 First edition | |
| Author | Jim Gauer |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Philosophical fiction, postmodernism |
| Publisher | Zerogram Press |
| Publication date | 2016 |
| Publication place | United States of America |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 720 |
| ISBN | 978-1-953409-02-7 |
Novel Explosives by Jim Gauer (Zerogram Press, 2016) is a novel that tells three interrelated stories set in Los Angeles, Ciudad Juárez, and Guanajuato.
The novel is named after a thermobaric weapon introduced by the US Marine Corps during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq called a "Novel Explosive" (SMAW-NE).
There are many references to the poet Fernando Pessoa.
Jeff Bursey writing for Numéro Cinq described the novel as having Quentin Tarantino-like action sequences paired with metafictional flourishes.123
Critic Steven Moore listed it as one of the potentially “canonical” novels of the 21st century.4
In 2026, Zerogram Press published a "10th Anniversary Edition" with a Foreword by Joy Williams.
References
References
- Michael Silverblatt (July 20, 2017). "Jim Gauer: Novel Explosives". KCRW.
- "Novel Explosives by Jim Gauer". Kirkus Review. October 11, 2016.
- Jeff Bursey (November 2016). "The Encyclopedic Novel: Review of Jim Gauer's Explosives". Numéro Cinq.
- Moore, Steven (2026). Last Time Around: Reviews, Essays, Interviews. Los Angeles: Zerogram Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-1953409164.