Dreamers, schemers, addicts, innocents. They are all coasting.
Coasting follows music industry aspirants, a brooding record store clerk, goth teens, and others into rehearsal rooms, 12-step meetings, a cult indoctrination, even a Russian heavy metal bunker. Along the way, they pursue success, connection, and a sense of purpose.
Perched between Middle Men and A Visit from the Goon Squad, Coasting is Ari Rosenschein's debut collection.
Praise for Coasting
"With the insight of a socio-anthropologist and the familiarity of your favorite bartender, Ari Rosenschein introduces us to new West Coast archetypes who follow the tradition of California Dreaming into the 21st century."
-Nikki San Pedro, Newfound Journal
"With sharp prose and intimate details, Coasting reveals a Los Angeles full of grief, loss, disappointment, illusions, and especially surprise."
-Victoria Patterson, author of The Secret Habit of Sorrow and The Little Brother
"Ari Rosenschein's Coasting does for Gen Y punks and rockers seeking artistic fame and glory in Los Angeles roughly what Candide did for-and to-its naïvely optimistic protagonist. A superb debut collection."
-Peter Selgin, author of Duplicity and Life Goes to the Movies
"Ari Rosenschein's Coasting is not only quick, it's quick-witted and razor sharp and not without its fair share of knowing nods and chuckles at the ridiculousness of, in general, the lives we lead when we're trying to convince ourselves of their greater significance. A must-read."
-Eugene Robinson, author of Fight: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Ass-Kicking but Were Afraid You'd Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking
"His characters inhabit a backstage space, a few steps from glory, looking for the next gig, hoping for a big break, reveling in every note along the way. Their sweet, gritty persistence is irresistible."
-Ana Maria Spagna, author of Uplake: Restless Essays of Coming and Going
"Candid, poignantly tragic, and humorous, Rosenschein's stories pluck at the nitty-gritty of what it takes to coast. The anxiety and thrill will keep you turning pages."
-Sarah Jones, author of Lies I Tell Myself
"Rosenschein limns these lives so evocatively, we're torn between feeling smug superiority in one breath, and then complete identification in the next. A master craftsman, Rosenschein holds up a mirror to our desperate wish for something better, and the sundry ways we make peace with what is."
-Bernadette Murphy, author of Harley and Me: Embracing Risk on the Road to a More Authentic Life
"He is an honest and astute chronicler of the vain and solipsistic, and though a few characters stumble into moments of insight, Rosenschein lets the rest churn in their perpetual adolescence. Coasting will make recovering scenesters laugh, nod, and cringe in recognition, and then give thanks they grew up."
-Kara Vernor, author of Because I Wanted to Write You a Pop Song
"The characters in Coasting breathe life back into the bygone era of Walkmans and used record stores, of garage bands and Myspace. These musicians, rock and roll aficionados, scenesters, producers, and fame-seekers coast through Los Angeles with eyes toward the derelict, the debauched, and the beautiful."
-Nathan Elias, author of Coil Quake Rift and The Reincarnations
