April 12, 2008-- Entire page updated, including
Appearances.
Goebel's
New Novel
COMMONWEALTH
IN
STORES JULY 4, 2008
Available in Hardcover and
Paperback
Pre-Order
at:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=joey+goebel&r=1
Read excerpts, hear "Theme Song from Commonwealth"
(written and performed by Goebel)
at Joey Goebel's Commonwealth MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/joeygoebelcommonwealth
===================================================================
PLOT
SUMMARY of COMMONWEALTH
Somewhere in the middle of America dwells Blue Gene Mapother,
a trashy, mullet-headed Wal-Mart stockboy-turned-flea marketer
who staunchly supports any American war effort without question.
Besides patriotism, little enlivens him besides pro wrestling,
cigarette breaks, and any instance in which he thinks his masculinity
is at stake. Curiously, he is also a member of one of the wealthiest
families in the country.
His mother, the fanatical Christian socialite Elizabeth Mapother,
has a prophetic dream in which she sees Blue Gene’s older
brother, the handsome but nervous John Hurstbourne Mapother,
becoming an apocalyptic world savior. In order to fulfill his
mother’s prophecy—not to mention his father Henry’s
lifelong desire for his bloodline to ascend to Washington—John
is running for Congress.
John soon finds that as a corporate executive he is not popular
with his largely working-class constituents, many of whom work
for him and his father. Now, after years of estrangement, the
Mapothers need Blue Gene’s common man touch in order to
cast their family name in a more favorable light with the voters.
The Mapothers no longer shun Blue Gene for his embarrassing,
low-class ways; they embrace him as political gold.
Will Blue Gene allow himself to be used? His family has ignored
him the last four years and has only invited him back into the
fold as campaign time looms near. But then again, even though
the superrich John Hurstbourne Mapother clearly represents the
interests of big business, man, he sure does have all the right
values.
Through dark humor and cinematic story-telling, this small-town
epic goes from a flea market to mansions to abandoned Wal-Mart
buildings, dramatizing the deranged, absurd relationship between
the high and low class of America.
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UPDATE TO
APPEARANCES PAGE, in ABOUT THE AUTHOR
===================================================================
GOEBEL SHORT
STORY "Robo-Trippin" PUBLISHED IN
BUST DOWN THE DOOR & EAT ALL THE CHICKENS #6
A Journal of absurd and Surreal Fiction
To order copy, go to www.absurdistjournal.com
===================================================================
TRANSLATIONS
Goebel’s first novel THE ANOMALIES was published in
German by Diogenes Verlag. It was re-titled FREAKS. TORTURE
THE ARTIST was re-titled VINCENT for its German release.
FRENCH—to be published by Editions Heloise D’ Ormesson
this fall (ANOMALIES also to be published in French, later)
SPANISH—to be published by MR Ediciones (As a part of
their new literary collection. Will be released by the sister
companies in Latin America. ANOMALIES to be published in Spanish
in 2007. Catalan edition of TORTURE to be published simultaneously
by Empuries/Grup 62.)
DUTCH—to be published by Cossee Publishers (autumn 2006)
RUSSIAN—to be published by AST Publishers
LITHUANIAN-- to be published by Vaga
UNITED KINGDOM-- Torture the Artist to be published
by Old Street Publishing in Sept. '06.
KOREAN-- To be published by Munhakdongne
ITALIAN-- Both novels to be published by Baldini & Castoldi.
PORTUGAL-- Anomalies, then Torture, by ASA.
