The Weight of Nothing

Memory. Regret. Revenge. Forgiveness.

Steven Gillis’s second novel, The Weight of Nothing, explores these issues through the eyes of Bailey Finne, a gifted pianist who has nonetheless forsaken his talent to become a perpetual graduate student in art history. Niles Kelly, his somnambulistic friend with Albert Camus for a muse, is the heir to a fortune he has rejected, and he carries the burden of the unresolved deaths of both his father and lover at the hands of a mysterious bomber. Together, Bailey and Niles journey to Algiers to confront that which has haunted each of them for years. Following a tragic end to his time in North Africa, Bailey returns to his hometown in an effort to reconcile his familial losses, lack of ambition, and love for his girlfriend, Elizabeth.

Gillis skillfully weaves this compelling tale of mystery, love, music, and art into a dramatic story that unfolds as a spiritual odyssey in search of truth and redemption in the midst of unspeakable violence.