First Consonants: A Novel

Description

First Consonants is a searing tale of self-determination and redemption that follows the life of Brian Moriarty, a man who stutters, as he fights his way through life, attempting to understand himself and the world.

“A compelling, at times relentless novel that gives the term antihero a brand new spin.” —Felice Picano, author of Like People in History, The Book of Lies, and Onyx

“A flame of rage burns at the core of Brian Moriarty, ignited by a traumatic birth and fueled by a lifetime of debasement and abuse because Brian stutters. The text of John Whittier Treat’s First Consonants is incendiary, placing the reader in the furious heart of Brian’s world. As we may decry his actions, we cannot help but want a balm for him, a cool soothing of his implacable ire, lest it consume and reduce him to ash.” —Terry Wolverton, the author of Stealing Angel

“Brian Moriarty intuits truths about his life he never expresses in words, nor even in thoughts. First Consonants tells the story of his long journey to confront those truths. Brian traverses landscapes, internal and external, and grapples with the reality of violence, the complexity of family, the insidiousness of faith. Thrumming beneath it all, John Whittier Treat’s unrelentingly poignant prose grounds and belies the central theme: the aching unrealized potential of language.” —Ana Maria Spagna, author of Uplake: Restless Essays of Coming and Going