About SWIM
Geoff Rickly’s debut novel Someone Who Isn’t Me is a feverish journey through the psyche of someone who no longer recognizes himself. When Geoff hears that a drug called ibogaine might be able to save him from his heroin addiction, he goes to a clinic in Mexico to confront the darkest and most destructive versions of himself. In this modern reimagining of the Divine Comedy, survival lurks in the darkest corners of Geoff’s brain, asking, will he make it? Can anyone?
About the Author
Geoff Rickly is the lead singer and songwriter of Thursday, No Devotion and United Nations. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and this is his debut novel.
What Authors & Artists Are Saying About SWIM
“A spiral staircase in a burning building.”
“A front-row seat to a feedback drenched lifestyle. Rickly blows up every rock star cliche and creates something indelible from the ashes. Redefining what it means to be a human being under both the pressures and inspirations of performance. It conjures an intimate interior of challenges within the epic dream-come-true backdrop.”
“Someone Who Isn’t Me is a special kind of contraband. In this hallucinatory debut, Geoff Rickly explores the dazzling and tragic allure of hard drugs. Rickly takes us on a spikey journey through the human psyche of a man who knows the world intimately, but no longer recognises himself in it. An outstanding debut, thrilling, fierce and hallucinatory. A book to shake your soul out.”
“This is the most compelling piece of writing I’ve read in a long time—bizarre, beautiful, mind-bending, and indelible. Every element in this book is wildly inventive and impactful, from its rollercoaster plot to the stripped-bare vulnerability. Rickly has written a new classic.”
“The modern literary novel is often a vapid fantasy, the author’s best guess as to what a lived life feels like. Someone Who Isn’t Me is the opposite. This is honey spilled on sandpaper. The pages are blistered and stained and tactile and true, they reek, they weep, they vomit, they scream. This book is a gift and a warning, an effigy for the living: Rickly performed an autopsy on himself and these are the coroner’s notes.”
Work With Me
Need writing or music mentorship, cinematic scoring, help with your upcoming novel, blurbs, song demos, or artist bios? For access to my 25 years of industry experience, book a personalized one-on-one session below.
Are you interested in an interview for an article, show or podcast about SWIM? Email me separately here.
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FAQs
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Lola, also known as “Ghost Kitty” or “Kittyface” is the feral cat I take care of and adore. She is also a character in my book, Someone Who Isn’t Me.
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My favorite current perfume is Musc Kublai Khan by Serge Lutens. But it’s always changing.
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I’ve always enjoyed wearing Alexandre Plokhov, Dries Van Noten, & vintage Helmut Lang.
