Ben Marcus has received numerous awards for his groundbreaking fiction, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and three Pushcart Prizes. In The Flame Alphabet, Marcus creates a chilling world where the speech of children is killing their parents. After being forced to leave their daughter Esther to fend for herself, Sam and Claire end up at a government lab intent on creating non-lethal speech. But when Sam discovers the truth about what's going on there, he realizes reuniting with his daughter is the only way to keep his sanity.
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"Wow. I'm not even sure what to say about this book. It's a dystopian novel that takes a couple of ideas from Judaism and runs screaming with them: "The flame alphabet was the word of God, written in fire, obliterating to behold." And I just have to say, "Jew holes?!"" — Emily (5 out of 5 stars)
"Wow. I'm not even sure what to say about this book. It's a dystopian novel that takes a couple of ideas from Judaism and runs screaming with them: "The flame alphabet was the word of God, written in fire, obliterating to behold." And I just have to say, "Jew holes?!""
“Powerfully strange and frequently disturbing…It’s a rich testament to Marcus’ gifts that in a story about the death of language, his words frequently come together in ways to be savored.”
“[Marcus is] giving his highfalutin concepts the thriller treatment…A brutal, wonderful book, streaking with the sickly brown and gray hues of Philip K. Dick and David Cronenberg.”
“Language kills in Marcus’ audacious new work of fiction, a richly allusive look at a world transformed by a new form illness…Biblical in its Old Testament sense of wrath, Marcus’ novel twists America’s quotidian existence into something recognizable yet wholly alien to our experience.”
“Marcus conducts a febrile and erudite inquiry into ‘the threat of language,’ offering incandescent insights into ancient alphabets and mysticism, ostracism and exodus, incarceration with Holocaust echoes, and Kafkaesque behavioral science. Ultimately, the suspenseful,…apocalyptic plot serves as a vehicle for Marcus’ blazing metaphysical inquiry into expression, meaning, self, love, and civilization.”
“Narrator Andy Paris’ gentle voice dampens the horror of the words. yet his delivery is pitch-perfect, giving the feeling that hysteria is just moments away. The book is fascinating discourse on a bizarre situation that forces listeners to confront all their beliefs and suppositions.”
“Fierce, scary, hurtful, unsettling, and brilliant, this new work by award-winning novelist Marcus reminds us that language is dangerous and that we’ll do anything to protect our children, even when they are (literally) killing us.”
" Great Article. commentary - I was fascinated by the analysis . Does anyone know if my company would be able to get access to a template CA 5020 copy to fill out ? "
" I have a headache now. "
" The writing is exquisite -- it's essentially an extended poem. But the book's reality is so harsh and cruel, I was too saddened to make it through. Great book for a person with a thicker skin. "
" It's totally on me for quitting this book. It's very well written, but I just could not get into it. Certain books fit into certain times in one's life--this just didn't fit me right now. "
" I found the dystopian theme interesting and...uh...that's pretty much it "
" This a book that will discussed, debated, and deconstructed for decades. The plot is intriguing...language itself becomes so toxic that the entire world or at least Sam's world is plunged into a deafening silence. "
" Is it possible to acknowledge strong writing, but still really not like it? I just could not get into this book. The characters are completely unlikable. I tried. I gave up. "
" Amazing idea to start with.. gets a bit lost in the execution.. was still a very enjoyable read "
" I forced myself to read this because I spent the money to purchase it. It felt like torture. It was so slow. I just kept thinking something interesting was about to happen but it never did. Blah. "
" +1 for being inventive and well put together. I didn't really enjoy reading this book but I can admire its craft. "
" Engrossing observations about the state of communication. "
Ben Marcus is the author of The Flame Alphabet, Notable American Women, The Father Costume, and The Age of Wire and String. His writing has been published in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Salon, McSweeney’s, the Paris Review, Harper’s, and others. He is the editor of The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories and has served as the guest editor of Guernica magazine. He is a 2009 recipient of a grant for Innovative Literature from the Creative Capital Foundation and has also received the Morton Dauwen Zabel Award, the Whiting Writers Award, and three Pushcart Prizes. Marcus is a former professor at Brown University and is now a faculty member at Columbia University’s School of the Arts.
Andy Paris is an actor and writer. His audio narration have earned him the prestigious Audie Award, as well as AudioFile Earphones Awards. A member of the Tectonic Theater Project, he and others wrote The Laramie Project, which was nominated for an Emmy in 2002 and in which he played Stephen Belber. He has also appeared in Law & Order.
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