A Small Press Book We Love: Missing Time by Ari Brostoff
Small presses have had a rough year, but as the literary world continues to conglomerate, we at Literary Hub think they’re more important than ever. Which is why, every (work) day in March—which just so happens to be National Small Press Month—a Lit Hub staff member will be recommending a small press book that they love.
The only rule of this game is that there are no rules, except that the books we recommend must have been published, at some time, and in some place, by a small press. What does it mean to be a small press? Unfortunately there is no exact definition or cutoff. All of the presses mentioned here are considered to be small presses by the recommending editors, and for our purposes, that’s going to be good enough. All of the books mentioned here are considered to be great by the recommending editors, too. If one intrigues you, consider picking it up at your local bookstore, or ordering through Bookshop.org, or even directly from the publisher.
Today, we’re recommending:
Missing Time by Ari Brostoff
published by N+1 Books (2022)
I’m sliding into March on an essay kick, and this 2022 collection from Ari Brostoff (and the very small N+1 press) has been a fun one to revisit. In five hyper-lucid, long form essays, Brostoff considers a culture still reeling in the aftermath of the 2016 election and turns up analytical gold. Through deep considerations of the “Bernie bro” phenomenon, mid-century American communists, and Philip Roth’s (anti-)Zionism, a picture of a disaggregated Left emerges. The result is a great book to read if you’re feeling, as I often am now, totally adrift in space/time.
Brostoff is one of the smartest essayists I’ve encountered in a while. Their pieces are deeply researched and well-argued, but scarcely academic. Sure, we get Freud and feminism. But there’s always a personal entry point, and a refreshingly rare willingness to acknowledge internal contradiction. In “Where the Boys Are,” a grappling with Democratic politicians then and now, Brostoff wrestles with a childhood love for Hillary Clinton that sits besides an allergy to her politics. In a piece tracing the conspiracy theories promulgated on The X Files to the present-day paranoia guiding conservative policies, Brostoff looks at the wish to believe with an open heart. It’s sad how easily all this material scans years after these essays were published, but I’m so grateful for the result—and for the curious spirit in which a diagnosis is given. This book allows that the world has gone bonkers, then tries to locate a useful response. And turns out it’s incredibly bracing to hear a brilliant person say, Yes, we’re all mad here.
In its much-feted magazine, N+1 has built a reputation for finding the cleverest kids on the literary block. And though their press has only published a few actual books (like the much-discussed anthology, MFA vs. NYC, or this collection by film critic A.S. Hamrah) I’ve found something to admire in most all of their prettily packaged paperbacks. I appreciate too that N+1 champions authors initially published in its pages by promoting or reselling their books in their own bookstore. The editors of this baby press have created a cohesive aesthetic and a strong sense of literary community, which is no small thing.
–Brittany Allen, Staff Writer
