Sam Lipsyte has always been a funny, engrossing writer, but with this latest novel the author of Home Land, Venus Drive and The Subject Steve is staking his claim as the city's singular source for mordant laughter.
The Ask is the story of Milo Burke, a more-or-less employed development officer at a small university whose further solvency depends on his wooing of one major, mysterious donor. The book discusses, with varying levels of terror, "work, war, sex, class, child rearing, romantic comedies, Benjamin Franklin, cooking shows on death row, and the eroticization of chicken wire." Sam will be here to discuss the book with his celebrated editor at FSG, Lorin Stein.
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Staff Picks
Y the Last Man Vol.1: Unmanned
Written by Jessica
by Brian K. Vaughan & Pia Guerra (Vertigo, $12.99)
Now that the tenth and final book in Vaughan's graphic novel epic has been released in paperback, it's a great time to start with number one. An unknown plague wipes out the male half of humankind, except for escape artist Yorick and his pet monkey, who quickly become hot commodities -- but it's not as fun as it sounds. Read it for the satisfying action, the clever plot twists, the Shakespearean allusions. Then start conversations about what it would mean for the Democratic party if the only politicians left were women.
Wolves of the Crescent Moon
Written by Sohaila
by Yousef Al-Mohaimeed (Penguin, $14.00)
A fantastic delirious meandering book about the connections among a eunuch, a Bedouin and a one-eyed orphan in Saudi Arabia. There are man-eating wolves and a lime green Rolls Royce. Oh yes.
The Mirror of the Sea
Written by Dustin
by Joseph Conrad (Marlboro Press, $10.95)
Conrad is such a gothic novelist, it's a suprising pleasure to read here his slow, conversational discussion of the sea and the sailing life. Of course, he indulges himself in some arch descriptions here and there, but the subject is dramatic enough to almost demand it. This amorphous memoir-essay is an especially satisfying read for anyone who's ever been shaded by sail.
Now that the tenth and final book in Vaughan's graphic novel epic has been released in paperback, it's a great time to start with number one. An unknown plague wipes out the male half of humankind, except for escape artist Yorick and his pet monkey, who quickly become hot commodities -- but it's not as fun as it sounds. Read it for the satisfying action, the clever plot twists, the Shakespearean allusions. Then start conversations about what it would mean for the Democratic party if the only politicians left were women.
A fantastic delirious meandering book about the connections among a eunuch, a Bedouin and a one-eyed orphan in Saudi Arabia. There are man-eating wolves and a lime green Rolls Royce. Oh yes.
Conrad is such a gothic novelist, it's a suprising pleasure to read here his slow, conversational discussion of the sea and the sailing life. Of course, he indulges himself in some arch descriptions here and there, but the subject is dramatic enough to almost demand it. This amorphous memoir-essay is an especially satisfying read for anyone who's ever been shaded by sail.