Steve McIlhenny is a rotten teacher, habitual drunkard, born contrarian and not least a young white male trying to forge a career in the affirmative-action environment and politically-correct atmosphere of American academe in the 1990s. He drifts from one job to another, one woman to the other, one bottle to the next and travels beyond U.S. borders to Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Egypt and Israel where his trials persist and he continues to clash with the academic establishment. Written with McAleer's trademark humor and verve, POSTDOC is the uncompromising account of an itinerant scholar and his life on the edge of professional oblivion.Fiction. California Interest.
An examination of dueling in late nineteenth century Germany captures the horror and absurdity, and considers the feudal code of chivalry at its roots, its aristocratic nature, and how it anticipated Germany's unique development. UP.
Exploring the cultural phenomenon of the German duel, the book examines the societal constructs of masculinity in fin-de-siècle Europe. It highlights the absurdity of upper-class males engaging in deadly pistol duels, reveling in their defiance of weak laws. With ironic humor, McAleer delves into the intricate protocols and the mindset of duelists, revealing the egos and prejudices underlying their quest for manliness. This sharp critique offers an entertaining yet profound look at a practice that significantly influenced social norms and values.
In his fourth novel, Kevin McAleer explores growing up in 1960s and 1970s Los Angeles, a hub of pop culture. He reflects on surfing, bodybuilding, and film stars, revealing a strange melancholy beneath the city's glamorous surface. Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the book offers insights into American masculinity during a time of social change.
The basic drama with Errol Flynn was that he had everything – looks, charm, talent, intelligence, and a huge following of devoted fans and willing women. He was the classic image of a swashbuckling hero and romantic lover. That which other men merely fantasized about, Flynn did with style and dash, living in a way which surpassed any film he ever made. But somewhere on the road to movie immortality he embarked on a destructive lifestyle that wrecked his career and ultimately killed him. Why did it happen? What were the forces at work in this complex individual whose own father regarded him as an “enigma”? Kevin McAleer is not the first author to wend his way through the maze of myth and falsehood that comprises Flynn’s legend, but no one has yet attempted an epic narrative of his life in verse. Flynn’s ghostwriter for his memoir „My Wicked, Wicked Ways“ called him “one of the most poetic men I have ever met,” and McAleer holds the view that biographies and other accounts of Flynn have failed to capture his verve and essential spirit, which had greater affinity to an age of high-flown lyricism than to our own prosaic times. Flynn himself was fond of claiming that he’d been born into the wrong century, so McAleer is taking him at his word and recounting his saga in the same way as did English balladeers the tale of Robin Hood – Flynn’s most memorable screen incarnation. In detailing Flynn’s life, McAleer draws inspiration from Lord Byron’s playful and jocose „Don Juan,“ whose stanza form he employs. Flynn was not only the embodiment of Byronic romanticism but one of the twentieth century’s great libertines, having also assumed the title role in the 1948 Hollywood film „Adventures of Don Juan,“ so it is only fitting that the roguish ottava rima stanza be used in recounting his life. This is poetry for people who think they don’t like poetry and for all those who enjoy dishy movie-star bios and a gusto-filled romp. „The correlation between Flynn and Byron is certainly convincing. What a story . . . . a wonderfully entertaining work.“ - Fiona MacCarthy, author of BYRON: LIFE AND LEGEND
Fiction. Steve is an American in Berlin and a man in crisis. He has reached a stage in his expatriate existence where he feels only frustration--with his work, with his milieu, with his life. The sole thing he takes real joy in is tango dancing. It is while cultivating this passion one evening that he makes the acquaintance of Sonja, an enigmatic woman who is suffering a similar malaise. Steve plunges into an affair with her. But what begins as an erotic adventure turns into a frenzy of emotion that he never thought possible. Set against the backdrop of present-day Berlin, this novel is a story of desire and the quest for love within a traditional form--but in a time when Facebook, smartphones and Internet dating sites chaperone the mating dance. "The search for both authentic and requited feeling beyond the realm of pure sex."--Deutschlandfunk Kultur
