TOM BENTLEY-FISHER at Books Inc. Alameda

Meet local author, Tom Bentley-Fisher reading and signing copies of his new novel, The Boy Who Was Saved By Jazz.

About the book: Robert lost his father before he’d even been born, and was quickly abandoned by his young mother to be raised by his grandparents in small-town Saskatchewan. In another sense, though, Robert never lost his father, whose ghostly presence lingers in the young boy’s life over the years by means of spectral “advice letters” on how to be a man.

When Robert finds an old pump organ in a derelict farmhouse, he discovers a deep love of and talent for performing music. He also begins to discover secrets from his past, including his grandfather’s Communist ties, and the familial cover-up of his father’s sudden death. Along the way, Robert embraces his budding bisexuality, discovers his Métis identity and harnesses the power of his wild imagination.

Recalling the work of Jamie Fitzpatrick and Greg Rhyno, The Boy Who Was Saved By Jazz is a coming-of-age story and meditation on belonging.

Tom Bentley-Fisher’s short stories have been published in literary magazines in the US and Canada. He has written two produced plays, including a musical, and has had his work recorded as radio drama on Canadian Broadcasting Company. His collection of short stories, Blind Man’s Drum, published by Thistledown Press, was a finalist for Best Fiction for the Saskatchewan Book Awards, and his short story, Wars and Rumours of Wars, published by Prairie Journal, a finalist for the National Magazine Awards in humour. Tom has been artistic director of five professional theatres, gaining a strong reputation for developing and producing original and innovative work, including an all-female version of The Iliad which was featured at the International Grec Festival in Barcelona and toured Spain. He is currently the director of the YatBentley Centre for Performance, an international company based in Oakland.

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