BUILDING 8

Mazzella’s experimental novel explores various absurdities of the world.

This loosely-connected narrative unfolds in a series of short chapters—most consist of only a page or two, with simple titles like “Guest” and “Confusion.” Each chapter progresses in a conversational way with little, if any, punctuation used in the dialogue. In “Busy,” an exchange between two people over a food item reads, “It is something I picked up at B’nooshs’. And pray tell what is it? Yellow matter custard covered in noobglarbs.” Topics vary considerably: There are passages about dreams, a woman who recovers from a suicide attempt, and musings on the ways in which “Pleasures of the physical body are passing but pleasures of the mind are continuous.” In “5 = 5,” it is stated that “The only thing that is constant is the unconstantness and unruliness of our existence.” In “Gameshow,” a guest of the Sunday night edition of “Who are You?” starts to shout about how he will “STEAL YOUR SOUL IN THE NIGHT.” Amongst the chaos in “Red Glare,” there is a “well-lit room on top of the tallest building.” The room has two men in it who appear to be completely untroubled by the “black and white triangular flying machines” that crowd the sky outside. It is difficult to discern a connecting thread running throughout all the commotion, save for that constant state of unruliness…and a sense of humor. Who doesn’t love yellow matter custard covered in nooglarbs? One person is described as “not only money poor but good taste poor.” Some sections are exhausting; “TomatoI” depicts someone ordering “A burger deluxe with you holding the burger, holding the fries, holding the lettuce, holding the pickle.” Other portions prove insightful: In “Finale,” a character is told over a random phone call that “The only thing that has a beginning and end is life itself. That you have no control over.” Such discoveries are here to be found, though they are often buried amongst dense thickets of strangeness.

Though tedious at times, the work weaves a stimulating tapestry of truth and nonsense.