Chelsea Station Editions, an independent publisher devoted to gay literature, will publish Alan Lessik’s debut novel, The Troubleseeker, on September 22, 2016.
The Troubleseeker tells the contemporary odyssey of Antinio, a native-born Cuban who confronts his gay identity in post-revolution Cuba and as a refugee in America. Narrated by the ancient Roman Emperor and demigod Hadrian, The Troubleseeker weaves Cuban Santería traditions with classical Greek mythology to depict Antinio’s quest to achieve both freedom and love.
Alan Lessik is, in addition to being a writer, a zen practioner, amateur figure skater, and non-profit director. His non-fiction works include news articles published in the Advocate, San Francisco Bay Guardian, and Frontiers.
Praise for The Troubleseeker
“Alan Lessik’s The Troubleseeker succeeds on several fronts: as a passionate gay story that documents the devastation caused by AIDS in the epidemic’s early days; as a vivid depiction of post-revolutionary Cuba leading to the disastrous Special Period; and as a clever retelling of myth where the gods of the Greek pantheon and those of Santería mingle, compare notes, and join forces. The compelling tale of Antinio, the protagonist, in some ways evokes the life and times of the great Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas: a life where sex is a site of pleasure but also a means for empowering self-expression and identity. Lessik’s writing is rich in descriptions, by turns poetic, and delivered by a narrator whose own captivating story lures us in like the Siren’s call. A book you won’t want to stop reading, The Troubleseeker offers the best that literature can give: a moving human chronicle that both entertains and lingers in our hearts.”
—Elías Miguel Muñoz, author of the novels The Greatest Performance, Brand New Memory, and Diary of Fire
“Alan Lessik combines several unlikely fictional elements and an unexpected point of view in this auspicious debut novel. But it pays off: The Troubleseeker is an engrossing read about one gay man’s life-voyage that manages to be fantastic and yet quite real, with a wonderful overlay flavoring of the Caribbean that you can almost taste.”
—Felice Picano, author of True Stories and Nights at Rizzoli
“Alan Lessik’s The Troubleseeker is an extraordinary novel and a deeply moving expression of love. Gathering its beautifully numinous mythic and cultural materials, the book deftly tells the story of our hero’s journey, a gay Cuban man in the midst of life and historical tumult. With a soulful daring to take risks, Lessik pulls us to witness the full heat of life and love inside the human heart.”
—Tim Miller, Performer and author of Body Blows and 1001 Beds
“In this remarkable debut novel, author Alan Lessik weaves the modern day struggle of a gay Cuban man’s sprawling journey with mythological import. Our hero receives intervention from gods and demi-gods both loving and capricious, proving our very human fragility.”
—Jim Provenzano, Lambda Literary Award-winning author
“A handsome but tormented Cuban man finds both joy and hardship in this operatic novel. Lessik’s prose is always sympathetic and eloquent.”
—Kirkus Reviews
About Chelsea Station Editions
Chelsea Station Editions was founded in 2010 to fill a growing void of independent presses devoted to gay literature. Among the authors the press has published are debut writers Dan Lopez, J.R. Greenwell, Craig Moreau, Michael Graves, Jeffrey Luscombe, Gil Cole, William Sterling Walker, J.L. Weinberg, Jarrett Neal, and David Pratt, and veterans Felice Picano, Walter Holland, Jon Marans, Charles Silverstein, Craig Cotter, Dennis Rhodes, Kevin Bentley, and Jameson Currier. Books published by the press have been honored by the Lambda Literary Foundation, the American Library Association GLBTRT Roundtable, the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival, the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation, and the Rainbow Book Awards. In 2011, the press launched Chelsea Station, a new magazine of gay writing, which is now online at www.chelseastationmagazine.com.
Chelsea Station Editions is distributed by Ingram.
The Troubleseeker by Alan Lessik
ISBN-13: 978-1-937627-27-0
ISBN-10: 1937627276
Published by Chelsea Station Editions, 270 pages
Paperback. Price: $18.00
6 x .7 x 9; 15 ounces
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016940537
Also available in digital formats at $9.99
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-937627-65-2
