As a musician, I liked the story about his efforts. As a story, it was just OK. There were moments of interesting writing and the characters were fleshed out well. ( )

started off a little slow & I am always sceptical of 1st-person narrators - Matt (the main character) seems to overwhelm the reader with his every thought. but as I came to know and appreciate Matt, I realized that's just the kind of guy he is. And it's both a blessing and a curse for him. I enjoyed this book. I have met Mozina a few times, so I was expecting something more humorous, but the novel fines the right tone between humor and the ordinary. From personal experience, I think the author is very much on the mark with the aftermath of divorce. I'm looking forward now to reading some of Mozina's short stories. ( )

When I started reading Andy Mozina's first novel, CONTRARY MOTION, I thought, Well this isn't very heavy stuff. It's more of an 'entertainment' in the romantic comedy vein. Turns out I was wrong. Turns out it deals with some pretty serious stuff, the kinda stuff that life is actually made of.

Matt Grzbc, a Chicagoan still a couple clicks south of forty, is the recently divorced father of a six year-old daughter. He's seeing another woman, but seems to be still in love with his ex. And his father, who he was never very close to, has just died. He has a congenital heart murmur which causes frequent debilitating dizzy spells, and, to top things off, he's been having some impotence issues. Oh yeah, and besides all this, his career choice is an extremely odd one. He's a harpist, and, of course, everyone knows that the harp is a 'woman's instrument.' But Matt took up the harp as a boy. I was going to say he "fell in love with the harp," but there's this rather Portnoy-esque scene involving a harp and an eighth-grade Matt, so ... Anyway, the driving force of the book, what gives it momentum, is that, after years of subsisting on makeshift jobs - playing hotel brunches, weddings and parties, and failing auditions for permanent jobs with orchestras - Matt has been invited to audition for the St. Louis Symphony, maybe his last chance. So he is practicing furiously for this, often to the detriment of his familial duties and relationships.

But that initial impression was caused by the fact that, for the first hundred pages or so, things are kinda funny, and I was often reminded of the comic-book character, Sad Sack. I chuckled, I winced, I was 'entertained.' Then Matt accepts a chance invitation to play at a hospice, where he begins to form attachments to certain patients. And that's where things become serious. I've volunteered at hospices and nursing homes myself, and so I know it's a place where you can learn something about life - and death. Matt is initially hesitant about this new gig, thinking -

"And though playing at the hospice will make me sad, it might also be a way to escape my anxieties and corrosive self-loathing ... at least it will be a step in the right moral direction."

And it is. Matt begins to try harder to sort out the welter of confusion and sadness that his life has become. After a near-fatal incident involving his daughter, and some more 'self-loathing' about his ex and his girlfriend, Matt ... Well, let me just say that, although Mozina's wry and quirky sense of humor continues to bleed through, the story does get serious. CONTRARY MOTION (the title derives from fingering techniques for harpists) is not just 'an entertainment.' It reaches toward literary fiction, and nearly gets there. Although I kept thinking, This would probably make a great Lifetime TV movie. In fact, I think that idea even showed up in the story at one point. But in the end, I was not simply entertained. I was moved - by the hospice element in particular, as well as the faltering father-daughter part. It ends up being a damn good read. Highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )

I read this book as an electronic advance reading copy provided by Edelweiss, and I have submitted my comments to the publisher via that web site.

There is a lot to like in this novel, especially its narrator, who is pretty up front (at least with the reader) about his foibles and anxieties. I only wish he would open up to his lovers, friends, and family as much as he does with the reader. The other characters are finely drawn and believable, with lots of flaws and quirks.

Not a lot happens in the story (besides a remarkably compelling harpist audition), but this slice of life narrative remains interesting. I finished the book wondering what will happen next to the characters (especially the narrator's troubled young daughter), which made me realize how much I had grown to care about them. Recommended for all public libraries. ( )