When Jonathan Thomas receives a threatening letter apparently sent by an ex-girlfriend, he pursues the sender but finds himself unraveling another mystery he would have better left unsolved. Finale tells the story of this wanderer's journey to a faultline deep within himself.
The chapters descend from eight to zero as Jonathan travels from his most recent lover to first, finally reaching zero when he leaps into the fissure that divides him. Between lovers, internal "earthquake" chapters rise in magnitude from 1.0 to 8.0.
The lovers include: Mary Whitcomb, a Zelda Fitzgerald double now selling endangered turtle eggs; Azal, who forces Jonathan to visit her father's grave wearing the dead man's clothes; Kerrie, ex-speedfreak and comic book junky; Marnie, a future soccer mom whose seductive and very white mother has deemed herself an honorary African; Chartrise, a psychic waiting with bad tidings; Caitlin, on the way to nunhood; and Holly, who invites Jonathan and the other lovers to his "funeral." Will the funeral startle Jonathan out of self-deception, or lead to knowledge he never should have gained?
What They're Saying about Finale:
"A whipsmart coming-of-age story that comes a bit too late for our hero, Finale is both satirical and sincere; psychologically astute and certifiably insane. Paul Toth puts on the page the kind of story the Coen
Brothers put on film. Someone get them a copy."
—Jonathan
Messinger, Time-Out Chicago
"Simply put, if someone had to give Finale a one-word review that begins with the letter “F”, many would probably say “Formidable” because it seems numerous writers will attempt to compose a great American novel and never produce anything with as much artistic astonishment as Toth has done with Finale."
—Tony R. Rodriguez, East Bay Literary Examiner
"Paul A. Toth’s novel Finale concludes in a surrealist declension, in the sense of both the grammar and plot, which collides with all the fractal possibility and random order of a Jackson Pollock painting....Dramatic? Yes. Entertaining? In its entirety."
—Cynthia Reeser, Prick of the Spindle
"Toth is undeniably talented, and has all the makings of a notable force in contemporary fiction."
—Bookgasm
"Toth is a skilled writer who has selected words to paint pictures, or a movie, for each of the scenes. While the reader may get caught up in the story, one has to appreciate the beauty of the words on the page and how eloquent the descriptions and phrasing of the sentences are to this novel."
—Aldo T. Calcagno (aka Mystery Dawg) for FMAM
"Finale is a compelling tale that not only sends John packing for a road trip but the author, too. One cannot help but be spun into the adventure with each woman that has entered John’s life. Each individual has a different trait that stands out and leaves an impression of some kind."
—Coffee Time Romance
"With Finale, Paul Toth has written a poetic, humorous, moving and elegiac novel about the feral intricacies of relationships and the search for a sustainable identity. He is a veteran storyteller and stylist and it shows."
—D. Harlan Wilson, author of Blankety-Blank
"Finale is a shaman's mix, both a metaphor and a road novel, and a truly funny book as only existential angst can be funny. Call Finale a Quixote for the new millennium, and strap in for the ride."
—Rusty Barnes, Editor, Night Train Magazine
"Imagine a Coen Brothers movie with its black humor, irreverent dialogue, and unromantic view of love. And now cast Nicholas Cage as its deadpan narrator with a razor wit, aimed most especially at himself.
Send that character on a search back in time, through his failed relationships, and you have Paul A. Toth's illuminating Finale."
—Susan Henderson, author of The Ruby Cup
"Toth is the writer from hell & Finale is red hot, fork-arse writing from hell on earth itself."
—Dexter Petley, author of One True Void & Little Nineveh |
