Christopher Patrick Steffen

The End of All Things Planned for Christopher Patrick Steffen

A descent into the suburban nihilism of the mid 2000s, Christopher Patrick Steffen's debut novel journeys through keg parties, rock shows, and mundane day jobs. Blake is a fledgling writer, whose novel manuscript has recently been deleted by his girlfriend. His artist brother, Taylor, hasn't finished a painting since the end of his own relationship. Their father, Albert, can't seem to communicate with either of his artistic children, while their mother, Karen, is an alcoholic lost in daydreams and memories. As the story unfolds from the different characters' perspectives, common connective threads are drawn between family members: alcoholism, anxiety, a struggle to connect with others in lasting relationships.