Tag Archives: book review

The Tenth Anniversary of An Authentic Derivative

Posted by Caleb Coy on

Readers, it has been a decade since my novel, An Authentic Derivative.

Ten years ago, I self-published a satirical novel, using IndieGoGo to raise the funds for the production of the novel. Contributors got their own copy.

Hard to believe it’s ten years. But in case you missed it, here’s the skinny:

An Authentic Derivative
a Caleb Coy “novel”

 An Authentic Derivative, is still available on Amazon. 

Click HERE to order a print copy!
Click HERE to order an ebook on Kindle!

41LZSXEGPFLIndie rocker Garrett Sedgwick is a reclusive artist struggling to assert his identity to a sectarian fan base. Cynical graphic artist Neil Oberlin is given the task of sketching Sedgwick’s next album cover. However, proximity to the brooding musician begins to compound Neil’s own anxieties about himself, his generation, and Sedgwick’s great secret. Things are about to get awkward.

Set in Nashville, An Authentic Derivative tells the story of a generation of overeducated, over cultivated millennials.

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8/10/15 Bibliofreak names An Authentic Derivative “book of the week.”

Reviews:
“Imagine The Greate Gatsby told by a young and self-conscious David Foster Wallace born after 1980.” (James Bair, EnglishPlusLanguage Blog)

“This reads like the monologue at the beginning of a later Wes Anderson film, as edited by Salinger. I don’t hate it.” (Stephano Mugnaini)

The funds to produce and promote the novel were raised through an IndieGoGo campaign. I am indebted to my friends, my family, and others who helped make possible my goal of publishing the novel independently.

Follow the protagonist, @GarrettSedgwick, on Twitter.

Kirkus Reviews Takes on My Debut Novel

Posted by Caleb Coy on

“Spot-on satire or earnest picture of youth in transition?…”

41LZSXEGPFL“Coy’s voice is strong and sure; he captures Neil’s voice and tone with specificity and confidence. However, readers’ tolerance for Neil and his impressions of the Nashville scene may strongly depend on whether they see the novel as a satire of the hip, ironic detachment and self-reflexive views of the millennial generation or an earnest attempt to capture their thoughts and hopes in the second decade of the 21st century. Those who see Coy’s work as being meant seriously will likely find the characters vacuous and talkative to a fault, and the thrust of the narrative will be greatly diluted. For those who see a satirical purpose to Coy’s prose, the narrative will likely carry more resonance, and the end result of Sedgwick and Oberlin’s relationship will have a particular melancholy weight, even when seen through the satirical lens.”

“A well-defined social milieu and articulate characters make Coy’s is it/isn’t it novel an interesting, if uncertain, experience.”

–Kirkus Reviews

[Bold emphasis mine]

You can find the full review here

Or Order my book on Amazon!

Book Review: Created Equal by Joshua Berman

Posted by Caleb Coy on

“All men are created equal.”

It’s one of the foundational beliefs of our country, one that nobody dares question. But some things we sometimes can’t help but question: What does it mean to be equal? If we are born different, how are we still equal? Where did we get the idea that all men [and women] are created equal? This question becomes important when we consider that when this phrase was written into the US Constitution, “men” was defined as white, land-owning males. So how we define equality and how we put it into practice are important questions. And for some reason, we have this idea that the idea of everyone being equal is new. Like, within the past 200 years new.
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_The Fault in Our Stars_ Book Review

Posted by Caleb Coy on

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars
but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
-Cassius, in Julius Caesar

This was my first cancer book.  The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, came out a year ago.  Hazel Grace is a 16-year-old cancer patient who comes to terms with her terminal illness in a unique way when she meets fellow cancer patient and amputee Augustus Waters.  This is neither a cancer book or a romance or a comedy.  But it will behave like all of those.  Green’s novel gives us tragicomedy in a way only greats like Shakespeare knew how.
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