Reviews of Pieces of Payne

“As intimate as a seven-drink conversation, as compulsive as a pocket encyclopedia, as unwilling to end as the light from stars no longer burning.” —Village Voice

“Stunning and enigmatic.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

“A fascinating divided work. The division between text and notes creates an intentionally challenging reading experience.” —The Boston Globe

“A whale of a performance.” —The San Francisco Chronicle

“A shimmering first novel by the award-winning poet and essayist.” —Readerville Journal

“Pieces of Payne proves once again that Goldbarth is an innovative, courageous writer—as unafraid of shocking us as he is of risking sentimentality.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“An unpredictable web of plot and multiple consciousness…. enthralling, challenging, encyclopedic, adventuresome, hilarious, unputdownable.” —Beloit Poetry Journal

“Get out your telescope book lover: Here’s a new star in the firmament.” —Austin Chronicle

“Goldbarth, a whirling dervish of a poet, has fashioned a splendidly clever and tender first novel….A dazzling, sagacious, and poignant search for oneness within the many-faceted chaos of human life.” —Booklist, starred review

“Riffing on the paradoxical tragedies and miracles of our civilization, Goldbarth has produced a thought-provoking book that offers the reader ample recompense for its challenging format.” —Publishers Weekly