Flannelwood

​Beyond its moment in the twenty-first century, Flannelwood is also timeless. Luczak explores masculinity (including Bill’s fear that he’s not “macho enough”), the experiences of characters with disabilities, and the human search for connection with wisdom and nuance. https://www.gertrudepress.org/flannelwood.html

"Raymond Luczak’s sexy new novel speaks to the profound struggles of making our way into and fighting our way out of the intricate love webs of the heart—every battle scar and stretchmark, every bite and kiss, every trauma and triumph, shines a strange yet beautiful light on our queer unstoppable lives." —Rigoberto González, author of What Drowns the Flowers in Your Mouth

"Lyrical and erotic, Flannelwood deftly melds an aching tale of romantic loss with prose poetry and depictions of disability that transcend clichés. Particularly fascinating is the way this love letter of a novel parallels Djuna Barnes’s classic Nightwood, both in its search for answers and its achievement of an elegant revenge." —Jeff Mann, author of Country and Insatiable

"Luczak has masterfully done what so many writers have only attempted—he’s not just paid homage to a favorite book, in this case Djuna Barnes’s Nightwood, but he’s also learned enough from it to rescue his protagonist from the echo of its fate. This is a wise and poetic book, with a breadth of thematic content ranging from disability and intimacy to profound questions about masculinity, alienation, and healing. Luczak has written a serious recounting of a profound love so rare these days—why, not since Djuna Barnes!” —Trebor Healey, author of Faun and A Horse Named Sorrow

"Flannelwood beautifully captures the transformative power of love and the devastation of losing it, all while meditating on literature’s power to console." —Rebecca Hussey of Forward Reviews

"A beautiful, meaningful, and above all, honest novel." — Keith John Glaeske for Out in Print