Never Mind Nirvana

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Never Mind Nirvana cover.

Never Mind Nirvana is the third novel by Mark Lindquist, published in 2000.

[edit] Author and book background

Never Mind Nirvana is set in the Seattle music scene and chronicles the misadventures of a former musician who becomes a prosecutor. Stylistic quirks include real characters from the Seattle scene interacting with fictional characters. "One of the many pleasures of Never Mind Nirvana is in its rightness of local details.... Lindquist's penchant for the truth pays off, for his novel gives us a Seattle we can recognize." (Claire Dederer, Seattle Times) Fans include Peter Buck of R.E.M., filmmakers such as Peter Farrelly and Sandra Nettelbeck, and fellow authors such as Bret Easton Ellis and Tama Janowitz, all of whom have blurbs on the paperback.

"A well-written novel that's part John Grisham and part Nick Hornby. While Lindquist, a real-life prosecutor, can capture the wheeling and dealing of his profession better than most, his true talents lie in his ability to analyze situations and people with tremendous verve and wit. Much like Hornby's High Fidelity, this book scores most of its points with wry observations about sex and dating, clever metaphors, in-depth knowledge of American rock music and great dialog.... File under hip." (Eric Wittmershaus, Oakland Tribune)

[edit] Author readings

LA Weekly "Reading Pick of the Week" "Every detail, down to a stripper's mulitple piercings, rings true. Though not autographical per se, the novel, in part, parallels Lindquist's own life. Lindquist gained admittance to the literary Brat Pack, which included Jay McInerney and Bret Easton Ellis, with his first novel, Sad Movies, (1987). But after the publication of a second novel, Carnival Desires, Lindquist put his writing on hold to attend law school, and became a deputy prosecutor in the Pierce County Special Assault Unit. His first-hand knowledge of legal procedure as well as the Seattle rock scene, and his sense of irony combined with an ability to nail a character's quirks make Never Mind Nirvana laugh-aloud hilarious. In addition, the reading will be a homecoming of sorts: Lindquist spent much of the mid-'80s in Los Angeles as a screenwriter, alternately hobnobbing with the movie-biz elite (including then love interest Molly Ringwald) and slumming around the underground Hollywood rock scene (he was a fixture at L7 gigs and after-hours haunts like the Zero One). At readings, Lindquist's delivery is deadpan and witty." (Pleasant Gehman, LA Weekly)