Published by Guernica Editions.
To fill gaping holes in their lives, the protagonists in The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness embark on bizarre quests that ultimately lead them astray. Whether a child savant who sings the lyrics to hundreds of songs (and never talks), a woman who has to decide whether to turn in her arsonist brother, a failed writer whose fictional character suddenly comes to life, an unhappy insurance examiner who discovers a fallen angel and decides to cash in on his find, or a successful, middle-class man who pines for the poet he once was, nothing is sacred in this collection of stories. Myth and imagination hold equal weight, authenticity and fable go hand-in-hand, and the lines between reality and illusion blur. Characters find themselves trapped, or at least, incapable of restoring their humanity. It may be sobering to observe such forays into darkness but underlying their failures is a tacit suggestion that perhaps they could have won out with more imagination, more strength, or simply with some encouragement. And some do; amidst the carnage of those who fail and disappear emerge some who acquire new strength to reconnect with the world.
To fill gaping holes in their lives, the protagonists in The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness embark on bizarre quests that ultimately lead them astray. Whether a child savant who sings the lyrics to hundreds of songs (and never talks), a woman who has to decide whether to turn in her arsonist brother, a failed writer whose fictional character suddenly comes to life, an unhappy insurance examiner who discovers a fallen angel and decides to cash in on his find, or a successful, middle-class man who pines for the poet he once was, nothing is sacred in this collection of stories. Myth and imagination hold equal weight, authenticity and fable go hand-in-hand, and the lines between reality and illusion blur. Characters find themselves trapped, or at least, incapable of restoring their humanity. It may be sobering to observe such forays into darkness but underlying their failures is a tacit suggestion that perhaps they could have won out with more imagination, more strength, or simply with some encouragement. And some do; amidst the carnage of those who fail and disappear emerge some who acquire new strength to reconnect with the world.
By Nicholas Litchfield
Nicholas Litchfield is the founding editor of the literary magazine Lowestoft Chronicle, author of the suspense novel Swampjack Virus, and editor of nine literary anthologies.
I was first introduced to the prose of Canadian writer Jerry Levy in 2012 when his story “Paris is a Woman,” about a bank clerk who trades his wife and job for an artist’s life in Paris, featured in issue #9 of Lowestoft Chronicle. As I recall, it was a rather captivating piece with a gently evolving story that might have gone in any number of directions but which concluded in an unanticipated, unresolved way. A tale with the emphasis on character over plot, but no less enjoyable because of it. The story was subsequently included in Levy’s first story collection, URBAN LEGEND, published by Thistledown Press in 2013.
Obviously, Levy has been busy in the intervening years, his stories published in a variety of literary outlets, and in April of this year, his second collection, THE QUANTUM THEORY OF LOVE AND MADNESS, finally hit the bookstores. This pleasurable, worthwhile volume, published by Guernica Editions, is an interesting mix of “slice of life” and speculative fiction that offers more of the same, in that the author shines a sharp white light on irregular things and people and keeps the beam in place while restless, unfulfilled characters unravel and their lives veer in new directions.
Off-kilter stories about a man who captures a hideous creature and opens a freak show, and a fictional character who implores her creator to make her three-dimensional, sit alongside tales of a teenager who considers reporting her arsonist brother to the police, and a middle-aged man leaving his family to pursue his literary ambitions. There are also quirky, slightly absurdist stories such as my favorite, “The Doctor is in,” where the doctor in question — a perspicacious homeless man collecting small change for consultations — delves into the psyche of a troubled insomniac. Here, the humor seems to come naturally, and the story has a neat twist.
Levy has mentioned in an interview having once taken a “literary vacation” to Paris to follow in the footsteps of writers like Hemingway and Fitzgerald, and there is a distinct autobiographical feel to pieces like “Paris Was the Rage” that helps to give the story sincerity. Consistently, no matter how the author’s fiction deviates from the expected path, characters experience change and growth, and tales progress to a satisfying conclusion, making Levy’s plots rounded and protagonists nicely developed.
You can obtain a copy of THE QUANTUM THEORY OF LOVE AND MADNESS from Amazon or directly from the publisher. For more about Levy, find him on his website here. Alternatively, check out this interview with him at Beach Metro Community News.
Reviewed by Ian Colford
Mr. Colford is an author whose work has been shortlisted for the Thomas H. Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award, the Relit Award, the Journey Prize, and the Danuta Gleed Literary Award.
Jerry Levy’s quirky narratives provide a high-spirited alternative perspective on the crushing emotional isolation and myriad pressures that often accompany modern urban life. The fourteen stories in The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness, Levy’s follow-up to his 2013 collection Urban Legend, also frequently stretch the boundaries of narrative plausibility and occasionally veer into pure fantasy.
A Diverse Cast Of Characters
Levy’s diverse cast of characters includes children and men and women in various age groups, but in his most satisfying and fully realized stories, his protagonists tend to be men in their thirties or forties, aimless and living alone, out of shape, lacking confidence, who have lost their jobs, or else married and cracking under the stress of daily life. The yearning for companionship and romance is a recurring theme, driving characters into states of desperation and despair or to extreme behaviour.
At the sight of a woman on the subway reading a book about time travel, the anxious and unhappily married narrator of “Paris was the Rage” finds himself gripped by memories of an earlier time in his life when creativity and intellectual curiosity were actively encouraged. Longing for his old college girlfriend and intellectual sparring partner, Claire, he tracks down her number and phones her, but lacks the nerve to speak to her. In desperation he parks on the street outside her house and watches for her, hoping to “accidentally” bump into her. Finally, after failing at this too, he writes a poem, which seems to grant him the strength and resolve to make changes to his life of mind-numbing tedium.
Unemployed Ashton, in “Butterfly Dreams,” has kept the key to his girlfriend’s apartment after their breakup and amuses himself by going in when she and her new boyfriend are absent, messing with them by stealing inconsequential items and leaving behind odd mementos that they will discover and find perplexing. And in “Grotesque,” lonely, self-centred Nathan Mandelbaum has captured a frighteningly ugly creature that had taken refuge in the ravine behind his house. Deciding it must be a “fallen angel,” he schemes to become rich by charging people to look at it. All goes according to plan for a few days as people line up for a glimpse. But Nathan surprises himself by growing attached to the creature, and when his scheme fails because of his own incompetence, he suffers unaccustomed regret and begins to re-evaluate himself and his actions.
Other notable stories feature a boy who refuses to speak and instead communicates by singing (“Starchild”), a man who attends the funerals of people he doesn’t know so he can pick up women (“The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness”), a lonely man and woman who meet at a laundromat but are separated by a cruel twist of fate (“New Year’s at the Laundromat”), and a tightrope walker who suffers a crisis of confidence (“The Underground Circus”).
Conclusion
The humour in Levy’s stories is drawn in very broad strokes and can be outlandish and absurd, in the bustling, frenetic manner of slapstick comedy. The lack of subtlety means that we don’t always connect with Levy’s characters on a visceral or emotional level, but for the most part, the stories remain engaging because Levy has a knack for delivering the unexpected: a knock-out punch of a plot twist, an unforeseen reversal of fortune, a life-altering revelation. These are stories that defy expectations and constantly surprise. Instances of human weakness, folly, bitterness and callousness abound in these pages. But here and there Levy also offers glimmers of hope, that even the lost and solitary among us are not beyond redemption.
Mr. Colford is an author whose work has been shortlisted for the Thomas H. Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award, the Relit Award, the Journey Prize, and the Danuta Gleed Literary Award.
Jerry Levy’s quirky narratives provide a high-spirited alternative perspective on the crushing emotional isolation and myriad pressures that often accompany modern urban life. The fourteen stories in The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness, Levy’s follow-up to his 2013 collection Urban Legend, also frequently stretch the boundaries of narrative plausibility and occasionally veer into pure fantasy.
A Diverse Cast Of Characters
Levy’s diverse cast of characters includes children and men and women in various age groups, but in his most satisfying and fully realized stories, his protagonists tend to be men in their thirties or forties, aimless and living alone, out of shape, lacking confidence, who have lost their jobs, or else married and cracking under the stress of daily life. The yearning for companionship and romance is a recurring theme, driving characters into states of desperation and despair or to extreme behaviour.
At the sight of a woman on the subway reading a book about time travel, the anxious and unhappily married narrator of “Paris was the Rage” finds himself gripped by memories of an earlier time in his life when creativity and intellectual curiosity were actively encouraged. Longing for his old college girlfriend and intellectual sparring partner, Claire, he tracks down her number and phones her, but lacks the nerve to speak to her. In desperation he parks on the street outside her house and watches for her, hoping to “accidentally” bump into her. Finally, after failing at this too, he writes a poem, which seems to grant him the strength and resolve to make changes to his life of mind-numbing tedium.
Unemployed Ashton, in “Butterfly Dreams,” has kept the key to his girlfriend’s apartment after their breakup and amuses himself by going in when she and her new boyfriend are absent, messing with them by stealing inconsequential items and leaving behind odd mementos that they will discover and find perplexing. And in “Grotesque,” lonely, self-centred Nathan Mandelbaum has captured a frighteningly ugly creature that had taken refuge in the ravine behind his house. Deciding it must be a “fallen angel,” he schemes to become rich by charging people to look at it. All goes according to plan for a few days as people line up for a glimpse. But Nathan surprises himself by growing attached to the creature, and when his scheme fails because of his own incompetence, he suffers unaccustomed regret and begins to re-evaluate himself and his actions.
Other notable stories feature a boy who refuses to speak and instead communicates by singing (“Starchild”), a man who attends the funerals of people he doesn’t know so he can pick up women (“The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness”), a lonely man and woman who meet at a laundromat but are separated by a cruel twist of fate (“New Year’s at the Laundromat”), and a tightrope walker who suffers a crisis of confidence (“The Underground Circus”).
Conclusion
The humour in Levy’s stories is drawn in very broad strokes and can be outlandish and absurd, in the bustling, frenetic manner of slapstick comedy. The lack of subtlety means that we don’t always connect with Levy’s characters on a visceral or emotional level, but for the most part, the stories remain engaging because Levy has a knack for delivering the unexpected: a knock-out punch of a plot twist, an unforeseen reversal of fortune, a life-altering revelation. These are stories that defy expectations and constantly surprise. Instances of human weakness, folly, bitterness and callousness abound in these pages. But here and there Levy also offers glimmers of hope, that even the lost and solitary among us are not beyond redemption.
Reviewed by Timothy Niedermann
Mr. Niedermann has edited magazines, books, and scholarly journals and has dealt with subject matter ranging from sports to law to public policy to celebrity biography. He has been a Bass Writing Tutor at Yale University and taught communications at McGill University.
Jerry Levy’s second volume of short stories confirms his status as a challenging and engaging Canadian writer. This latest collection (like his first, Urban Legend, which appeared in 2013) focuses primarily on urban individuals, many of whom are at odds with themselves or in situations of personal stress.
The plots are quirky, and the reader is usually kept a little off-balance, as events seldom take what could be called a linear course. A man discovers a short, ugly creature with wings in his backyard, a fallen angel he is sure. And he decides to exhibit her to the public. A boy doesn’t talk—he only sings—to the consternation of his parents and the firm disbelief of the doctors who treat him. A man preaches from the high wire at the circus. An author suffering from writer’s block meets a street-smart girl, who goads him relentlessly to complete her. Still another spends the days in his former girlfriend’s apartment while she, unaware of this, is at work. At first, he steals little things, then he starts bringing things in, like butterflies.
The title story, “The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness,” is the peak of Levy’s artistry. A man approaches a woman at a funeral. He never knew the deceased—this is how he picks up women. But she is much more than he bargained for. The story twists and turns and ends, as the title suggests, with a theory of the quantum nature of love.
The dimensions of love and belonging appear in most of Levy’s stories, whether it be the mistakes of misguided affection at a laundromat, a little girl’s devotion to her ailing grandfather, or a man trying to care for his unsettled younger brother after both parents are killed in an automobile accident.
At times, Levy’s work has an almost supernatural quality, as he plays with the borders of reality and plausibility. But it works. His characters, no matter what their obsession or peculiarities, are all-too-human, and their trials, despite often being a bit otherworldly, reveal much about the nature of what is concrete and real.
Levy’s stories are riveting just because they constantly catch you off guard. They keep you guessing while at the same time stoking your hunger for more. Each one forces you to view the world, even your world—your expectations, your assumptions about the way things work—somehow differently. And, however unsettling this process may be, these stories are gifts to be cherished.
Mr. Niedermann has edited magazines, books, and scholarly journals and has dealt with subject matter ranging from sports to law to public policy to celebrity biography. He has been a Bass Writing Tutor at Yale University and taught communications at McGill University.
Jerry Levy’s second volume of short stories confirms his status as a challenging and engaging Canadian writer. This latest collection (like his first, Urban Legend, which appeared in 2013) focuses primarily on urban individuals, many of whom are at odds with themselves or in situations of personal stress.
The plots are quirky, and the reader is usually kept a little off-balance, as events seldom take what could be called a linear course. A man discovers a short, ugly creature with wings in his backyard, a fallen angel he is sure. And he decides to exhibit her to the public. A boy doesn’t talk—he only sings—to the consternation of his parents and the firm disbelief of the doctors who treat him. A man preaches from the high wire at the circus. An author suffering from writer’s block meets a street-smart girl, who goads him relentlessly to complete her. Still another spends the days in his former girlfriend’s apartment while she, unaware of this, is at work. At first, he steals little things, then he starts bringing things in, like butterflies.
The title story, “The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness,” is the peak of Levy’s artistry. A man approaches a woman at a funeral. He never knew the deceased—this is how he picks up women. But she is much more than he bargained for. The story twists and turns and ends, as the title suggests, with a theory of the quantum nature of love.
The dimensions of love and belonging appear in most of Levy’s stories, whether it be the mistakes of misguided affection at a laundromat, a little girl’s devotion to her ailing grandfather, or a man trying to care for his unsettled younger brother after both parents are killed in an automobile accident.
At times, Levy’s work has an almost supernatural quality, as he plays with the borders of reality and plausibility. But it works. His characters, no matter what their obsession or peculiarities, are all-too-human, and their trials, despite often being a bit otherworldly, reveal much about the nature of what is concrete and real.
Levy’s stories are riveting just because they constantly catch you off guard. They keep you guessing while at the same time stoking your hunger for more. Each one forces you to view the world, even your world—your expectations, your assumptions about the way things work—somehow differently. And, however unsettling this process may be, these stories are gifts to be cherished.
By Amanda Gibb
Beach resident and author Jerry Levy recently published his second collection of short stories titled The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness.
Levy grew up in Montreal and left for Toronto after he finished university in the early 1980s. “I left because of the political situation in Quebec and also because of greater job opportunities in Toronto. I had about $700 with me, no job prospects, and didn’t know anyone,” said Levy.
Levy said that he first started writing fiction in high school, after one of his compositions was well received by a teacher. He only started seriously writing about 20 years ago.
“I had been working in the corporate world for years at the time and was feeling kind of burnt out, putting in long hours, traveling all around the country. I really needed a vacation so I went to the City of Lights,” he said.
Levy said that he travelled to Paris to follow in the footsteps of many great writers who had lived there like Hemingway and Fitzgerald, like a “literary vacation.”
In his stay there, Levy met owner George Whitman of the famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company. Levy and Whitman struck up a deal that he could stay there in exchange for stocking the shelves, and he met authors from around the world who visited the bookstore.
“Then I returned to Toronto, I realized I should follow my passion and take some creative writing classes, which I did. And shortly after, I started sending my stories out to literary magazines and began getting published,” said Levy.
The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness was published by Toronto-based publishing company Guernica Editions this past spring.
Levy said that publishing a book during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge. “The book launch (scheduled for the Supermarket in Kensington Market), all of my readings, a book signing at a bookstore…everything was cancelled. I realize that in light of what everyone is going through that this is insignificant; still, for me personally, it was a disappointment,” he said.
Despite these challenges, Levy said that Guernica Editions has done a great job of adapting to the situation. “It goes without saying that publishers scrambled to come up with new and innovative ways to promote their spring 2020 books. And my publisher, Guernica Editions, was no different. So they organized a book launch online, and all their authors read. Those videos are still available on their website,” he said.
The Quantum Theory of Madness features 14 stories; including a story about a young boy who only sings and never speaks, one about a fallen angel and a man looking to monetize it by showcasing it to the public, and a high-wire performer who delivers religious sermons from his perch and never comes down.
“There’s a sprinkling of what I would call ‘slice of life’ stories with a heavy dose of highly imaginative tales, pure flights of fancy,” said Levy.
Levy said that there are also some more “realistic” stories such as one about a woman debating on turning in her arsonist brother, and one about a woman developing a relationship with a man online who “gets a rude awakening” when they finally meet.
Levy said that the short story “Paris was the Rage” was based on his own history.
It’s about a man who is leading a very middle-class life but pines for earlier times when he used to write poetry and lead a much more bohemian life. So he contemplates going to Paris to reconnect with his past, to frequent the same places where all the writers he once used to read about did,” he said.
Levy said that he was inspired by authors like Donna Tartt, Paul Auster, and Haruki Murakami, to name just a few. “For the most part, I now read contemporary writers. There are so many good ones. The one good thing about reading widely is that you can learn to be a better writer yourself,” he said.
Right now Levy is hoping to get another one of his works published called Original Misfits, and is hopeful a publisher will pick up the novel. “While I’m waiting I thought I would start on something else; so right now I’m working on a novel about two writers who live together and all of the trials and tribulations they incur while trying to make it in the literary world,” he said.
To learn more or purchase The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness, visit Guernica Edition’s website https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771834766
Beach resident and author Jerry Levy recently published his second collection of short stories titled The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness.
Levy grew up in Montreal and left for Toronto after he finished university in the early 1980s. “I left because of the political situation in Quebec and also because of greater job opportunities in Toronto. I had about $700 with me, no job prospects, and didn’t know anyone,” said Levy.
Levy said that he first started writing fiction in high school, after one of his compositions was well received by a teacher. He only started seriously writing about 20 years ago.
“I had been working in the corporate world for years at the time and was feeling kind of burnt out, putting in long hours, traveling all around the country. I really needed a vacation so I went to the City of Lights,” he said.
Levy said that he travelled to Paris to follow in the footsteps of many great writers who had lived there like Hemingway and Fitzgerald, like a “literary vacation.”
In his stay there, Levy met owner George Whitman of the famous bookstore Shakespeare and Company. Levy and Whitman struck up a deal that he could stay there in exchange for stocking the shelves, and he met authors from around the world who visited the bookstore.
“Then I returned to Toronto, I realized I should follow my passion and take some creative writing classes, which I did. And shortly after, I started sending my stories out to literary magazines and began getting published,” said Levy.
The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness was published by Toronto-based publishing company Guernica Editions this past spring.
Levy said that publishing a book during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge. “The book launch (scheduled for the Supermarket in Kensington Market), all of my readings, a book signing at a bookstore…everything was cancelled. I realize that in light of what everyone is going through that this is insignificant; still, for me personally, it was a disappointment,” he said.
Despite these challenges, Levy said that Guernica Editions has done a great job of adapting to the situation. “It goes without saying that publishers scrambled to come up with new and innovative ways to promote their spring 2020 books. And my publisher, Guernica Editions, was no different. So they organized a book launch online, and all their authors read. Those videos are still available on their website,” he said.
The Quantum Theory of Madness features 14 stories; including a story about a young boy who only sings and never speaks, one about a fallen angel and a man looking to monetize it by showcasing it to the public, and a high-wire performer who delivers religious sermons from his perch and never comes down.
“There’s a sprinkling of what I would call ‘slice of life’ stories with a heavy dose of highly imaginative tales, pure flights of fancy,” said Levy.
Levy said that there are also some more “realistic” stories such as one about a woman debating on turning in her arsonist brother, and one about a woman developing a relationship with a man online who “gets a rude awakening” when they finally meet.
Levy said that the short story “Paris was the Rage” was based on his own history.
It’s about a man who is leading a very middle-class life but pines for earlier times when he used to write poetry and lead a much more bohemian life. So he contemplates going to Paris to reconnect with his past, to frequent the same places where all the writers he once used to read about did,” he said.
Levy said that he was inspired by authors like Donna Tartt, Paul Auster, and Haruki Murakami, to name just a few. “For the most part, I now read contemporary writers. There are so many good ones. The one good thing about reading widely is that you can learn to be a better writer yourself,” he said.
Right now Levy is hoping to get another one of his works published called Original Misfits, and is hopeful a publisher will pick up the novel. “While I’m waiting I thought I would start on something else; so right now I’m working on a novel about two writers who live together and all of the trials and tribulations they incur while trying to make it in the literary world,” he said.
To learn more or purchase The Quantum Theory of Love and Madness, visit Guernica Edition’s website https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771834766