My friend Evan Guilford Blake, a playwright and novelist, recently read from his work at Atlanta Vintage Books.
I had some thoughts about his book “Animation.”
Evan takes the turning points in the life of a fifty-something unemployed divorced man. He weaves mundane events together with the significant moments.
Aggie Agysytn, the main character, journeys from white- to blue-collar digs, and in the process his views shift — and the changes pave the way to transformation. Aggie begins working out and losing weight as he sheds years of complacency.
Disassociation is the takeaway theme. The urban dweller’s isolation in a modern sterile environment of sameness is evident as Aggie struggles to develop interpersonal skills, starts to date, and becomes part of the community. Through the internal dialogue, the reader is privy to small surprises, the music of everyday. Aggie resets his life and begins to understand what it feels like to live in the moment, state his opinion, risk commitment and truly be alive. Animation.