The debut novel of poet and short fiction writer Craig Buchner, Fish Cough is a unique story that explores restlessness, family dynamics, staid relationships and the idea of whether the objects around you could influence your behaviour. Thom and his husband are freelance writers, their relationship is on rocky ground and Thom finds himself deeply invested in what’s around him, whether that’s the life of his neighbours, the thought that a painting could be cursed, or the impact of bringing home a piece of meteorite found at the site of a neighbouring warehouse fire after a one in 33 year meteor shower.
Filled with life’s complexities, Fish Cough explores human connection in a unique, well structured storyline. This book is an emotional rollercoaster and one for the inquisitive. There are times when the plot is more surreal, times to laugh and times when your heart goes out to the characters. Above all, there are moments to ponder and think about the power we place on the things around us.
What if your possessions, the painting hanging in your living room or the photograph on your bathroom wall, could influence you to the point of action? Or worse yet, pass on some innate degenerate trait? Disease? Neuroses?
In Portland, Oregon, an inquisitive soul, Thom, spends much of his day having these thoughts. Obsessed by what is around him, he begins to question his own wishy-washy life philosophies. But as he and his husband, Howard, struggle to navigate their rollercoaster relationship and their shaky careers as freelance writers, Thom is faced with a challenge far greater than the persuasive power of their possessions. During a once-every-33-years meteor shower, an evil unlike anything on earth lands in their neighbor's tree, setting off a string of puzzling and unsettling events - beginning with the appearance of an anthropomorphic squirrel named Gordito and an invisible presence capable of mind-control.
