Click through to original to see full interview.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08RSNTR2B/
Author website: http://www.garygautier.com/
shakemyheadhollow
Conceptual spaces: politics, philosophy, art, literature, religion, cultural history
shakemyheadhollow 
I finally read “Loves’s Ragged Claws”, and here my thoughts on it:
I have to admit; at the beginning, I had difficulties getting into it. My mind does not digest dialogue and names very well.
However, further into the story I became intrigued, despite that nothing was really happening. You managed to infuse the mundane with enough virtuosity through an array of minute intricacies of the human condition. Every individual was dressed up with interesting characteristics that could be visualised in the mind.
I read it as a romantic time capsule; infused with that kind of melancholy we all feel about or past.
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Thanks for giving me something to think about, Michael. Always useful to see readers’ gut reactions. You also touch on one of the challenges of “literary” fiction. Per the interview, by “literary,” I don’t mean “better” but a certain style – where the value lies not in the conventions of genre nor even in the story that gets told, but in the way it gets told. Generally, less about “what happens” and more an exploration of the subjective spaces within and between characters. Virginia Woolf was the example I used. So the “literary fiction” tag doesn’t tell you how good a book is, but it does give important info per reader expectations. Some of my readers just love it, and some feel a little cheated by the lack of a dominant plot line and clear finish. In this case, I think moments of romantic melancholy in a time capsule captures the spirit of the work very nicely! Drop a brief Amazon review if you have the time and inclination. Gary
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Thank you, for the valuable reply, I learned something new! where do I find the Amazone review?
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Hey Michael. Anyone with an Amazon account (i.e., you spent $50USD or equivalent on Amazon in the past year) can review products, including books. You just have to go to the Amazon website in your country and search the book. In Australia, it’s https://www.amazon.com.au/Loves-Ragged-Claws-Gary-Gautier-ebook/dp/B08RSNTR2B/
(I think you’re in Australia anyway 🙂 If you use Amazon in Germany, you’d go to the German site.) No big deal if you’re not in the Amazon system — I don’t particularly recommend it — but for people who are already in there, it’s easy to drop a brief review or just a rating 🙂 Gary
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