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Bookworm

Joshua Mattson: A Short Film About Disappointment

Joshua Mattson’s experimental debut novel, A Short Film About Disappointment, pulls the rug out from under the reader.

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By Michael Silverblatt • Aug 30, 2018 • 28m Listen

A Short Film About Disappointment is a book of experimental fiction: eighty short chapters are film reviews and revelations of a critic’s personality. Movie plots are imitated in his life, and bizarre characters follow deadbeat dreams of midnight cult films. Joshua Mattson discusses finding meaningful pleasure in escapist culture. He says he wants to surprise readers, and let them find things in strange places where they didn’t expect them.

Photos by Christopher Ho.

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    Michael Silverblatt

    host, 'Bookworm'

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    Michelle Escobar

    Director, Volunteer Services

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    Alan Howard

    Bookworm Collaborator

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