Montpelier Parade

Charismatic Karl Geary is a talented writer to watch; translation rights for Montpelier Parade have already been sold for 15 languages, and in the U.K., it is Harvill Secker’s lead title for 2017 after a 5-house auction. Geary, an Irish-born American, is well-connected in the New York arts/music scene and visits frequently; he co-founded music venue Sin-é, where performers including Jeff Buckley, Ben Folds, David Gray, and Sinead O’Connor played frequently, and he is co-owner of the Scratcher in NYC’s East Village. Geary is also an actor and screenwriter with connections in the film and music industries. The searing, intimate second-person narrative fits the novel perfectly; the style never feels gimmicky, and instead feels both cinematic and conversational, offering us intimate access to Sonny's thoughts. Montpelier Parade is a dark and atmospheric love story set against a realistic backdrop of working-class family life; the appeal of this novel is as present in the space between sentences as in the writing itself. Much of the genius comes from the words left unsaid by Sonny and his family, pulling the reader into an honest exploration of complex relationship dynamics and communication.