Description
Book Synopsis"One of the most original, amazing stories I've ever read" (Mary Gaitskill), iconic rock-and-roll musician Adele Bertei's memoir Twist is her harrowing and electric story of transforming trauma through art, pluck, and imagination, as told through the inimitable voice of her young alter ego, Maddie Twist. From iconoclastic writer and musician Adele Bertei comes a wholly original hero's journey that wages war on the cliche of the "misery memoir." Set in a 1960s and '70s American neighborhood rife with poverty and violence, fatherless Irish mothers and Italian mobsters, and women crucified into madness by misogyny, Bertei speaks through her electrically alive avatar Maddie Twist to flip the victim script. Through her unshakable belief in imagination, poetry, music, and community, she transforms trauma into survival. The immediacy of Maddie's voice is a revelation, providing insight into long-enduring systemic problems without the scrim of adult analysis. In an age of lies and obfuscation, Twist is a sharp yet tender arrow to the heart of naked truth. Bertei reveals what it's like to be a queer teen at a time when discovery could be fatal. Maddie peers deeply into the American psyche, refusing to consent to the systems of harm. Along the way we encounter an unforgettable schizophrenic mother, Catholic saints, West Side Story and Oliver!, poet killers, the abyss of rape, girl-gangsters and faux-pimps, teenage lesbian sex, racial tensions and misconceived divides, a drag family known as the Holy Maudlins, Vietnam vets in dark and light, cabaret, true family, rock and roll. And the ultimate saving grace: love. A compelling personal history of queer culture from a working-class view and a glimpse into worlds yet unseen, Twist is good medicine: for readers who've experienced similar traumas, for teens caught in the foster care system, for the formerly incarcerated looking for hope, for writers grappling with how to tell their own stories. Most of all, it's for everyone seeking transportive experiences in art and on the page.
Trade Review"Twist is one of the most original, amazing stories I've ever read-a story of innocence and brutality, of courage and faith and luck. It is the story of an extraordinary woman-child in an extraordinary time, of devils and angels, trolls under the bridge and unexpected helpers. For all the pain and misfortune in the early life of the intrepid narrator, it is most of all about the connective, transformative power of art and soulful community. Twist is strong and strange poetry; while reading it you may hear music in your head-I did." -Mary Gaitskill "Twist is a dark, demented, horrific and hilarious shot to the heart of American girlhood. Adele Bertei was gender fluid before gender even entered the lexicon. Her writing is miraculous, but the bigger miracle may be that the author survived to write it. And lucky for us she did. This is a book to love." -Jerry Stahl "A powerful look at survival and redemption despite extremely challenging obstacles.... [Bertei] narrates with a zest and objectivity probably only possible from a long temporal remove, and she excels at bringing readers deep into the difficult circumstances of her life.... Throughout the book, Maddie comes across as curious, impulsive, and observant, fond of losing herself in books and brought to life by the music she hears-and creates." -Kirkus (starred review) "This raw, vivid work brings readers into a life of poverty, domestic violence, mental illness, war, and trauma . . . Readers travel with her through her coming-of-age experiences, such as being shunned and punished for her attraction to other girls. She also candidly shares her experiences of sexual violence. After aging out of the foster-care system, the author stumbles but finds her footing in the family she forms with her drag-queen neighbors, her boss at the thrift store, and her love for music and writing. VERDICT Bertei's childhood is harrowing, and her memoir does not hold back on the details, which are horrific at times. But the author sounds her voice loudly in this book, and her sense of self is captured throughout the pages. The end result is likely to captivate readers." -Rebekah Buchanan, Library Journal "Fascinating.... Twist is beautifully written in crystalline prose without judgment or stigmatization. What carries her through is music and singing and Bertei writes memorably about both. This is a story about a gay teenager in the 1960s and early 70s at a time, and in institutions, which had little understanding and less tolerance for gay youth. There are episodes of horrifying brutality and violence against Bertei. Yet the great accomplishment of Twist is that it ends on an uplifting and positive note, as Maddie/Bertei becomes herself-the person we know will go on to be a force in the New Wave No Wave scene in New York.... To be placed on your hit parade." -Tom Teicholz, Forbes "Bertei depicts her relationship with her brilliant mother, who was schizophrenic, with uncommon empathy and grace.... Equal parts raucous and harrowing, Twist gives the reader a glimpse of the formation of a singular, uncompromising artist." -Brendan Dowling, Public Library Association "Once 'the Devil ran through' her family, Maddie free falls from institution to institution, growing into her queerness and discovering her fate-that 'God has to be music.' This riveting novel/memoir by underground icon Adele Bertei situates the making of a survivor rebel against the background of the chaotic side of 1960's America. An honest, hard times page turner filled with heart and revelation." -Sarah Schulman "A harrowing voyage through the cultural tornado of America in the latter part of the 20th century as seen through the eyes of a thoroughly 21st century girl. This book gives serious credence to the expression 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' Very inspirational." -Rufus Wainwright
