Art, Mystery

Art, Mystery is a novella by Mayo Thompson that was published by Drag City in 2017.

Background

Flyer for book launch and signing, March 15, 2018

• Thompson wrote the first draft in the late 1980s and reworked it in 2015
• On October 3, 2015 there was an event titled 'Art Mystery: An Evening with Mayo Thompson' where he read some excerpts from the book
• On October 17, 2017, the book was announced with a promotional video
• The book was released by Drag City on January 26, 2018
• There was a book launch and signing event on March 15, 2018. Photos
• Its sequel After Math was announced in 2023 and released September 1st

Editions

Graphic design: Dan Osborn

Hardcover

117 pages

Released in limited edition of 800.

• 
  Hardcover edition

Audiobook

• 
  Audiobook edition

Length: 124 minutes

Read by Mayo Thompson

Released September 1, 2023

• Chapter 1 excerpt

Retrospectives

Mayo Thompson, 2015

KC: A few nights ago you kicked off your stay with a reading at The Kitchen entitled “Art Mystery.” It was spooky.

MT: That’s because of how we worked the lights, and the suspense that attends the tale. The main deal is the story of a man who was somebody, now going on as best he can in a new world, after having seriously blotted his copybook in the old one.

KC: The protagonist, an “export agent” excellently named “Tile,” pursues an elusive Pollaiuolo painting in a not-too-distant future/past art-market twilight zone. It’s a kind of neo-noir that reminded me of Theodore Roszak’s Flicker, or even Robbe-Grillet... I’d guess any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental?

MT: The story plays in Tirana, Albania, originally set when it was still a Socialist republic—and departs from a true story. The hero is a professional soccer player who gets sent abroad during a cup game. That’s as far as any similarity goes. I wrote the first draft in the ’80s, and changed his name to protect him, and me. I reworked it this year.

Reviews

Taz

Diedrich Diederichsen

November 13, 2018