Sifting Through Static Ben Tyler Elliott 9780692443859 Books
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In the winter of 1968, a young woman named Harriet disappears outside of Denver. Soon after, her father dies mysteriously. The family's three remaining sons--Wayne, Roy, and Conrad--grow increasingly distant as the specters of murder, family, and suspicion loom. As the brothers grow older, they learn that loss comes in many forms--in absence and silence, and in death.
Decades later, Wayne's only child confronts the brothers, uncovering long-buried resentments that have plagued the family for generations. We encounter Conrad, an ex-Army alcoholic, the now sober but wheelchair-bound Roy, and an increasingly distant and reclusive Wayne--delirious with the belief that he can create his own history. Profoundly dark and tragically honest, the narrative arranges each brother's testimony into a fractured conversation--one that, were it real, could bring the brothers back together after a lifetime of estrangement.
Through a discord of interviews, undelivered letters, and transcripts of Wayne's compulsive audio recordings, the brothers sift through the layers of resentment, bitterness, and betrayal that marred their adolescence. Each distorted memory brings the narrative closer to the truths of Harriet's disappearance and her father's erratic demise. But memories decay quickly, and the brothers' recollections serve only to expose a darker beast feeding at the heart of the broken family--one shrouded in suspicion and governed by regret.
Sifting Through Static Ben Tyler Elliott 9780692443859 Books
Sifting Through Static is a beautifully written book that cleverly elucidates the complexity of both the feelings of love and hurt experienced by the family in this story. While reading Elliott’s debut novel, I was struck by his ability to develop characters with robust, unique personalities marked by past events (or, moreover, their perception and memory of past events). He is skilled at describing a world in which letters are never read, phones are rarely answered, and those absent are the very ones that should always be near.It is unlike a typical novel, in that it is often told through interviews and letters; so, while reading, I regularly imagined this novel being played out on a stage (with scene changes, and shifts to different pairs of characters). I greatly enjoyed both the story and the writing in Sifting Through Static. Elliott has a rare talent for describing a dark or violent image with the most delicate language, and I felt that it imbued the book with a welcomed winsomeness. I would highly recommend this book for those interested in a compelling story with a distinctive structure and excellent writing.
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Tags : Sifting Through Static [Ben Tyler Elliott] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In the winter of 1968, a young woman named Harriet disappears outside of Denver. Soon after, her father dies mysteriously. The family's three remaining sons--Wayne,Ben Tyler Elliott,Sifting Through Static,Contronym Press,0692443851,FICTION Literary,Fiction - General,Literary,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
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Sifting Through Static Ben Tyler Elliott 9780692443859 Books Reviews
Eliot’s first novel demonstrates the pain of voices left unheard . Making creative use of epistolic form, we are treated to a heart wrenching tale of a family desperately seeking to make sense of those they love, and often failing.
At it’s core, it feels conflicted about its character’s ability to reconcile past suffering with present equanimity. As each of the principle characters relates their experience, we come to understand that one of the cruelest aspects of trauma is not simply the pain of its occurrence, but the suffocating, uncertain silence of its aftermath. With no foothold with which to make sense of their past, all three brothers wander hopelessly in the dark, simultaneously speaking to themselves and the fictions they’ve created about each other.
So too does our unreliable recorder, whose attempts at creating an record with which to make sense of such pain from the outside only highlights their role as a result of this collective suffering, and adds one more vector of bewilderment to the story, exemplified by the final speaker’s admonishment to bundle up and trash whatever hopes they may have at trying to sift through this record. Sometimes, the gaps between those we love are there for a reason.
Expertly crafted and challenging enough to be worth multiple reads, one can only anticipate Eliot’s next work.
Sifting through Static is a novel of things said and unsaid. Its silences (often marked by an extra long em dash) speak as much as its carefully chosen words, and the slow unraveling of the characters is dictated less by the actions they take than by their descent into the world of unreliable memory and would haves, could haves, and should haves. The author does a particularly deft job of exposing the central issue that confronts all histories, personal and otherwise that in looking backwards, we are always forced to weigh the value of incomplete evidence.
Technically, Sifting through Static could be considered an epistolary novel, but the transcripts and letters, rather than imparting a sense of connection to the characters, only illuminate how alienated and adrift they are. Perhaps because of the form of the novel, Wayne, Conrad and Roy all possess a sort of grim realism that never makes the ironies that confront them seem forced. This is not a book that has a tidy ending or that points you towards a neat conclusion. Instead, it’s a compelling story with beautifully written characters and intricate language, that left me feeling that perhaps it was time to allow some of my own carefully stored away memories to be aired out and reconsidered.
Great book! Can't wait for his next.
I really enjoyed this book. The format is interesting and refreshing -- it's told through interviews, letters, and transcripts -- and the characters feel as real as they are broken. I'm no book critic or reading master, but the writing feels genuine, the voices well-defined, and the stories / memories each character recalls really pulled me in. It made me feel things!
I really enjoyed reading this book. It draws you in right from the first line actually “I’m sorry boys – If this letter finds you, then I’m sorry. He won.” But while this sounds like an opening for a whodunit style mystery novel, you’re in for a far more original and unique reading experience. The plot unfolds like ripples in a pool, alternating between different time periods and point of view, slowly giving the reader an understanding of the characters and their motivations. Most central of these are the three estranged brothers, Wayne, Conrad and Roy, who all try to deal with old scars and current bitterness. Their voices are beautifully written and fleshed out – each of the brothers is flawed in his own special way, and each has his own narrative of what their childhood was like, giving the book a haunting Rashomon like quality. I definitely recommend it.
This remarkable novel recounts the childhood from hell through the eyes of three older, estranged brothers. It is presented in the form of an amorphous bundle of letters, audiotapes, and interviews that have been preserved. The story is emotionally draining yet at times uplifting. We learn how many ways there are to hurt one another, most notably those we love the most, and how to hurt ourselves. The short description suggests this is a mystery, but don’t be misled. Indeed, Harriet, the sister who’s not a sister, goes missing, but that’s not what this book is about. It’s about pain and healing.
Sifting Through Static is a beautifully written book that cleverly elucidates the complexity of both the feelings of love and hurt experienced by the family in this story. While reading Elliott’s debut novel, I was struck by his ability to develop characters with robust, unique personalities marked by past events (or, moreover, their perception and memory of past events). He is skilled at describing a world in which letters are never read, phones are rarely answered, and those absent are the very ones that should always be near.
It is unlike a typical novel, in that it is often told through interviews and letters; so, while reading, I regularly imagined this novel being played out on a stage (with scene changes, and shifts to different pairs of characters). I greatly enjoyed both the story and the writing in Sifting Through Static. Elliott has a rare talent for describing a dark or violent image with the most delicate language, and I felt that it imbued the book with a welcomed winsomeness. I would highly recommend this book for those interested in a compelling story with a distinctive structure and excellent writing.
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