Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore‘s exhilarating new novel is about struggling to find hope in the ruins of everyday San Francisco — battling roaches, Bikram Yoga, chronically bad sex, NPR, internet cruising, tweakers, the cops, $100 bills, chronic pain, the gay vote, vegan restaurants, and incest, with the help of air-raid sirens, herbal medicine, late-night epiphanies, sea lions, and sleeping pills. So Many Ways to Sleep Badly unveils a gender-bending queer world where nothing flows smoothly, except for those sudden moments when everything becomes lighter or brighter or easier to imagine.

Tuesday, December 2, 7:00 p.m. (with Jennifer Natalya Fink)
Bridge Street Books
2814 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 965-5200

“A gender-bending novel [that] unearths subjects still relatively
untouched in popular culture… you’re not going to be reading
anything similar elsewhere.”
– The Times (London)

“Mattilda has taken a snapshot from the start of this decade, straight
from the voices of queer realities in San Francisco, and distilled it
into a glorious rant about surviving and dealing with life.”
- The Skinny (Edinburgh)

“The rapid-fire, honest glimpse into the post-gay ruins of San
Francisco will likely break even the toughest punk heart.”
– NOW Magazine (Toronto)

“Shows readers a San Francisco that Frommer’s doesn’t know about.”
– San Francisco Bay Guardian

“Deep in a left-wing analysis of lawless sexuality.”
- SF Weekly