Jeff Abell @ 2007-12-16
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$13.95 |
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I've always thought that American literature (and movies) needed a special genre called The Chump. You know, basically nice guys who just can't catch a break, like Jimmy Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life." Sam Pulsifer, the main character in Brock Clarke's novel is such a character. This poor schmuck is everybody else's tool, it seems. Sent to jail as a teen for an accidental fire, he's harassed at every turn. It takes a few chapters to figure it out, but Clarke isn't just interested in telling a classic tale of a basically nice guy who gets kicked around. He's also writing a book about the idea that "everybody has their story," and in a day when talk-show TV and the internet make divulging those stories to the public easier all the time, well, Sam's in for a rough ride. Look at it too closely, and Sam's complaining could get annoying, but once you realize that the book is wickedly funny, well, you'll find yourself laughing out loud, or at least I did. Clarke even turns his caustic vision on himself, when Sam almost buys a copy of Clarke's earlier novel "The Ordinary White Boy," but rejects it as a waste of time. A good comic novel is never a waste of time, and Clarke has produced a beaut.