Sleepeth Not, the Bastard by Dave Matthes

Examining the relationships between husbands and wives, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, sisters, and fathers and daughters, Matthes has once again created characters whose flaws make them that much more likable and leave the reader hoping for the best for everyone. Both wear their scars like tarnished armor in their current lives while their interactions with one another and a complex cast of secondary characters show just how vulnerable these two truly are. Both Lew and Sarah have each encountered their own fair share of tragedy, some intertwined in ways the reader would never expect.

Told with the alternating perspectives of two protagonists who are equally damaged yet still affable in their own way, Sleepeth Not, the Bastard takes the reader on a trippy ride, not letting off the gas until the very end. Blending the worlds of music, debauchery, and family with ease, Matthes has created a story and characters that are compelling in their own right while once again making the reader evaluate their own relationships. In Sleepeth Not, the Bastard, Matthes shows his range - the narrative style here differs from The Slut Always Rides Shotgun and The Passive Aggressors - where they are told in a journal format, The Bastard is a winding tale that leaves the reader wondering what could possibly happen next. 'Sleepeth Not, the Bastard' is a romp for this generation, an homage to those that came before, and a warning for those that follow. Each person influencing the other in one massive string of events escalating and culminating at the end of their respective worlds whether those worlds be of mental, emotional, psychological, or delusional origin.Part drama, part dark comedy, part rock 'n roll epic, with a copious and perhaps endless helping of sex, drugs, and infamy. 'Sleepeth Not, the Bastard' is a story about people, each one steadily climbing towards a foreseeable yet undeniable end. What transpires from then on is a continuing snowball effect that will inevitably lead to the cataclysmic destruction of one family and others as the world continues to busy itself around them in seamless melancholy.

But when Lew's friend from high school, Sarah Fox, having lived the life of a drummer in the all-but extinct rock band 'The Bastards' returns to town stalked by a rumored 'Resurrection Tour', Lew's world truly becomes a thing of legend.and doubt. Separated but not divorced, his wife Autumn finally tracks Lew down, begging him to come home to help take care of their identity-in-crisis daughter Zoey. Several years later, Lew, his father, currently working for a faceless loan shark, has dipped into a drug and lust-filled method of cope. 'The gravity of fate is nothing in comparison to the fleeting warmth of a loved one's last kiss.'.thus reads the final words of High School Senior Joshua Feranna.

Sleepeth Not, the Bastard by Dave Matthes