Brief

In a funny, angry, hyper-articulate monologue, an art vandal makes a passionate plea to a judge: you, the reader. The vandal has been charged with defacing a masterpiece of modern art, and asks you to consider the following argument: Maybe the way we turn out is less the fault of our parents and more the effect of larger cultural and historical influences - maybe history is the real culprit. Rich with references to the high art, mass culture, political ideologies, and military maneuvers of the post-war era, from the Cold War to the introduction of television, Brief chronicles the formation of an art vandal, until the story explodes in an enactment of temporary insanity." "The book seems to be awake and refuses to stop mutating. All in all, it's a high-level act, and one that bears multiple readings almost immediately." - Blake Butler, Vice "Chasin's fiction is playful and hilarious and at the same time dense and challenging." - Robert Lopez, The Believer "Chasin's book unwrites definitions, and that's its real power. So don't allow me to define it for you; better that you pick up your own copy and read for yourself its 178-page mesmerizing brief without the safety of knowing what you should think about it." - Jacob Paul, Fiction Writers Review