"The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl"

Bart Yates is the Alex Award-winning author of novels including Leave Myself Behind, The Brothers Bishop, and The Third Hill North of Town, written as Noah Bly. He is also a musician, and plays clarinet, saxophone, and bass guitar. He lives in Iowa City, IA.

Yates applied the Page 69 Test to his new novel, The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl, and reported the following:

Page 69 of my book starts off with part of a scene that takes place in 1950, in a movie theater in Des Moines. The three main characters in the novel--Isaac Dahl (the narrator), Agnes (Isaac's twin sister), and Bo (Isaac's best friend)--are seated together in the same row of the theater, along with other Dahl family members, watching Walt Disney's Cinderella and squabbling amongst themselves instead of paying attention to the movie.

For somebody wanting to get an idea of what my book is about, page 69 is a great place to start. It features most of Isaac's family, and captures the playful spirit and complexity of their relationships. They're all smart, witty people who love each other deeply but also get on each other's nerves all the time---especially when it comes to the platonic love triangle of Isaac, Agnes, and Bo.

Visit Bart Yates's website.

--Marshal Zeringue