of momentous landscapes will carry readers through this journey of loss and learning to live in the moment. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Crisp writing and splendid descriptions of momentous landscapes will carry readers through this journey of loss and learning to live in the moment." — Publishers Weekly

"Alex Higley's Old Open is an adventure and a riddle; a winding tale that's equal parts Coen Brothers and Denis Johnson. A gruff, generous, insightful, very funny book, and I simply loved it." — Lindsay Hunter, author, Eat Only When You're Hungry

"With echoes of DeLillo, Old Open is a deceptively simple novel that rebels against modern disillusionment, capturing nothing less than the texture and flux of life. Higley's subjects include the gap between information and meaning, aliens and alienation, the desire to communicate and the need to feel understood. The result is a funny, moving, and hopeful novel." — Gabe Habash, author, Stephen Florida

"Alex Higley's Old Open is an absurdist road novel, a mediation on loss, and a fractured philosophical quest. This is a compact labyrinth of a book, leading time and time again to the minotaur of Meaning." — James Tadd Adcox, author, Does Not Love

From the Publisher