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«jazz is part of this strange, lovely story, appropriately enough since it has a jazz-like sense of spontaneity ... headlong, irresistible passion & obsession animates the prose and the protagonist... a turbulent compelling work... When your jealous bitchy friends ask which elixir of youth & beauty you have imbibed, you will sigh, a deep sensual sigh, and whisper, “I read a book by Laeth, Sketches of Alice.”»
~ Walter Aske
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«This story will break your heart... an endearing and heart-breaking coming-of-age tale filled with jazz and bittersweet nostalgia, set in a Lisbon that only exists in memory... a seamless stream of consciousness that is the trademark of the author... The entire narrative is natural, genuine, human... Unlike Laeth's previous works, set in the realms of slipstream and magic realism, this is a down-to-earth story with no fantasy elements or supernatural entities, except the rare magic of connection between two people... This is a love story for romantics, idealists, and realists alike... I cannot recommend it enough.»
~ Susana Imaginário
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The Rot
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things people have said about the book:
«The world is ending, I can see it, but that won't stop me. The most uplifting message from one of the most curmudgeon aphorists»
«The Rot doesn't attempt to recreate the wheel and it doesn't harp on the usual hot points of apocolypticals. Instead it finds new angles of interest that make the unfolding of this tale feel novel... While the narrator isn't entirely omniscient, I got the repeated and distinct impression that he is honest above all, and the whole tale felt like a chip off some eternal record.»
«immediately reminded me of Saramago... The magical realism in this book is, indeed, peak, and oftentimes even cinematic... a freedom in the prose which is refreshing...the narrative showed joy and wonderment at simple things like the dog. I liked the presence of animals in this book very much in general... [an] Abrahamic journey of looking for a land, of looking for a place away from the rot and the monsters»
«a must read for critical thinkers, fans of cosmic horror, apocalyptic fiction, and philosophical theology.»
«This book reads like a breeze... I found myself making connections as I read, from John Bunyan to Kafka, from Kierkegaard to David Graeber, ideas theological, mythological, and philosophical. It definitely makes the reader wander. Excellent read. Highly recommended.»
Phantasia
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Things people have said about the book:
'The premise is unusual: a viral anonymous post leads people to put their heads in bowls of water and try to manifest objects. First for a laugh, and then, somehow, for those who are gifted…it works. From this strange start, the narrator develops the consequences for the world with impressive logic. And yet this book is not a thought experiment. The narrator is telling you a deeper, cosmic story, a sort of modern Miltonian tale.'
'For all the strangeness of Phantasia, at its heart it is a story of love (...), about good vs evil, and how those alliances are not always drawn in the ways you might imagine.'
'Many themes recur in the novel: the theme of time, particularly the distinction between "private time" and “worldly” time; the theme of roads, of paths, and forks; the themes of place, of language, of love, and the magic of all of these.'
'The love stories in this book were gripping, real, and effective. There is a great tenderness and witness to romantic love, not as sentimentality, but as a potentially eternal reality. This was a brilliant part of the story, and one I particularly enjoyed.'
'In a way, the narrator is a character of the book. A rambling man, by initial appearances, yet a man who seems to ramble toward a purpose: to weave the spell of his story.'
'Language is itself alive in this book, central to the unfolding story.'
‘The style and prose, expertly written as a stream of consciousness, reminds me a bit of Saramago in the way that it blends dialogue and narration without bothering with punctuation’.
'The way the author writes dialogue is unusual (…), I can only say that it took a bit of getting used to, but it is a technique with a purpose, and it is a technique that works'.
'[this book] is beautiful because it is hopeful, understanding but hopeful, and in a world saturated with hopelessness, something hopeful is much needed'.
'I am still glowing from the finale. (...) I don’t believe you’ll ever find a book like this one.'
'If you're looking for something truly original and unique, give Phantasia a try.'
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