Jeff Alessandrelli’s And Yet is one of the year’s most innovatively told novels.
Patrick Cottrell wrote of the book:
“And Yet asks, What might be gained or lost from living one’s life via text instead of directly participating in the world? Through aphorism, anecdote, observation, and narrative, Alessandrelli examines the complex entanglements of sexuality and desire. A profound and concise work of self-construction.”
In his own words, here is Jeff Alessandrelli’s Book Notes music playlist for his novel And Yet:
And Yet is a book about shyness and selfhood and sex and stability and identity and selfhood. It’s also a book about unoriginality, as the nameless protagonist mostly exists in books and magazines and albums. There are dozens of references in the book, from Ovid to Young Thug to Young Jean Lee to Stendhal to Susan Sontag. The protagonist uses his interiority as both sword and shield. While writing the book I had David Markson in mind, one of my favorite writers, as well as Janet Malcolm and Joe Moran (the author of an amazing book on shyness).
The below is a list of songs that informed And Yet, some of which are directly parsed in the text, others which seem to inform the way the protagonist engages (or refuses to engage) with the world.
Jane’s Addiction—Mountain Song
Prudery is a word that comes up again and again in the book. From a young age And Yet’s protagonist is afraid of and enticed by sex. Being that it consists of “a sculpture of nude female conjoined twins, large breasts prevalent, on an oversized rocking chair with their heads engulfed in billowing flames,” the cover for Jane’s Addiction’s 1988 album Nothing Shocking is mentioned in the book’s opening paragraph. It’s a stand in for what the protagonist desires out of life and allows himself to desire. “Mountain Song” is I think the best song on Nothing’s Shocking, followed by “Jane Says.”
Young Thug—Slime Shit (feat. Yak Gotti, Duke & Peewee Roscoe)
From an early section in the book:
Rapper Young Thug on his sexual inclinations with former fiancée Jerrika Karlae:
‘“We wasn’t doing it on like no it’s too early to have sex shit,’” he explains. ‘“I don’t care for sex that much. I’ve never actually had sex with her. Never ever. Our first time doin’ grown stuff, she did it. She pulled me to the room and was like ‘come here.”’
“‘Karlae stated that initially she thought he was “weird” for not having sex, but went on to explain why that made her more attracted to Thugga.”’
To be fair, Young Thug—born August 16, 1991—has six children by four different women and in 2018 announced a new name change, to SEX.
Daddy Issues—I’m Not
If you want
You can read my diary
I’ve got nothing left to lose
I’ve been losing since I lost my virginity
Just another pretty face, I’m no use
. . .
They wouldn’t get it sweetheart, please don’t tell on me
I let my memories fall through
It’s not my fault
I blame my sexuality
I feel promiscuous but maybe I’m a prude
A melodic, fast paced rocker, some of the lyrics to this song—by the great Nashville grungesque band Daddy Issues— are ones that the protagonist struggles with. Once he does start having sex he questions his reasons and intentions…and he answers those musings by having more sex, which only begets more questions. “I feel promiscuous but maybe I’m a prude” are touchstone lines from the song, ones that the protagonist wholesale identifies with early in the text.
Hiroshi Yoshimura—Horizon I’ve Ever Seen Before
I wrote the bulk of And Yet in 2018 and it had a weird, fractious path to publication. (More on that here, if you’re interested.) While writing the book, though—and through multiple subsequent revisions—I listened to Japanese composer Hiroshi Yoshimura’s music, his albums Pier & Loft and Green and Music for Nine Post Cards. Whether you’re writing or driving or something else entirely, I highly recommend his music.
Neutral Milk Hotel—Song Against Sex
Eventually And Yet’s protagonist embarks on a year-long chastity vow…that eventually turns into three years. During that period this song—taken from Neutral Milk Hotel’s debut album On Avery Island— is important to the protagonist, both consciously and subconsciously. Discussing the impetus for the song upon On Avery Island’s release, Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum stated, “I’m grossed out about sex being used as a tool for power, about people not giving a shit about who they’re putting their dick into . . . I’ve known a lot of people that have been heavily damaged by some asshole’s drunken hard-on.”
Gang of Four—Natural’s Not In It
Midway through And Yet the protagonist questions the naturality of sex at all. This Gang of Four song does the same thing, albeit through a consumerist lens. “Repackaged sex your interest” is “Natural’s Not In It’s” chorus, with Jon King, the band’s singer, asserting in one of the verses: “Fornication makes you happy/ No escape from society/ Natural is not in it/ Your relations are of power.”
Sex Is Not a Natural Act and Other Essays by sexologist Leonore Tiefer is a book that And Yet’s protagonist reads at one point. He isn’t sure what to make of it.
The Promise Ring—Nothing Feels Good
Perhaps unsurprisingly, at a certain point emo music shows up in And Yet. The protagonist is unsure how to access what a “mature” feeling is exactly, and what that can or should mean for him. After some initial dead-ends, he eventually finds a therapist (Larissa) who encourages him to change via not really listening to his problems in the first place. She’d rather talk about herself. Larissa thinks his pity party is redolent of so much first-world self-absorption and privilege. Unsurprisingly, the protagonist pushes back. From “Nothing Feels Good:”
I don’t know God
And I don’t know anyone
And I don’t know God
And I don’t know if anything at all will be all right
I’ve got my hands on the one end
And I don’t know where to put them
Herbie Hancock—Watermelon Man
And Yet ends on an upbeat note of sorts, with the protagonist having come to terms with both who he is and who he wants to be. In my opinion Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters is one of the most powerful albums ever, and this is my favorite song on it. Simultaneously melodic and discordant, it validates everything that I love about music. My hope for the protagonist of And Yet is that next time he encounters hesitancy or doubt in his life that he mentally plays the first three minutes of this song to himself in his head and thereby gains strength and courage.
Jeff Alessandrelli is the author of four books, most recently the poetry collection, Fur Not Light. His poetry and prose have been published in The American Poetry Review, Gulf Coast, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere. His reviews and interviews in The Rumpus, Kenyon Review, Rain Taxi, and more. He directs the nonprofit book press/record label Fonograf Editions.