Melanie Page of GRAB THE LAPELS 

Presents

a Conversation with Matthew Roberson

Synopsis—Vignettes of a middle-class American family told through lists, each reflecting their obsessions, their complaints, their desires, and their humanity.

A suburban family of four—a man, woman, boy, and girl—struggle through claustrophobic days crowded with home improvement projects, conflicts at work and school, a job loss, illnesses, separation, and the wearying confrontation with aging. The accoutrements of modern life—electronic devices and vehicles—have ceased to be tools that support them and have become instead the central fulcrums around which their lives wheel as they chase “cleanliness” and other high virtues of middle American life.

Melanie Page: Could you tell me a little about the origins of List? How did you begin this work?

Matthew Roberson: The book started as a series of stories. I originally figured all the stories would revolve around “middles”–being middle class, in the Midwest, and middle-aged, stuck in the middle between children and aging parents. As the book went on, the male character was between jobs. The parents eventually in the middle of a divorce. I was really taken with the title, Lucky Middle. But then I noticed that the real unifying element of all the stories were the lists. Every story was built around a list. So, I kept on with that. Continue reading →