Book review of Early Sobrieties by Michael Deagler

     

Name of Book: Early Sobrities 

Author: Michael Deagler 

ISBN: 9781662602245

Publisher: Astra House 

Type of book: 2016, sobriety, Pope visit, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, time, roommates, living and work situations, millennial life, introspection 

Year it was published: 2024 

Summary:

Don’t worry about what Dennis Monk did when he was drinking. He’s sober now, ready to rejoin the world of leases and paychecks, reciprocal friendships and healthy romances—if only the world would agree to take him back. When his working-stiff parents kick him out of their suburban home, mere months into his frangible sobriety, the 26-year-old spends his first dry summer couch surfing through South Philadelphia, struggling to find a place for himself in the throng of adulthood.

Monk’s haphazard pilgrimage leads him through a city in flux: growing, gentrifying, haunted by its history and its unrealized potential. Everyone he knew from college seems to be doing better than him—and most of them aren’t even doing that well. His run-ins with former classmates, estranged drinking buddies, and prospective lovers challenge his version of events past and present, revealing that recovery is not the happy ending he’d expected, only a fraught next chapter.

Like a sober, millennial Jesus’ Son, Michael Deagler’s debut novel is the poignant confession of a recovering addict adrift in the fragmenting landscape of America’s middle class. Shot through with humor, hubris, and hard-earned insight, Early Sobrieties charts the limbos that exist between our better and worst selves, offering a portrait of a stifled generation collectively slouching towards grace.

Characters:

While there are plenty of secondary characters, the main focus is on Dennis Monk, a newly sobered 26 year old male who has been kicked out of the house in 2016. Dennis is best described as introspective, thoughtful but is prone to making either dumb or stupid mistakes, somehow lacking understanding of what he put friends and loved ones through, although he is trying his best to get caught up. Secondary characters are definitely memorable, but there isn't a lot of focus on them as on Dennis, although the author does try to be fair to them. 

Theme:

Can you begin again? 

Plot:

The story is in first person narrative from Dennis Monks point of view. Dennis is newly sober and he and his brother have recently been kicked out by their mom. Homeless and newly sober, throughout the book Dennis gives the reader a glimpse of his life throughout the next few months as well as introducing to a lot of friends that he ends up staying with until one or another situation forces him to leave. Entertaining? Yes. Eye opening? Oh yes. Insightful? Yes. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads) 

Michael Deagler’s debut novel EARLY SOBRIETIES was published in 2024 by Astra House in the US and Hutchinson Heinemann in the UK.

Deagler’s fiction has appeared in Harper’s, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, and elsewhere, and he has received fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. He lives in Los Angeles, where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in creative writing and literature at the University of Southern California.

Opinion:

First thing that came into my mind is that the book is quite similar to QUEEN FOR THE DAY by Maxine Rosaler. What I think will be similarities are the short stories of sorts that Early Sobrities presents next few months of Dennis life as he attempts to reconnect to the world that he threw away, and the book often presents problems that Dennis encounters as a newly sober man as well as giving the reader a glimpse of Philadelphia in 2016 and Queen for the day presented short stories that took years and focused on a particular family whose son was severly autistic. I  hadn't been neither to Philadelphia nor Pennsylvania but I did appreciate being part of Dennis journey as he strives to create something out of broken shards. 

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)