I’m Not Hungry But I Could Eat - Christopher Gonzalez
Product Details:
Paperback : 115 pages
ISBN : 9781951631215
Cover Design: Gwen Grafft
About the Book:
Long nights, empty stomachs, and impulsive cravings haunt the stories of I’m Not Hungry But I Could Eat. A college grad reunites with a high school crush when invited to his bachelor party, a lonely cat-sitter wreaks havoc on his friends’ apartment, happy hour french fries leave more than grease on lips and fingers, and, squeezed into a diner booth, one man eats past his limit for the sake of friendship. Exploring the lives of bisexual and gay Puerto Rican men, these fifteen stories show a vulnerable, intimate world of yearning and desire. The stars of these narratives linger between living their truest selves and remaining in the wings, embarking on a journey of self-discovery to satisfy their hunger for companionship and belonging
About the Author:
Christopher Gonzalez is a co-fiction editor of Barrelhouse Magazine. His writing has appeared in The Nation, Split Lip, Cosmonauts Avenue, Best Small Fictions, Forward: 21st Century Flash Fiction, and elsewhere. Raised in Cleveland, he now lives in Brooklyn, NY and spends his waking hours tweeting about Oscar Isaac, book publishing, trash television, and Popeyes’ Spicy Chicken Sandwich @livesinpages.
“This debut collection moves seamlessly between diners, bedrooms, and bachelor parties as its mostly bisexual Puerto Rican narrators indulge in moments of desire, shame, and grief. Food is ever abundant - lobster meat, platters of fries, mushy vegan recipes - but what really holds these stories together is a singular, unapologetic voice.”
“Gonzalez’s debut collection crackles with humor and tension in brilliantly crafted stories about food and relationships. Throughout, Gonzalez works multiple registers, creating rich, compressed portraits of his characters. This is as poignant as it is hilarious.”
“It’s wildly delightful to have such a slender short story collection provide a full course meal of emotion: savory, salty, sour, sweet, tender and all-around charming. These are portraits of hungry men—craving touch, love, and acceptance—and finding it in friends and family (and food). True to the title, I found myself satisfied by the end of the book, but excited for what Gonzalez will serve up next.”
“Gonzalez writes with such care and vulnerability. You feel the hunger in the text, a deference to the carnal that refuses easy categorization or shame. After you finish, you will need to eat.”
“I’m Not Hungry but I Could Eat is a book about hunger, but not just food hunger. It’s about the hunger of loneliness. The hunger of being the third wheel. The hunger of being unsure of one’s place in the city or in love or in a crowded happy hour dive bar. These sharp stories, sometimes hilarious and sometimes wrenching, form a collaged portrait of longing and uncertainty. One thing, however, is certain: Christopher Gonzalez is a promising writer, and this is a compelling debut. ”
“Gonzalez hits the book-publishing ground running with a story collection about gay and bisexual Puerto Rican men...his style is sharp and clean.”
“Each character in this collection is vibrantly rendered—it’s easy to imagine the lives of these characters outside the bounds of their stories, to wonder what aspects of them would be revealed in other contexts, with other people”
“Christopher Gonzalez is a wholly original voice and this book is a treasure, crackling with real and important feelings. The stories of I’M NOT HUNGRY BUT I COULD EAT are funny, sharp and heartbreaking – and full of an enormous amount of hope.”
“At times full of devastating portraits of bisexual Puerto Rican life, and at others full of the punchiest wit and charm, Gonzalez’s writing leaves you insatiable...craving to need more and more from this exciting writer.”
“With these stories of dance floors and Lyft rides, of afterparty bodega sandwiches, of self-loathing mixed with shocking vulnerability, topped off by moments of self-discovery, Christopher Gonzalez’s writing will feed you.”
“The stories in I’m Not Hungry But I Could Eat are funny, tender, beautiful, and vulnerable. It is a collection that you immediately melt into as Gonzalez’s gift is in the way he lures you in with the intimacy and sincerity of his voice. This collection is so important as it represents queer, specifically bi, yearning from a male perspective without the trappings of toxic masculinity and shows the depth and breadth of human emotions and the ways in which love, loneliness, and longing are complicated by self doubt. Everyone should read this collection!”
“Few authors have the power to make readers feel seen at a visceral level, but Gonzalez achieves this in virtually every short story in this essential collection. His clear-eyed prose captures all the messy joys and crackling anxieties of modern queer life, inviting readers to join its Puerto Rican characters on journeys punctuated by desire, shame, and grace. I’m Not Hungry But I Could Eat is a stunning debut that will leave readers hoping Gonzalez has a long and fruitful career.”
“It’s almost unbelievable what Christopher Gonzalez accomplishes with I’m Not Hungry But I Could Eat—the collection is a generous feat, astounding and heart-wrenching from top to bottom. This book’s heroes are warm and funny, and they’re devastated and devastating, brought to life through the clearest prose, navigating queer stories that are intricately constructed and boundless in scope. Gonzalez’s writing is playful, tender, hilarious, and heartfelt—all at once. This book is a meal shared with the best kind of friend—someone who’s been there and back, keen to tell you what they saw, and inviting you to to share their story, beckoning you toward more. Gonzalez creates magic on the page, and we’re all luckier for it.”