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Pub date November 15, 2023

Tailwinds Press Enterprises LLC

ISBN 979-8988690306

Price $15.48 (USD) Paperback, $9.49 Kindle edition

Dimovitz delivers a stark portrayal of a generation grappling with economic decay and cultural upheaval in his impressive debut novel. Set in 1993, the novel follows Ed Pullman, a disillusioned art student who returns to his crumbling hometown of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Amidst the city’s vanishing jobs and decaying factories, Ed, alongside his cousin Ester, falls under the sway of the enigmatic cult leader Tod Griffon. As their town edges toward disaster, Ed and Ester must struggle to find their place in a shifting, desolate world.

Dimovitz brings the city to life with striking realism, where the subcultures of goth kids, drag queens, and café philosophers clash with the darker undercurrents of neo-Nazis and a fading textile industry. Ed’s complex relationship with Ester, simultaneously comforting and challenging, adds a layer of emotional depth to the novel, reflecting the messy, often fraught nature of family ties in difficult times. Dimovitz’s prose is precise and emotionally charged, creating an atmosphere thick with tension and urgency. His depiction of a city on the brink underscores the novels’ larger themes of identity, resilience, and survival, while the focus on art as resistance illustrates creativity as a lifeline amidst societal disintegration. Both a powerful reflection of a bygone era and a searing commentary on the quest for purpose in a world of shifting ground, the novel makes for a memorable read. 

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