“Internal dialogue to match Nick Hornby at his best, and external dialogue that’s reminiscent of early Don DeLillo. Rarely have I seen so much wit mingle so comfortably with such an honest portrayal of rural America’s anarchic spirit.” — Gregory Hill, Author of East of Denver, The Lonesome Trials of Johnny Riles and a Colorado Book Award recipient
What can an award-winning Nashville singer-songwriter learn about himself by agreeing to a best-of tour in a beat up old van? If it means getting out from under the thumb of a label that considers him washed up, he’s willing to find out. At least until an ex-lover wants to come along for the ride.
Carl Mahogany’s not your average protagonist. In the practiced drawl of the aging country singer, and echoing Edward Abbey’s Henry Lightcap, Boddicker takes us across the country in an Americana-steeped journey through Mahogany’s roots. Encounters with old friends and lovers, including the Eisenhower Interstate System, a firecracker tenured professor, former bandmates, and a down-to-earth small town mechanic, shake the dust out of Mahogany’s creases to revision his life.
If a lifetime of travel, songwriting and performing equates to learning to work with the monsters inside us, The Essential Carl Mahogany is that journey. Grab a six pack, settle into the cushions, and come along for the ride.
Praise for The Essential Carl Mahogany
“With internal dialogue to match Nick Hornby at his best (see High Fidelity), and external dialogue that’s reminiscent of early Don DeLillo (See Great Jones Street, possibly the only musician-novel that I dare to compare to this one), author Zach Boddicker has crafted an elegant, oddball, and unapologetically funny tale of ex-Nashville, ex-famous, and ex-boyfriend Carl Mahogany and his existential mission to recover his soul in a tumbleweed junction on the Great Plains of Eastern Colorado. Rarely have I seen so much wit mingle so comfortably with such an honest portrayal of rural America’s anarchic spirit.”
— Gregory Hill – author East of Denver, The Lonesome Trials of Johnny Riles, Colorado Book Award recipient
“The story of a successful country songwriter trying his best to live a hassle-free existence, of which he is only marginally successful. Full of great dialogue, humorous observations and dry wit, The Essential Carl Mahogany is a strong debut.”
— Chris Auman, Reglar Wiglar Magazine
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