(Lulu Press, July 2005, $16.95 Trade Paper, ISBN 1-4116-2920-5)
Augie Schoenberg is twenty-two, an aspiring filmmaker at a school without a film school, and desperately single. He's just moved into the Harley Hutt, the wildest party house on campus, and has fallen hard for his roommate Victor Radhakrishna, a campus political activist who, for Augie, is "a practical demi-god: a crusader for justice in skateboarding shoes." The problem is, Augie is the only gay one in the house - or so he thinks. Set in a raucous Midwestern college town, The Unborn Spouse Situation is a darkly comic novel of sex, betrayal, and cultural clashes. Augie's search for love takes him from the cornfields of Illinois, to the gay beach and underground clubs of Chicago, and finally to the ecstasy-fueled nightlife of London, where Victor's secret threatens to keep the two apart forever. In this relationship, and in two more doomed romances - one with a deeply closeted Mexican-American frat boy, and the other with a Cuban pro-baseball player - Augie finds that the deceptively free Midwestern environment holds more challenges to these relationships than even he might've thought. The Unborn Spouse Situation is the debut novel from controversial Chicago author Matt Rauscher, who deftly combines such divisive issues as arranged marriage and gay rights, and sets it all in a town called Normal, Illinois. The Unborn Spouse Situation is sure to be considered the most sexual book of the year, and one of the smartest. Written in a raucous, voyeuristic style, Augie's story won't disappoint readers looking for a wild, sexy ride.
Andrew Barriger, Author of Finding Faith, and others:
"The introspection of The Catcher in the Rye...a stunningly quick-witted and sincere first person narrative...stark, passionate honesty...mind-blowing exhilaration...a poetic intermingling of experiences and sensations...Matt Rauscher has proven himself a master of first-person writing."
Books To Watch Out For (Richard Labonte):
"Intelligent wit...entertaining assurance...a wonderful mix of emotional liberation and soulful melancholy...The Unborn Spouse Situation really shines."
Instinct Magazine:
"This book about college student angst set in the Midwest rocks!"
SelfPublisher News:
"When a Jewish boy meets an Indian boy, it's kismet!"
All Material Copyright 2006, Matt Rauscher. All Rights Reserved. Referenced quotations are copyrighted by their respective owners.