- Street:
- Village Books
- Additional:
- 1200 Eleventh Street
- City:
- Bellingham ,
- Province:
- Washington
- Postal Code:
- 98225
- Country:
- United States
He’s in the middle of nowhere, Alaska, because his Eskimo mother has moved home, and Cesar, a seventeen-year-old former gang banger, is convinced that he’s just biding his time ‘til he can get back to LA. His charmingly offbeat cousin, Go-boy, is equally convinced that Cesar will stay. And so they set a wager. If Cesar is still in Unalakleet in a year, he has to get a copy of Go-boy’s Eskimo Jesus tattoo.
Go-boy, who recently dropped out of college, believes wholeheartedly that he is part of a Good World conspiracy. At first Cesar considers Go-boy half crazy, but over time in this village, with his father absent and his brother in jail for murder, Cesar begins to see the beauty and hope Go-boy represents. The choice.
This is a novel about a different Alaska than many of us have read about in the past, about a different kind of wilderness and survival. As Cesar (who later assumes his Eskimo name, Atausiq) becomes connected to the community and to Go-boy, the imprint he bears isn’t Go-boy’s tattoo but the indelible mark of Go-boy’s heart and philosophy, a philosophy of hope that emphasizes our similarities to one another as well as a shared sense of community, regardless of place. As Go-boy says to Cesar, “Sometimes we’re always real same-same.”
Author Mattox Roesch lived in Minneapolis for ten years where he played drums in an indie rock band, designed and peddled skateboards, and founded a T-shirt printing business. His award-winning fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, including The Missouri Review. He and his wife now live in Unalakleet, Alaska.
What the reviewers are saying:
"The deep and universal desire for connectedness is explored here in stunningly original ways that speak to us all. Sometimes We’re Always Real Same-Same is an exciting debut by one of America’s finest young writers."
--Robert Olen Butler
"Roesch’s offbeat debut is set in Unalakleet, Alaska, population 700, a destination that seems like the end of the world for teenage L.A. gang member Cesar Stone, uprooted by his mother after his older brother catches a murder conviction and a life sentence….Roesch’s compelling story, exotic setting and eccentric characters make this coming-of-age tale a fresh, welcome read."
--Publisher's Weekly
“A smashing debut by a writer who does not flinch from the misfortune and cruelty that rule certain lives but whose vision is full of beauty, wisdom, and grace.”
--Sigrid Nunez
2012 Chuckanut Writers Conference
