Why would a poetry-writing high-school emo girl from suburban Chicago volunteer for the Iraq War? And when both of her legs are blown off in a non-combat IED explosion, how will she ever recover? The Chicago Center for Literature and Photography is proud to present its newest original novella, Too Young to Fall Asleep, the literary debut of talented local up-and-comer Sally Weigel. Originally written when she was still in high school, Asleep is one of the first-ever adult character dramas concerning the so-called "Millennials," a prescient and eerily mature look at the generation of youth just now entering college -- an entire nation of idealistic sincerity-seekers within a maelstrom of suicidal Gen-X parents, a nation of kids who have no problem getting wasted on weekends but feel horribly guilty when smoking cigarettes while doing so. Weigel takes a razor-sharp look at this generation here, through the filter of the two events that have so far most influenced them -- the rise of the dark post-9/11 supergroup Radiohead, and the decimating of their numbers by Bush's 'war on terrorism' -- delivering at the end a haunting and thought-provoking snapshot of our current zeitgeist, in a sophisticated way that can only be done by an actual member of that generation. A "pay what you want" experiment which can be downloaded for free if one chooses, Too Young to Fall Asleep marks the daring debut of an important rising voice in the American arts, and you are sure to be both informed and moved by what she has to say.
This electronic book has been released under a "pay what you want" system; if you want to pay nothing, that's perfectly fine, and you too will receive the same full-length version as everyone else. To start the purchasing/downloading process, choose an option below:
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(Or Kindle owners can directly purchase this from Amazon for $4.99)
Don't forget to click all the way through your purchase while there; Paypal will eventually bring you back to this website and the direct download page. For any problems, please contact [cclapcenter at gmail.com].
PDF for European laserprinters (A4)
EPUB for Sony Reader, B&N Nook, and iPhone/iPad (for Apple devices, free Stanza required)
MOBI for Amazon Kindle and other Mobipocket-enabled devices
PDB for iPhone and PalmOS (free eReader required)
Supplemental and promotional material:
An interview with Weigel regarding the process of writing this book
A critical essay by the publisher, on why he signed the book in the first place
A critical essay by Ben Tanzer, CCLaP's last published author, on what he likes about Weigel's work
A page of comments about the book from CCLaP's readers and outside critics, as well as a link to Asleep's listing at Goodreads.com
This book has been released under a Creative Commons license (click the above icon to actually read it in full); this gives you permission to make unlimited copies for yourself, convert it into other formats, translate it into other languages, and use it as a basis for nonprofit multimedia projects (audio, film, animation, stage performance, calligraphy, etc), in return for you not changing the contents or removing the credits.
Cover images: Top, "U.S. Army Soldiers from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team engage anti-Iraqi forces in Buhriz, Iraq, March 14, 2007," by the US Army Soldiers Media Center. Bottom, "Chicago Skyline at Radiohead (August 2008)," by Eyton Zelazo. Both are used under the terms of their respective owners' Creative Commons licenses.
Attention small and large presses: The paper rights for this book are still available. For more, please contact Jason Pettus, CCLaP's owner, at [cclapcenter at gmail.com].
CCLaP is always on the lookout for great unsigned manuscripts. Click here for more on how to submit your own.