“A Slow Drip (Waldorf, Maryland)”
“The following chapter is excerpted from Rotten, a book dealing with issues of consent & millennial sexual politics in the context of DIY music and arts communities, written by Mandy Brownholtz.”
7/27/2021 | Excerpt
Look At My Records! Podcast (Episode 184)
“For Episode 184, Zach Romano joins Tom as co-host for an interview with Brooklyn-based author Mandy Brownholtz…Tune in to the interview to hear about Brownholtz’s decision to self-publish the novel and what went into that process, the “Ooze” motif that follows Viv throughout the book, how her own experiences in the DIY community helped her develop the characters in Rotten, and more. Plus, Mandy picked some awesome records from Tom’s record collection from Times New Viking, Parquet Courts, Fiona Apple, and more.”
7/22/2021 | By Thomas Gallo
Rotten Is a Multifaceted Look at Surviving Sexual Assault and D.C.’s DIY Scene
“Along with the paper, Rotten name-drops numerous local haunts (Black Cat, Big Bear Cafe, Dodge City, etc.), which anchor the book to a time and place in the city’s not-so-distant history. Drawing from the local DIY music scene of Brownholtz’s youth, in the years before the #MeToo movement, Rotten takes readers on a tour of D.C. subculture while examining the complicated realities of sexual assault.”
7/19/2021 | By Sarah Marloff
Rotten Author Mandy Brownholtz Isn’t Interested in Writing The “Perfect Victim”
“As a protagonist, Viv isn’t really likable: she’s withholding, paranoid, and self-centered. Her story isn’t easily digestible either, and she worries that her actions after her assault will undermine her. Mandy tells me this was by design: ‘It was important to me that Viv was flawed and made bad choices sometimes because it didn’t make what happened to her any less wrong.’ More than a novel about sexual assault, Rotten is a story about Viv’s personal journey towards this realization.”
6/22/2021 | By Alyana Vera
Audiofemme’s Own Mandy Brownholtz Set to Release Debut DIY Novel Rotten
“Combining these ideas, and interrogating free will from the perspective of a vulnerable young girl exploring her city’s tight-knit DIY scene, proved to be a perfect vehicle for Brownholtz to introduce herself as a novelist. Building on her own experiences and that of friends adds a layer of authenticity and dark humor to the accurate portrait she renders in Rotten – not just of the DIY scene itself, but also to the archetypes that populate millennials’ lives.”
5/5/2021 | By Lindsey Rhoades
An Interview with Mandy Brownholtz, Author of Rotten
“Balancing a pool of characters, memories and present events, Brownholtz instructs form on the page. Playing with memory effortlessly, her flow of prose mimics natural cycles of remembrance. Sometimes what’s important is stimulated with a nail of detail, like smells of a busy restaurant or counting mosquito bites at a party, as Viv did.”
5/4/2021 | By Jane Lai