Generations

GENERATIONS is an autobiographical novel by Richard Matheson which will be published exclusively by Gauntlet Press. GENERATIONS takes place at a gathering of the Matheson family after the funeral of Matheson's father. While this meeting didn't actually took place Matheson uses the meeting to explore the many secrets and demons his family harbors. Matheson has never written an autobiography and his adolescence is something that has never been explored in articles or interviews. Matheson is sixteen when he tells the story. The novel concludes with Matheson discussing the turbulent relationship he had with his father.

From Booklist

Matheson, the writer behind I Am Legend (1954), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), and a handful of memorable Twilight Zone episodes, gets personal with this fictional account of his very nonfictional family. What exactly does that mean? Despite both an introduction and an explanatory overture (“This account never took place.”), the truth/fiction relationship is fuzzy. Best this reviewer can tell, Matheson uses the 1950s, real-life funeral of his father to bring together his extended family (including a 28-year-old Matheson), who finally air out long-held grievances via what one uncle dubs “a truth-telling orgy.” Though it never happened, Matheson wishes that it had, and no wonder—pent-up bitterness is released regarding everything from failed marriages to squandered lives to sexual abuse. Matheson intends the book to be “the groundwork for a stage play,” and it shows. It is bereft of description, relying entirely on dialogue from a huge cast impossible to keep straight on the page. But for Matheson completists—and they certainly exist—this is an eye-opening peek into a genre master’s tumultuous origins. --Daniel Kraus

Reviews

News