Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]

Mishka Shubaly (Author)

Book Description

Two-time bestselling Kindle Singles author Mishka Shubaly is back with a dark, intimate, fascinating story of love, hope and human connection... gone horribly, horribly awry.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Are You Lonesome Tonight?, Mishka Shubaly tells how he became deeply infatuated with Johna Chase. She was a fan of his band who was following him on Twitter. Her profile photo was appealing. He was single. He sent her a message. They began flirting online. The account begins and proceeds as any online dating story might. But then, once Shubaly's hope is twinborn with love, there's a wrinkle, and then a twist--and the relationship unfolds into something so mind-blowing, so staggeringly inconceivable that it charts new territory in emotional entanglement. In this Kindle Single, deep intrigue combines with fluid and nuanced prose to tell an astonishing story. Prepare to marvel at this story even weeks after you have read it. --Paul Diamond

From AudioFile

Product Details

• File Size: 102 KB
• Print Length: 29 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0078TEBOM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,010 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #20 in Kindle Store > Kindle Singles > Page-turning Narratives
  • #21 in Kindle Store > Kindle Singles > Memoirs

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Are you lonesome tonight? February 15, 2012

By Michael Butler

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the 3rd book by Mishka Shubaly I have read in the last 24 hours. This was a great story about love, trust, and relationships - but not that mushy crap. Very enjoyable, and didn't see the ending coming! Some of the best nonfiction I've read. I would reccomend reading them in order of occurence and not publication date. Read "Shiprwrecked," "Are you lonesome tonight?" And then "The Long Run."

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Cuckoo for love, a cautionary tale that's seriously entertaining February 14, 2012

By Rett01 TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

When Mishka Shubaly labels himself an "amateur anesthesiologist" he's really describing the twenty years he spent as a drunk and drug enthusiast. Two decades is a long time to remain wasted and Shubaly is only in his mid- thirties.

"Are You Lonely Tonight," is the third installment in his bad-boy, outrageous life. It picks up after the kaleidoscope of an existence he describes in his two previous Kindle Singles "Shipwrecked" and "The Long Run."

This time out he's turned from seeking chemical stimulation to searching for true love. And he thinks he finds it in Johna. Looking at her photo he's captivated, "She had the kind of face easy for a lonely man to project a whole imagined future upon."

It's a fixation that we know is going to go from bad to totally bizarre so quickly and with so much certainty that you can almost hear a young Tina Turner in the background singing "Fool in Love."

In a flash, the object of Shubaly's woefully misguided desire becomes the spurned lover in "The Magus" or the ensnaring temptress in "Kiss of the Spider Woman." Oh, Mishka, we want to scream, "How could you be so stupid to be duped so completely."

Later on and trying to describe the lunacy of the woman he once dreamed about sharing his life with, Shubaly thinks "insane" and "crazy" just don't do her justice." Instead archaic words such as "bonkers, nutso, batty, wacko, bananas, around the bend" come to mind and the best way to depict the craziness of her is probably "cuckoo."

Everything about his search for true love, Shubaly says, has been either seriously terrifying or terribly hilarious. He hasn't decided which. I suggest you read this installment of his story as a cautionary tale and with the expectation of being seriously entertained.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 3rd time is a charm. February 14, 2012

By Mineral917

Format:Kindle Edition

Also the 3rd story I've read from this author. I guess that means I've read all of Shubaly's stories...and they keep getting better and better. This particular story is oh-so-dark and messed up. Wonderful commentary on the human condition and what it means to live with someone who truly has demons to deal with.

Can't wait for the next one!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Damn and wow. February 18, 2012

By Maxwell Harrison

Format:Kindle Edition

Twisted and beautiful and sexy story. Expect to react viscerally: to be aroused, to laugh, to want to hurl yourself at something in anger. One might even consider crying. Mishka's handle on the English language is much like the story itself--absurd and depressingly impressive. A Kindle without this story--and all of Shubaly's work for that matter--is not complete.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Shubaly Dooby Doo March 28, 2012

By sweetdanger

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Part of me wants to give this four stars, part of me wants to give it two. I was as bi-polar as the chick in the story while reading this little single.

I agree with some of the other reviews... Shubaly is definitely self-centered, and he's truly a writer because he seems to feel everything more profoundly than he should, and seems to believe everything that happens to him has a more profound purpose or meaning than it really does.

I chose this book over the one about running based on the reviews that claimed that one was more about his drinking/drugging/badboy lifestyle than his love of running, and that he came off as self-indulgent in it. I can see that, because in this book, every time he waxed on about his drinking and drugging days, he did it with a bit of self-deprecation and a whole lot of grandiose, dramatic wording. You can tell he's trying to paint a very specific picture of himself. Maybe it's the truth, maybe it's not, but either way, it sorta made me roll my eyes.

The reason I want to give it four stars, is because he really is a pretty good writer. It's not always easy to write a short story and keep it short and complete at the same time. He managed that, and to be honest, I had trouble putting this one down, so I can't deny it's an entertaining story, even if it sort of... fell into his Shubaly's lap, seemingly. There were moments where he really made me feel for him, too, even though I started out not really liking him all that much. And he tries to be pretty honest about his own shortcomings, even if you can tell he believes them to be romantic flaws, rather than pathetic ones.

I gave it three stars, because ultimately, I knew what was coming long before Shubaly did. Not that I blame him for that...... what happened to him is unfortunately a common occurrence in this digital age, and I think we can all say we've had some sort of experience similar to his, if not quite at that level, and it's pretty hard to see the forest for the trees when you're in the thick of it. I just feel as though his own narcissism and superficiality allowed him to be an easy target (which in a roundabout way, he does admit, though I never feel like he really gets it). The part of me that wants to give him four stars is the part reminds me that we can all fall prey to the same self-centeredness that renders one blind, especially where sex and love are concerned (yes, in that order, even if Shubaly seems unable to admit that, too). In the end, though, he gets the three stars for being a good writer/storyteller, but loses on the fourth because he just... couldn't really make me sympathize with him, which in turn made me feel as if I was just being recounted a story by a friend. It was fascinating, exciting at times, and you felt for him, but in the end you really just wanna smack him upside the head and say, "Duh. And what did you learn from this?"

My guess is kinda not what he was supposed to. But that's to be expected, too, and I'm not sure he can be blamed.

Bottom Line? It's a cheap (price-wise), compelling, and definitely worth the read, if only to teach you a lesson about what can happen when you buy into your own hype and lose your ability to question what's probably too good to be true. Read more ›

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just. Amazing. February 15, 2012

By T Hell

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have followed this author's work since I stumbled upon "Shipwrecked". "The Long Run" Is a staple read for all of my friends and especially my personal training clients. He is a true modern day hero. Imperfect and truly inspiring. "Are You Lonesome Tonight" only makes me want more reads from Shubaly. I hope to be reading much more from him in the future.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Line between... April 5, 2012

By FemmeNoir

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Incredible! This is the first story I've read by Mishka Shubaly.
It was actually recommended to me by Amazon.

This story greatly effected and unsettled me, which is why my first reaction was one of rancor towards the author and protagonist of the story.
So much so, that I was compelled(ironically), to" tweet" him my opinion.
I attacked his NYC "Scenester" narcissism, and expressed my relief about marrying a man so superior to him and "his type", which I used to fall for.
After my initial outbursts, Mr. Shubaly and I became friendly on twitter and I started recommending, "Are you Lonesome, Tonight?", to my friends, as well as my twin sister, who read and adored it.

You see, this story did a number on me. The plot of love, longing, mystery and deception in the age of Social networks is merely the framework for something much more complex.
The story draws you in until you are looking into a mirror, looking into a mirror, into a mirror etc.
It is this prismatic quality to the writing, that in afterthought, made me realize my anger was not directed at the author, but at myself, or merely one reflection of myself. This story explores the emotional, psychological, and dare I say, existential, dichotomies that reside within everyone.The author deals with this weighty subject matter in such a deft fashion, that you don't realize the intricate layers of the story until it hits you, (well,me),about half an hour after reading it.

The plot, as I mentioned, deals with dichotomies. The story itself, is so subtly profound, that it is also dichotomous, to the obvious, instant gratification filled world that it inhabits.
The ability to produce a 25 page story that is this multi-layered and emotionally complex, speaks to Mr. Shubaly's gifts.... He's a masterful writer with innate and original insight. Kubaly is a rarity in an age of slap dash, quippy banality that pervades the blogosphere and other current media.
Despite the 21st Century setting, and vernacular, the story reads closer to the mystic classic modernism of Richard Yates, or John Fowles, whose masterpiece (and one of MY all time favorite novels) "The Magus" is referenced in the story.

The most recent "tweet" I received from Mishka Shubaly read:
"You hated me at first and now you are spreading the gospel! Many thanks!"
My reply was: "I didn't hate you, you just brought out a little rancor. That's a good thing!
Most current authors don't make me feel anything!"

I would be very intrigued to see what Shubaly could accomplish in a novel and I am looking forward to reading his two other stories published as E-books on Amazon.
I hope they make me Love/Hate him just as much, as did, "Are you Lonesome, Tonight?" Read more ›

More About the Author

After receiving an expensive MFA from Columbia University, Mishka Shubaly promptly quit writing to play music. He lived out of a Toyota minivan for a year, touring nonstop, and has shared the stage with artists like The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Decemberists.

His Kindle Singles for Amazon have all been bestsellers. He writes true stories about drink, drugs, disasters, desire, deception and their aftermath. His work has been praised for its grit, humor, fearlessness and heart. 'The Long Run,' his mini-memoir detailing his transformation from alcoholic drug abuser to sober ultrarunner is one of the best-selling Kindle Singles to date.

Mishka Shubaly lives in Brooklyn where he writes music and plays bass for Freshkills. He is at work on a new solo record of his original songs and a full-length memoir.

www.mishkashubaly.com
www.facebook.com/shubaly.mishka