Alexa T. Dodd

First Make Mad

Fiction

“Danny Fitzpatrick has accomplished something only great authors can achieve with such seeming ease—he has written a story that confines itself to a single day and yet, in its subtle movements and plunging themes, feels epic in its reach. At times, his prose recalls Joyce in its lyricism and fluidity; other times, I was reminded of McCarthy’s deft handling of the real and the mundane. Ultimately, Fitzpatrick’s style is all his own, with descriptions both incisive and tender, with moments so intimate they ricochet into the universal. First Make Mad is a novella that reaches from heaven down to hell while remaining ever tethered to our corporal reality as it explores grief and love, fatherhood and faith, and the ways we navigate the fathomless complexities of human relationships.”