On Bastille Day (that’s Wednesday, July 14), the newest Stewart literary triumph takes to the bookshelves — Matt Stewart’s debut novel, The French Revolution, will officially launch.  OK, I’m only slightly biased, since he is my son, but it’s a terrific read, and I hope you will check it out.  I stress, however, that although I write history, Matt’s book is fiction, and has only a notional connection to the actual French Revolution of 1789.

It’s the story of an over-the-top family in San Francisco and its struggles with fate and each other.  Remember, now, it’s fiction:  not about our family. 

The reviews have been great so far, and have been coming from all over the country.  A quick sampling:

San Francisco Chronicle:  “Stewart writes the sort of sentences that punch holes in a 140-character ceiling and sail out corkscrewing across the bay. From its first pages, which describe the laborious morning ritual of Esmeralda Van Twinkle – a persnickety, ravenous and extremely large cashier in a copy shop – the novel fondly recalls John Kennedy Toole’s 1980 classic ‘A Confederacy of Dunces.'”

[Like “A Confederacy of Dunces”!  Pretty cool!]

Kirkus Reviews:  “Best of all, Stewart’s language sparkles, sometimes riffing like Bob Dylan, always moving the narrative forward….easy entertainment in book form.”

[Dylan!]

SF Weekly:  “Stewart’s command of rhythm and descriptive detail sometimes astounds. His handling of character and tone [is] a cocktail of absurdity, whimsy, and occasional brutality.”

Boston Globe:  “Whimsically allegorical…amusing and quite clever.”

Not only does he write better than his old man, he’s the good-looking one. 

I married well.

So buy it!  Buy a bunch of them!  Give them to your friends!