Photo by Mary Whalen
In Andy Mozina’s engaging debut novel Contrary Motion, Matt Grzbc stars as a divorced dad in his late 30s who is struggling to find happiness amid a foreign dating scene, a struggling career as a harpist and the recent passing of his father. But it is not all gloom and doom in Matt’s life, which he navigates with wit and hilarity.
As he prepares for an important and possibly life-changing audition with the St. Louis symphony, Matt spends most of his time practicing and playing gigs at Sunday brunches and a local hospice care center. As Matt struggles to perfect his craft, he also strives to live an authentic life in the Chicago suburbs. Much of the time he is plagued by self-doubt and worry, whether it relates to the behavior of his precocious 6-year-old daughter or his attractive lawyer girlfriend of four months, and as his audition nears, the feelings of doubt only increase. Contrary Motion, a musical reference to a tricky sequence of notes that move in opposite directions, is a charming and poignant tale that mixes together complex relationships and real-life personal problems with an undertone of heavenly music. A completely original story told from inside the male mind, Contrary Motion is unforgettable and beautifully written.
Mozina is a Wisconsin native who teaches English at Michigan’s Kalamazoo College. His previous short story collections, The Women Were Leaving the Men and Quality Snacks, have both received literary honors. Mozina will appear at Boswell Book Co. at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30.
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BOOK HAPPENING:
Mary Pflum Peterson
7 p.m., Tuesday, March 29
Boswell Book Co.
2559 N. Downer Ave.
A Wisconsin native tackles a difficult life story in her memoir White Dresses, a poignant love story between mothers and daughters. Mary Pflum Peterson’s hopeful tale centers around three generations of a Catholic family living in Wisconsin and facing a variety of personal demons with aplomb and grace. Pflum Peterson is an award-winning producer at “Good Morning America.”
