Drawers & Booths: A Metafiction Novel [Paperback]

Ara 13 (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2007

Beginning as a modern military civil affairs action, Drawers & Booths spirals into a metafictional journey, testing the boundaries of reader and author, narrative voice, and characterization--the wrapping for Ara 13's satirical analysis of morality in light of evolutionary psychology.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

An "Outstanding Book of the Year" Bronze Medal "Storyteller of the Year"

About the Award: Drawers & Booths won an IPPY--the world's largest international book awards competition, independent or otherwise. Ara 13 competed against releases from production houses such as, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Yale, and other university presses, as well as Pulitzer finalist Dave Eggers' production house, McSweeney's, and Barnes & Nobles' alliance press, iUniverse. Ara 13's novel was selected from 3,175 entrants representing 16 countries: Trinidad to Thailand, Croatia to Czech Republic, and France to Finland. Drawers & Booths was one of 32 books to receive the moniker, "Outstanding Book of the Year," and Ara won a Bronze Medal as "Storyteller of the Year."

According to 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards, Ara 13 exhibits "the courage and creativity to take chances, break new ground, and bring about change, not only to the world of publishing, but to our society."

From the Author

About Metafiction: Metafiction is the literary term describing fictional writing that self-consciously draws attention to its status as an artifact by challenging the relationship between fiction and reality. Metafiction reminds the reader that he or she is reading a fictional work. Often, when the boundary between reader and book is blurred, a metafictional device is employed. This can be mild, as with a first-person narrator acknowledging the reader; or it can be extreme and challenge the boundaries of reader and author, as with Drawers & Booths. This reading experience, though not spatially congruent is chronologically linear, which avoids reader disorientation. In short, the metafictional elements are meant to entertain, not confuse.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 218 pages
• Publisher: CovingtonMoore, Inc.; First Edition edition (September 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979863600
• ISBN-13: 978-0979863608
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,404,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Neuro-philosopher, author, avid reader, rock climber, best friend to my Australian Shepherd.

About Ara 13

Ara 13 is an IPPY "Outstanding Book of the Year" winner, a recipient of an Eric Hoffer Book Award, and a Marine Corps journalist awarded medals from four branches of the U.S. military.

Ara comes from a long line of primates. His ancestors are directly responsible for the fashioning of the wheel and the discovery of fire. One of his ancestors was even the first recorded Homo sapien. Therefore, the pressure for Ara to succeed is enormous.

http://araxiii.blogspot.com/
http://ara13.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Drawers and Booths, October 23, 2007

By 

P. McCalla (East Bernard, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Drawers & Booths: A Metafiction Novel (Paperback)

Drawers and Booths is completely unique and original. Just when you think you know where it's going, everything shifts and goes, not just in a different direction, but to an entirely new reality. The book challenges traditional beliefs, certainly, and promotes self-examination, which we can all use. But what really gave me a kick about Drawers and Booths was the humor and daring. Some of Ara 13's antics in this book had me laughing out loud with delight. Don't let the gruesome first chapter stop you. This book is fun!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A disjointed journey into and through morality, November 25, 2007

By 

Freeman "The last bastion of freedom is insid... (Kabul, Afghanistan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Drawers & Booths: A Metafiction Novel (Paperback)

Drawers and Booths is an unpredictable and often startling romp that is purposely mistitled. It's a self-introspective journey into the mind of the author that also takes a hard look at a number of fairly interesting and possibly important questions. Intentional discordance is the rule of thumb as the reader is abruptly ripped out of one scene and dropped into a completely different environment without any segue way whatsoever.

Drawers and Booths is a highly complex and often subtly witty piece of prose that will tax the mental faculties of many readers and leave others scratching their heads. If you already have a firmly cemented worldview anchored by Judeo-Christian belief systems it is likely that Drawers and Booths will irritate you and possibly enrage you. How dare the author put God on trial!

I will be reading this novel again - it is one of those that needs to be chewed over a few times. My rating may go up or down, but probably will go up. The jury is still out. One promise I can make is that Drawers and Booths is unlike anything you or I have read before. Highly recommended, particularly for those of you who like to introspect and question reality.

Disclaimer: I know the author and we have a long-standing friendship. If you ever meet him ask him about why he changed his last name to 13.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Are you sure you believe what you think you believe?, October 12, 2007

By 

Chrome Blue - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drawers & Booths: A Metafiction Novel (Paperback)

Drawers & Booths was for me a thought provoking "Mind Freak" that took me on an introspective tour through my core beliefs.
At times I felt as though I was lost in a pitch black corridor in one of those "haunted houses" that pop up all over the place every Halloween season - not knowing where I was going to be taken next, or what I would see next, while reminding myself that it's all fake. Then just when I saw the light of the exit and walked through, I found myself in the "House of Mirrors". All I could see was myself, or a reflection of myself. Even though though my surroundings were now well lit, I still didn't know what was real.
So buy this book, or don't buy it. But whichever you do, don't trust that it was YOUR decision... you'll see.