Because - Paperback

by Andrew Steinmetz (Author)

An engrossing punk-rock novel about teenage daydreams and sibling dynamics Teenaged brothers Hombre and Transformer spend their days locked up in their suburban bedroom, writing songs and dreaming of stardom on their own terms. The music of the early 80s is brimming with post-punk ethos and a disdain for classic rock, but closer to home the pair can't find anyone else to join their band, Because, and frankly they don't really want another member to enter the fray of their complicated sibling dynamic. Hombre, the younger one, is quiet, contemplative, and talented, a poet in the making. His older brother Transformer is stubborn, domineering, and secretly struggling with mental health issues. Their sequestered world is broken open one summer when their mother hires Spit, a girl from the local guitar shop, to help the boys improve their modest skills. But these good intentions set off a chain reaction with tragic consequences.

Author Biography

Andrew Steinmetz is the author of five previous books. His memoir of his cousin's escape from Nazi Germany, This Great Escape: The Case of Michael Paryla, was a finalist for the 2013 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction. His 2009 memoir of his mother's life, Eva's Threepenny Theatre, won the City of Ottawa Book Award and was a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. A life-long musician, Steinmetz formed the band Weather Permitting in 1985. In the 1990s, he was a member of the alt-country band Good Cookies.