Season 4 Reading Series: Cassettes, Secrets, and Small-Town Mysteries: Matthew Fiander Reads from His Novel, ‘Ringing in Your Ears’

Rock Is Lit
Written By Christy Hallberg

In this episode of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Matthew Fiander reads from and discusses ‘Ringing in Your Ears’, his ‘90s-set debut novel about grief, family secrets, and a teenage girl’s search for truth through music and memory.

Matthew Fiander

Matthew Fiander’s fiction has appeared in ‘Story Magazine’, ‘Mid-American Review’, ‘Zone 3’, ‘Willow Springs’, ‘The Massachusetts Review’, ‘Southern Indiana Review’, ‘South Carolina Review’, ‘Reckon Review’, and elsewhere. He has also written for ‘The New York Times’, PopMatters, and other outlets. His debut novel, ‘Ringing in Your Ears’, was published by Main Street Rag. Fiander currently lives and works in North Carolina.

About the Episode

EPISODE SUMMARY:

In this episode, Matthew Fiander joins the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series to discuss and read from his debut novel, ‘Ringing in Your Ears’. Set in a Boston suburb during the early ‘90s, the story follows Louise “Blue” Cleary as she navigates the emotional aftermath of her sister Christine’s mysterious death. Already struggling to fit in as a girl barred from playing baseball and an umpire facing hostility from local parents, Blue’s grief sends her on a journey to uncover truths about her sister—and herself. With Christine’s cassette tapes as clues, Blue’s search reveals buried secrets about her family and the dark underbelly of their seemingly idyllic town.

 

MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:

  • Rock is Lit theme music

  • [Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”

  • Buffalo Tom “Taillights Fade”

  • Pearl Jam “Once”

  • Nirvana “All Apologies”

  • [Guitar Instrumental Beat] Sad Rock [Free Use Music] Punch Deck—“I Can’t Stop”

  • Rock is Lit theme music

 

LINKS:

Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451

Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350

Matthew Fiander on Facebook: @MatthewFiander

Matthew Fiander on Twitter: @mattfiander

Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislit

Christy Alexander Hallberg on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg

Rock is Lit on Instagram: @rockislitpodcast

 

 

Matt Fiander’s novel, ‘Ringing in Your Ears’, gets its title from a lyric in the Buffalo Tom song “Taillights Fade”

 
Christy Hallberg

Christy Alexander Hallberg is the author of the award-winning novel ‘Searching for Jimmy Page’ and host of Rock is Lit, the first and only podcast devoted to rock novels.

https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/
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