Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same

"The deep and universal desire for connectedness is explored here in stunningly original ways that speak to us all...an exciting debut by one of America's finest young writers."-Robert Olen Butler

Troubled Cesar leaves his gangbanging life behind in Los Angeles to help his mother reconnect with her estranged family in rural Alaska, where she hopes they both can carve out a fresh start. When Cesar arrives, he meets his college dropout cousin, Go-Boy, who believes he's part of a good world conspiracy and who bets Cesar he will stay in Alaska for a year.

Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same is the account of two unlikely cousins and their parallel journeys through guilt and loneliness into the bonds of friendship. Set in a location like no other, the setting inevitably becomes its own character, pushing and pulling against Cesar and Go-boy as they struggle with the quirky challenges of life in Unalakleet, Alaska. With his absent father and an older brother in prison for a gang murder, Cesar is badly in need of a male role-model and the acceptance of friends and family.

In his insightful and thoroughly engaging debut, Mattox Roesch has created a fresh, appealing voice along with a wonderful cast of characters. Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same tells the surprising story of a young man finding his way and his place in a world that can seem both too large and too small. What Cesar finally discovers is the power of friendship and the potential positive strength that springs from a tight-knit community. He learns the ways in which becoming a part of that community, though at times scary and restrictive, can also be fulfilling and even exhilarating.

Mattox Roesch lived in Minneapolis for ten years where he played drums in an indie rock band, designed and peddled skateboards, and founded a T-shirt printing business. His award-winning fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, including The Missouri Review. He and his wife now live in Unalakleet, Alaska.