Andy Abramowitz: Thank You, Goodnight

I didn’t notice this until I’d finished writing the book, so I can’t claim to have deliberately baked this theme into the batter, but there is definitely a running thread of artistic ventures setting characters free, or at least forcing them to look into the mirror. Teddy’s decade-long musical dormancy overlaps with his general malaise and low-grade bitterness. Writing songs again sets in motion all the events that land him on that beach at the end. Sara needs to be around the chaos of creation at her friends’ studio because it’s the only place where she can allow all her buried emotions to breathe; she certainly can’t do it at home with Teddy. It was important to me that the Trans Am painting depict motion, and on a subconscious level, when Teddy sees it, he knows he has to move forward. By deciding to name the Tremble album after that painting, he’s—again, subconsciously—recognizing that it’s time to move forward in other areas of his life too. And obviously, Heinz-Peter’s photography exhibit places Teddy literally face-to-face with the laughing stock he is in the eyes of the world.

After the experience of writing and publishing your first novel, do you see any similarities between the publishing industry and the music industry?

I have very limited experience in the music industry, but my impression is that there are so many variables that contribute to the success or failure of an artist that the industry has to be concerned with a lot more than just the music. By contrast, the people I’ve dealt with in the publishing industry—easy people to like, by the way—just really love books. A lot of sweat obviously goes into the marketing of a book, but as far as the author is concerned, the focus really seems to be on the work.

As Teddy had unfinished business in the music industry, is there anything in your own life that you are dying to try your hand at for a second time?

I’d like to work my way up a major league baseball organization. I haven’t played seriously since high school, but a few afternoons at the batting cage and I’d be ready!

Are you working on a second novel? What’s next for you?

I’m finishing work on a second novel. It’s about a brother and sister whose lives are separately falling apart over the course of a summer. The brother is a roller coaster engineer who loses his job and separates from his wife and daughter all in one day, so he takes a job as a lifeguard at his apartment complex pool. The sister is a journalist who starts receiving unsettling emails from an anonymous sender. No one plays in a band.

1. From the one and only Death Cab for Cutie song on Teddy’s iPod, to the Oasis album in his glove compartment, to when Sara “brought her own copy of Bitches Brew to the relationship,” listening to and being surrounded by music is a huge part of Teddy’s life. Set the mood for your book club by creating a playlist of the music mentioned in the book or songs inspired by Teddy’s adventures. What songs remind you most of Tremble’s hits? Ask your book club members to suggest songs for the playlist.

2. Teddy gets Tremble back together for one more album, to tie up what he feels is unfinished business. Is there anything in your life that you feel is unfinished? Or, is there something that you’ve always want to do, but haven’t yet? Share with your book club.

3. Have you ever read a musician’s autobiography? If so, were there any similarities to Thank You, Goodnight ? What about the autobiographies of popular eighties and nineties rockers, such as Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir by Cyndi Lauper, Sinner’s Creed by Scott Stapp, or Makeup to Breakup by Peter Criss? Ask several members of your group to bring autobiographies to compare to the novel.

Photograph © Caryn Abramowitz

Andy Abramowitz lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two daughters. He is a lawyer with a past in music, but he has no musical legacy to correct. This is his first novel.

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