The Beast in Aisle 34

Sandy Kurtz has problems. He's got a baby on the way, his wife doesn't love him, and he's struggling to find passion or purpose at his big-box retail job. And, once a month, he turns into a werewolf. In Darrin Doyle's deft hands, Sandy's story is a tall tale for our times, an absurd and darkly comedic take on toxic masculinity, small-town America, and the terror of not knowing who you are―or who you're capable of becoming. Join us on the trip. Feel the power of the full moon as it turns you into a carnivore capable of ruling the wilds of rural Michigan. Taste the rich blood of a pulsing animal heart; feel it cascade down your face as you transform into what you always wanted to be. Enter...the wolf.

ambivalent husband, expectant father, discontented home improvement store employee, and full-moon terror. Doyle moves the story forward with professional pace and energy, all the while developing his wolfman with wit, subtlety, depth, and gore. You’ll root for Sandy, despite what he does to deer.” – Chris Bachelder, author of Bear v. Shark and The Throwback Special, finalist for the National Book Award

“No joke, for years I’ve put this policy on my syllabus: If there is a werewolf in your story, it ought to be a complicated werewolf. And now with great joy I have found, courtesy of Darrin Doyle, the epitome of the Complicated Werewolf. Meet Sandy Kurtz

Booklist

"...a poignant character study that alternates between humor and more intense action sequences. The novel evokes the sardonic wit of Mark Haddon mixed with Christopher Moore. Fans of the novel Mongrels (2016), by Stephen Graham Jones, and of Grady Hendrix’s work will enjoy Doyle’s latest offering."

the question is how (or if) we ever manage to control it.”

“Darrin Doyle's The Beast in Aisle 34 is a rip-roaring read that'll keep you up at night, promising yourself just one more chapter. It also happens to be a profound meditation on the struggle to make it through the days and months of our mundane lives. As Doyle shows, lurking beneath that struggle is something much, much darker. There's a monster in all of us

About the Author

Darrin Doyle has lived in Saginaw, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Cincinnati, Louisville, Osaka (Japan), and Manhattan (Kansas). He has worked as a paperboy, mover, janitor, telemarketer, pizza delivery driver, door-to-door salesman, copy consultant, porn store clerk, freelance writer, and technical writer, among other jobs. After graduating from Western Michigan University with an MFA in fiction, he taught English in Japan for a year. He then realized he wanted to pursue fiction writing and permanently stop doing jobs he didn’t love, so he earned his PhD from the University of Cincinnati. He is the author of the novels Revenge of the Teacher’s Pet: A Love Story (LSU Press) and The Girl Who Ate Kalamazoo (St. Martin’s), and the short story collections The Dark Will End the Dark and Scoundrels Among Us (Tortoise Books).and The Big Baby Crime Spree (Wolfson Press). Currently he teaches at Central Michigan University and lives in Mount Pleasant, Michigan with his wife and two sons. His website is www.darrindoyle.com.

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