Rem's Chance
A Florida novel that melds literary fiction with
gritty crime and mystery elements, romance, and insights into an aging Generation X.
Released June 3, 2024 by Kaji-Pup Press
Available now on paperback and eBook. See buying options below.
SYNOPSIS:
Rem Bruxvoort is forty-six and not getting any younger. The former guitarist of The Bubbling Samovars--an
obscure nineties punk band--is still feeling fallout from the pandemic. It's October of 2021 in southwest
Florida and he's stuck living under the same roof as his ex-fiancée, who hates his guts. As they sell off
the bungalow they bought together before everything between them went up in smoke, Rem seeks a way forward
to better days.
A chance encounter reunites Rem with his former bandmate Gene, who's traded in playing the bass for a cushier
life as a soon-to-be-married entrepreneur in the tech sector. As the two old friends catch up, the subject
of the lost master tapes of The Bubbling Samovars' unreleased album arises. Soon Rem's quest to locate the
master tapes, which might yield a reissue that will set everything straight, is put in motion.
Gene's sister Julie is a thoughtful closet poet with musical ambitions of her own. When she grows tired of
working overtime in a drab corner of the Upper Midwest, she puts her life there on hold and heads down to
Florida. Rem and Julie soon rekindle their long-dormant friendship, growing closer and closer, while waxing
philosophical about a host of subjects.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to everyone, an ominous figure in a white van has been stalking them in the periphery,
seething with resentment. Known simply as "the man," he has bad intentions and seeks revenge on Gene for
reasons that are unclear. But "the man" has issues of his own and is plagued with an ineptitude that
undermines his malevolent aspirations. Will he cause the carnage he wants so badly to enact?
Multiple plotlines are fleshed out as individual character arcs overlap and eventually convene. In his second
novel, Dave J. Andrae employs his characteristic wry wit to explore an aging Gen Xer's mindset against the
backdrop of gritty crime and mystery elements. Rem's Chance is a blended-genre effort that touches on
romance, philosophy, intrigue, what it's like to play in a band, and so much more. With ample humor and cultural
references to keep things colorful, the book is a well-structured page turner.
Rem's Chance (Paperback Version)
Buy now on Amazon for $17.99
Rem's Chance (Kindle Version)
Buy now on Amazon for $9.99
Rem's Chance (ePub Version)
Buy now on Apple Books for $9.99
Read an author interview on the subject of the book HERE.
REVIEWS AND BLURBS:
"Dave J. Andrae's Rem's Chance is a wonderful blend of both quiet and loud, at times as placid as a Sunday
morning stroll, but with a background din raucous enough to wake a neighborhood. It doesn't hurt that his writing
is clean and clear and that the understanding and empathy he holds for his characters goes soul deep."
- Independent Book Review
"An offhand philosophical manifesto for Gen Xers and elder millennials, this novel is an unadulterated peek at
the paradox of aging gracefully, the bittersweet siren song of nostalgia, and the unsettling sense of slowing down
in an accelerating world. Brushing against dozens of contemporary themes, from the vitriol of online trolls and the
pitfalls of masculine connection to the isolation of the Covid pandemic and midlife crises in their modern forms,
this feels like an extant memoir of a collective moment."
- Self-Publishing Review
"The novel adopts a typical crime fiction motif and mixes it with some new-era concepts. The 'man,' who remains
unnamed and keeps hovering in the background, helps to create a classic noir mood, while the satirical tone prevents
the plot from being too depressive. The merging of the light-hearted tonalities prevents the story from turning into
a classic genre's boring retelling."
- Online Book Club
"Dave J. Andrae's novel embraces so many subplots and subjects that its allure actually lays not so much in a
predictable linear progression as in its series of literary and social reflections. These embrace the psychology
of aging and life meaning, contrasting these insights against the values and observations of an also-aging society."
- Midwest Book Review / Donovan's Literary Services
"The storyline flows well, and the perspective changes allow the significant characters to develop more depth.
The mystery running parallel to Rem's story and his reunion with Gene adds an interesting twist but I felt that
the main themes of the book focus on nostalgia, a reclaiming of the past and rediscovering the things we loved when
we were younger that got lost amongst the mundanities of adulthood."
- LoveReading
"There's something a little bit different about this entertaining, light-hearted book, in that it is so talky and arty,
almost to the point of bohemian, that it is perhaps most accurately described as literary fiction with a subplot--if
there can be such a thing."
- Matt McAvoy Book Review
"The text squeezes out enough charm to set itself apart and make it worth reading. It is, first off, an early-pandemic
period piece, and although this doesn't overwhelmingly affect the plot (nobody is ever in quarantine after an exposure),
one-off references to 2020s culture (like a 'sexy stuck container ship' Halloween costume) are suitably weird and often
genuinely funny."
- IndieReader
"Rem, the narrative's focal point, emerges as a character of depth; his tumultuous relationship with Dita is a canvas
for exploring themes of love, insecurity, and self-discovery. [...] His interactions with Julie reveal a longing for
intimacy and connection tempered by a sense of responsibility and moral ambiguity."
- The Book Commentary
"The author has a good grasp of how to build suspense in this novel."
- Readers' Favorite
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