“Remarkable…a Something Happened for the 21st century in both form and content. The Summer Layoff feels vital and indispensable, the kind of book that makes you wonder how you ever lived without it. Its narrator is an all-timer, more companion than character, who stays with you long after the book is closed. If it fails to resonate, try again every ten years: this novel addresses certain of life’s inevitabilities—whether you’re aware of them or not-and does so with a grace, humanity, and wisdom that will inspire gratitude in any reader ready to enter into conversation with it.”—Don Hough, author of The Funeral Girl
“The Summer Layoff is truly a gnostic gem, filled with legend and lore. Read it—and learn!”—Alexander Theroux, author of Darconville’s Cat
“Matt Bucher writes with a torch; in illuminating his own mysteries he sheds a glow in which you encounter your own.”—Jonathan Lethem, author of The Fortress of Solitude
“Comparisons to Markson are both inevitable and fitting, yet make no mistake—Matt Bucher’s The Summer Layoff is wholly fresh, a major literary accomplishment that keeps readers on their toes with its sophistication and liveliness. Told in diary form, this novel is destined to be remembered both as a defining record of life in late-stage capitalism and an answer to the essential question of our time: Work, what is it good for?”—Avner Landes, author of The Delegation
My next book is out at the beginning of summer. It’s a quasi-sequel to The Belan Deck but is written in a diary format. It’s about unemployment, living off severance, and rethinking the idea of white-collar work.
Here’s the first blurb from Gaddis scholar, Theroux scholar and all-around literary maestro Dr. Steven Moore.
You can preoder it from Amazon, B&N, Bookshop, your local bookstore, where ever books are sold.
I was recently a guest on a podcast called Always Choose Orange. I really enjoyed getting to discuss The Belan Deck with Alex.
2. We recently published our latest episode of the Concavity Show which is an interview with Sergio de la Pava discussing his latest novel Every Arc Bends Its Radian.
I will be on the ballot this coming election, November 7, 2023, as a candidate for Trustee for Wells Branch Community Library District.
I’ve served on the Board as a Trustee since November 2021 when I was elected unopposed. I currently serve as the Vice-President of the Board.
Here’s what I stand for:
Free speech and the first amendment. Library employees and trustees are often asked about this issue, but for our library it hasn’t been a major topic because we are truly independent (not a division of city government or a larger library system). The last word sits with the Director of the Library and the Board of Trustees and so far we have agreed and not faced many (if any) real attempts to ban books. But, if this does become a significant issue, you want Trustees who are willing to stand up for their beliefs. In my case that means protecting freedom of speech and not banning books. I support the American Library Association’s statement on the Freedom to Read.
Equitable access – this means that the public library should work to accommodate access to materials for everyone in the District: homeowners, renters, the elderly, the home-bound, people with disabilities, people without a car, children, LGBTQIA people, the unemployed, etc. They all deserve equal access to library materials.
Access to physical media – Our Library does a LOT! We are so lucky to have the wonderful programs and spaces to meet, computers, storytimes, the list goes on. If you have not checked out an ebook or audiobook from Hoopla, you are missing out! But at its core, I still believe that a Library should be full of printed books. Full accessibility includes print and electronic materials, braille, and other accommodations.
About Me
For people who don’t know me, I wanted to share a little bit about myself here. I’ve lived in Texas for the past 18 years and in Wells Branch for 17 years. My wife Jordan and I have two boys, ages 13 and 16. They have attended Round Rock ISD schools all their lives: Wells Branch Elementary, Deerpark Middle School, and McNeil High School.
I currently serve on the Board of the Deerpark MS PTA, the McNeil Wrestling Booster Club, and I’ve served on the Board of the Wells Branch PTA for several years in the past. I work in the marketing department of Charles Schwab and have a degree in English from the University of Denver. I’ve previously worked in educational assessment, textbook publishing, and book publishing in New York. I’m also a writer and podcaster in my spare time (among many hobbies). I’m a member of the Texas Library Association and I serve on the Board of the International David Foster Wallace Society.
What a Trustee Does
Over the past two years I’ve learned that a Trustee’s job is mainly about good governance. In our case, one of the primary roles of the Board of Trustees is to provide oversight for the Director of the Library. We are lucky to have an excellent Director. Our Director has enjoyed the full confidence of the Board for many years. This makes the Trustee’s job much easier. Replacing the Director would cause a lot of disruption and uncertainty in our Library. But if it ever does become an issue, Trustees should have a good working knowledge of how the Library functions in order to find a suitable candidate.
Another part of good governance involves oversight of finances. Again, our Library is lucky to have a financing model that relies on sales tax collected within the District. Sales tax revenues have been high the past few years. This allows us to fund projects such as Library renovations, increased programming, and pay increases for the staff. So, it really is important to shop local and keep your spending close to home when you can. It makes a real difference! You can read more about the Board and see our agendas and minutes on the Library’s website.
If you are interested in learning more about what a Trustee does or doesn’t do, I’d be happy to speak with you! matt@mattbucher.com
Election Day
If you live in the District, I’m asking for your vote. You can select up to 2 candidates for Trustee.
Early voting begins October 23 and election day is November 7.
In 2018, author Mary Karr tweeted about her abusive relationship with David Foster Wallace. This was at the height of #MeToo and cancel culture, where the phrase ‘problematic fave’ was commonplace. Wallace, dead for ten years but still alive in the public imagination, was suddenly brought into the conversation. Wallace’s fans, too, were implicated in his bad behavior, particularly by their reputation for being ‘lit-bros’. At the time, Grace Chipperfield was writing a doctoral thesis on Wallace, which eventually turned into a collection of essays that reckoned with both Wallace’s complicated legacy and her relationship to him as a fan, a scholar, and a woman. The final essay in the collection was a deep dive into Wallace fandom, and to write this Grace corresponded with members of the Wallace community, including one of its most dedicated and active participants: Matt Bucher. Here, then, is a sample of that correspondence. This essay is a series of letters between Grace and Matt throughout which they consider their moral obligations as fans in the age of the problematic fave.
Grace Chipperfield is a Fulbright Scholar and tutor in English and Creative Writing at Flinders University, South Australia. She recently completed her PhD in Creative Writing, a collection of essays on David Foster Wallace and his fans. She is on the board of the International David Foster Wallace Society and an associate editor for The Journal of David Foster Wallace Studies. Email: grace.chipperfield@flinders.edu.au
The Belan Deck isn’t a straightforward guidebook or manifesto or map, but it nevertheless, in its elliptical, poetic approach, offers a winding, thinking, feeling path of opposition to not only the machines themselves, but also the hollow men who would gladly replace artists and creators and thinkers with those machines. It’s also really fun to read. Great stuff.
The book will seduce you to turn pages whether you chase the clues or you don’t. But if you do there is so much more to think about. I’ll close by pointing out that there is now a rabbit hole connecting David Foster Wallace to Matt Bucher via David Markson and there is a rabbit hole connecting David Foster Wallace to David Markson via Matt Bucher. This is pretty cool.
I was also fortunate to get this blurb from acclaimed Gaddis scholar and literary critic Steven Moore: “Very smart, witty, insightful, very literary, and a lovely homage to Markson.“—Steven Moore, author of The Novel: An Alternative History
