The Underside of Wars

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The Underside of Wars is a dark comedy and subversive page-turner that will resonate with fans of Chuck Palahniuk and Bret Easton Ellis. Underside is a story about time, and about how alcoholism and self-absorption are its greatest predators. The narrative begins deep inside Matthew Talbot’s creative process, a sphere where innovation and vice struggle for dominion. Matthew is an aging writer with deep principles and pretensions that simultaneously make him and his writing unique but difficult to market. He is not finished yet, however: he has one final chance to break through and achieve everything for which he has worked. Can Matthew overcome his iniquities before they drag him down into the gutter?

The reader is introduced to Matthew’s world and how he perceives it through a haze of alcohol and loose inhibitions. The Underside of Wars is about the protagonist’s personal apocalypse. The tale merges dark humour and tragedy in the strange and aberrant situations in which the protagonist finds himself. The novel poses questions about what is important in life, what is success, and most importantly, at what cost should success be reasonably purchased?

Set in an unnamed metropolis in the near future, the setting of The Underside of Wars is, at once, familiar and peculiar, and Matthew’s story is both relatable and unique. Matthew’s spiral provides a clear view of the bottom, but also of the stars as he gazes up from the gutter. Perhaps the most relevant questions to which Matthew will find answers are not if he can or will triumph, but rather, does he deserve the glory he seeks, and was it ever possible at all?

Ultimately, The Underside of Wars illustrates that there is much more to success than having talent.