Electric and Mad and Brave

by Tom Pitts

Matt Lacey is in a mental health facility recovering from a breakdown.

In an attempt to work through a mess of conflicting thoughts and feelings, he writes, unwinding the story of his adolescence with the beautiful, impassive, fierce Christina.

As Matt delves into the more agonising moments of his past, he has to learn to look directly at the pain and love that have made him who he is now.

Brazenly wearing its heart on its sleeve, Electric and Mad and Brave is a heightened and technicolour story about the soaring joy and numbing nightmare of being young and hopelessly in love.


Praise for Electric and Mad and Brave

'A moving and beautifully observed story of the tortures of youth. Quite wonderful.' - Nick Cave

An incredible debut, captivating and perfectly paced, Electric and Mad and Brave is everything we all love about Australian fiction. Pitts' writing is delightfully eerie, full of twists and revelations I never saw coming. We are reminded that the past never really leaves us and the most complicated relationship we ever have is the one with ourselves. - Jessie Stephens

'Hauntingly beautiful, confronting to the point of despair and breathtaking in its originality.' - Kerry Armstrong

'A stunningly tender, brave debut from a deeply talented new Australian writer.' - Clare Bowditch

Genres: Contemporary, Mental Health, Fiction

325 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 26, 2022

About the author

Tom Pitts is a Melbourne-based writer, teacher, sound designer and musician. Electric and Mad and Brave is his first novel.

Reviews

[Nat K · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The heart cannot retreat."

What happens when you start to fall apart from the inside out? When your emotions take over and nothing is ever the same?

”All of us are guilty of hiding parts we don’t want people to see...”

Matt Lacey is unwell. At twenty eight, he breaks down in the midst of teaching at a local primary school, ”discovered weeping in a room full of students”, and is awarded mental health leave. It’s such a sad and disturbing picture isn’t it? Who to feel more empathy for, the young teacher with the weight of his emotions on his shoulders which he can no longer carry, or the youngsters who would have no idea how to deal with this situation.

Finding himself in the South Yarra Clinic for Emotional Health and Wellbeing, Matt is encouraged by his therapist to write his thoughts and feelings into a journal. The idea being that by seeing these thoughts on paper, and not simply reliving events in his head, will somehow set him free and allow him to finally find peace.

Via these diary-like entries, the events that led Matt from being a pre-teen to the breakdown in his mid-20s are shared with us. Through his eyes we meet Christina. The two spend school holidays together as their parents are friends. It starts as the usual boy germs/girl germs friendship, until eventually the two become inseparable. But both Matt and Christina's parents have complicated emotional lives of their own, messy, which culminates in all sorts of grief, guilt and madness. Too much for fourteen and fifteen years olds to be able to deal with.

”I discovered that grief changes size.”

This book shows that there are scars that people carry around with them forever, even when others assume that a person should have moved on. As if there is a magic amount of time that elapses, whereby everything is ok. Or should be forgotten and not spoken of.

The light is shone on how tenuous our emotions are, and how delicate. Yes, you can die of a broken heart. Yes, grief can lead to madness. There are some confronting scenes, made more so in that they are raw and brutally honest.

"You pull one thread and the thing unravels."

This is a seriously intense and blinding debut novel from Tom Pitts. He's not scared to take us through murky waters, and it's both exhausting and thought provoking. But so worthwhile. I love reading new work from Aussie Writers and I hope this gets the audience it deserves.

4.5 stars ⭐

” But things are never simple. The heart cannot retreat - true enough. It can, however, be annihilated.”

[kaitlyns_library · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written novel about a person called Matt Lacey who is recovering from a traumatic experience in a mental health facility. I really engaged with this novel quite well and wanted to uncover Matt’s past and understand what happened to him. I liked the pacing and wanted to keep reading more. As the timeline in this book is non-linear, it took some time for me to adjust and figure out what was happening. This book can be quite triggering, please double check content before reading.

Oh additionally, this book came with a QR code that plays songs that inspired the story, which I thought was pretty cool.

[Edwina Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
I will admit I had never heard of this novel nor its writer, but I was gifted this book in a work book club. I found the beginnings quite difficult to follow but goodness me the second half is excellent. I then realised the disjointed story line is the point. Writing is fantastic, story is full of twists and turns you will not see coming. An excellent debut.

[Deborah (debbishdotcom) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot I liked about Electric and Mad and Brave by Tom Pitts (and my full review includes a lot of insightful quotes from the book).

I very much liked our lead Matt, who's in a mental health in-patient facility. We learn it's his third time and as a result it probably doesn't need to be said, but nevertheless this book comes with a big trigger warning relating to mental illness and self-harm.

I liked the way Pitts portrays mental illness and wellness and how the events of our lives can impact on us and how we view everything else. The concept of cause and effect. Of action, reaction and guilt.

This book is confronting in parts, but felt sympathetic and tender.

3.5 stars

Read the full review on my website: https://www.debbish.com/books-literat...

[Viktoria Szilagyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gripping Australian drama is the debut novel of Tom Pitts, exploring mental illness and the strength of the human heart and brain. Matt and Christina’s childhood friendship grows in to teenage love as they navigate adolescence, grief, trauma and dysfunctional parents. A decade later, Matt is still stuck in the past, getting treatment in a psychiatric hospital. Can he ever let go? How could he? It’s written with a great depth of understanding and leaves you holding your breath in hope of resolution. If you enjoy Trent Dalton and Craig Silvey’s books, you’ll love it. Definitely recommend it.

[Olivia Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel sits clearly within the niche of books I particularly enjoy– introspective sad guy/gal grapples with mental health and relationships. Pitts uses diary entries to tell this story, written by the protagonist while living in an in-patient clinic for a mental health breakdown. This is not a form I usually enjoy, but it's done quite well here and creates the opportunity for a series of surprising (at least to me) plot developments in the final quarter.

This would be a great choice for anyone who enjoyed Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss, or Jessie Stephen's Something Bad Is Going To Happen.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant and incredibly well written story filled with heartache, angst and understanding. This is a book you will be unable to put down. Phenomenal, heartachenly sad and undoubtedly a must read.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary debut that bruised my heart and reminded me how vibrant life once felt. I can’t stop thinking about it.

[Hayley Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan. I found it very boring. It dragged on. Christina was boring and unlikeable as was Ali. I was really looking forward to this but I don't recommend it.

[Hodarasate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sad and beautiful book that will stay with me.

[Saskia Cave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful, thoughtful and engaging book. I could not put it down! Had me giggling with nostalgia and crying and heartbroken. Can not recommend it more!

[Kristy Wallis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.

[Muireann Mc Gowan Fallon · Rating 5 out of 5]

In world full of people so deeply impacted by the traumas that life bring and the mental health struggles that result, it was refreshing to read a novel that shone a spotlight on to these very real issues, rather than ignoring them or sweeping them under the carpet, as is unfortunately the norm in our society.

I feel like this novel is universally relatable to everyone’s life in some shape or form whether it is from their own life experiences or from those of the people close to them.

A must read for all as an important reminder of the uncertainty and struggles faced by teenagers everyday and the fall-out that can occur from shying away from creating open, honest and supportive relationships between adults and children to help them to navigate everything they may face in life.

A truly real, powerful and devastating story that reminds you that you are stronger than you know and that it is possible to pull yourself out of the dark when you are ready for a true awakening that helps you to ultimately lead a more authentic and fulfilling life.

[Devon May May · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There are people who act and people who don’t. There are people who are scared of action because action is terrifying and it’s easier to look away…”

Recovering from multiple breakdowns, Matt Lacey is in a mental hospital. Attempting to unravel the mess of conflicting thoughts and feelings, he writes. But as he delves into the more agonising moments of his past, he must learn to look directly at the pain and love that made him who he is now. The story of his adolescence unravels, and the beautiful, impassive, fierce Christina is brought into his memories once again.

Electric and Mad and Brave wears its heart on its sleeve, laced with moments that are confronting, heartbreaking, and brave. Pitts captures the narrative of a man trapped in the moments of his past and tenderly tells us his story. The story has a slower pace, but as the story unfolds there plenty of twists and revelations.

Electric and Mad and Brave is perfect for those who love insightful, sensitive writing (like, for example, Trent Dalton’s Boy Swallows Universe).

——
Thank you to Pan Macmillan Australia for the review copy of this book.

[Melanie Maree · Rating 5 out of 5]

In all honesty I did not read this book. I listened to the audio - as provided by my local library and Belinda Books. IT IS THE BEST DAMN BOOK IVE EVER LISTENED TO!

The author reads this book to you with such passion. He wrote the book so he knows when to read fast, slow, quietly, with anger. The inflection in his voice is perfection.

The writing is divine…taking me right into the lives of the characters. I will not quote here as I don’t have the physical book to do so…but I did nod my head in admiration at so many well structured strings of words.

A golden nugget given by listening rather than reading is the three songs gifted at the end of the novel. A talented author and musician - just made me love it all more!

I think I’m going to have to buy the book - so I can read it, hoping to extend the experience I’ve already had with Christina, Matt and Connie. A great book is one you don’t want to let go!

[Sarah Cole]

We follow Matt who has just been placed in a South Yarra Mental Health Facility in Melbourne, Victoria. He's told to keep a journal and he finds himself reflecting on his childhood experiences with a girl called Christina.

We follow Matt and Christina as teens and see Christina's mother trying to deal with the death of her husband. It's interesting to follow Matt's observations and reflections , all the while wondering why he's in the Mental Health Facility.

Christina appears wild and Matt is the voice of reason who gets swept up in her. There is also a sadness in Matt and Christina that lurks around them both as the story unfolds.

Be prepared there are some themes and images that may upset some readers, so do your research before reading this one.

What a book though- once you start it you just have to finish it.

Thank -you Pan Macmillan for sending me this copy to read and review.

[Lee Kofman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s pretty much the case of a literary novel that is also a page turner. It offers a nuanced and fresh exploration of various shades of mental illness and finely captures what’s it like to be an adolescent - the glory and the horror of it. Pitts achieves all this particularly via his masterful use of language. Like the title, his prose is often electric and mad and brave. A special treat was to find a sympathetically rendered, complex secondary character who is Israeli. With all our talk of diversity, these migrants to Australia are nowhere to be seen in literature even though there are quite a few of us around. Finally, I was completely won over by the writer’s sense of humour that punctuated even some of the darkest corners of this book.

[Tim Goldsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!
Matt Lacey writes from the psychiatric ward where he is recovering from another episode. As Matt receives care, he and the reader are taken through the journey of a teenage boy attempting to make sense of the complex relationships of his parents & another couple, his own attraction to that couple's daughter Christina, and the tempestuous relationship the two teens have amidst this all.
This is a non-linear story and one where the protagonist and their fragile mental state means we never quite know what is the truth and what is being shaped by other factors?
This is a heartbreaking novel, where we see how the sins of parents are often meted out on their children. It's far from a happy read, but I found it a really compelling story. It makes me want to hug my kids & love my wife!

[Nardia Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderfully written debut novel for this Australian author. You’ve read the blurb so no need to revisit what the book is about but for a fictional book, it did make me think it was a lot like a non fiction.

Written in the context of a journal, in the mind of a young suicidal man, we travel with him to where it all began for him and join his journey to find his truth.

Stick it out: the book is slow a burn but the ending holds so much. 3 out of 5 due to parts needing to be cut more short and other parts that needed more from the author. But for a debut novel; I will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors work.

#guiltlessbookclub

[Book crazed mumma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars rounded down to 3

It took me a while to get into this book, the first 100 or so pages I struggled a bit but once I got into it I couldn’t put it down. I was glad I pushed through though

The writing style was different and sometimes I found it a little confusing as to what happened but I think that adds to the authenticity and style of the story.

It really reminds you of the torture that is your teen years and navigating your first love

Lots of triggers around mental health

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this, and though I found that the narration jumped around a bit in places, I was still captivated by this story. It felt like I, the reader, was uncovering truths as Matt had these same realisations simultaneously which made it feel authentic - it read like a non-fiction text. This is likely because the author writes descriptively in a way that elicits emotive response - I really felt for the characters even though I couldn't necessarily relate to the subject matter (thankfully). Some quite heavy themes in this.

[Katharine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pitts’ storytelling is truly captivating. The story is beautiful and awkward and sometimes tragic, but the way it’s told is somehow both amusing and haunting. Pitts’ characters are so rich and tangible one can relate and empathise even through unimaginable suffering. A fantastic novel with a wonderfully refreshing writing style. Highly recommended! Songs attached with the QR code are also fabulous, definitely staying tuned for more of Tom Pitts’ music releases too!

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not one for leaving reviews on sites, but I felt compelled to leave one for this book. Beautifully written, immediately relatable and serves up more than a few gut-punches that leave you on the floor but feeling better for it. The author somehow taps into the angst and powerful emotions of young love, while writing a completely original story. Quite remarkable, highly recommend!

[Alanna Pellarini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautifully written and engaging read which made it hard to put it down! The story is dark and humorous and really takes you on a journey that deals with mental health and trauma whilst being woven into a nostalgic and familiar feel of growing up in Australia during the 90's. The music released with this novel was an added bonus! This is definitely a must read.

[Dan Hawkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really love this novel, particularly the unreliable narration from the story's protagonist and how it distorts some of the events described throughout. The storytelling is beautiful and unpretentious, the plot heavy and shocking at times, but with well placed humour creating a nice balance and very enjoyable read.

[Karagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. Some big content warnings for mental illness - I found some parts of the book a bit triggering and I had to slow my pace down to look after myself, but overall an absolutely beautiful book, one of my favourites from this year.

[Breane Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a stunning book. Written with depth and nuance around the topic of mental illness. I held my breath through some parts. I found it deeply moving. Not a light read with such themes, but if you are up for something deeper then, please, read this book.

[🖤 J.R. BIFFIN 🖤 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Electric and Mad and Brave is insightful, beautifully written and powerful; full of twists and revelations I never saw coming. I loved Pitts’ deep and confronting writing style, the complexity and destructiveness of this story - an Author I will follow immediately.

[Sarah Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I created an account so I could rate this 5 stars and say I loved this book. Really looking forward to more from this exciting new author.

[Giuliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book and beautifully written with emotional clarity and depth. The story of a derailed coming-of-age and it’s lifelong repercussions, written with vividness and buoyancy.