Then We Came To The Re-Read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, girls, I actually LOVE Joshua Ferris, as a writer. After all, I have read his first two books. I recall all the attendant hoopla, surrounding his first, "Then We Came To The End," and I enjoyed it thoroughly, particularly his smooth, lyric prose style.

About two years ago, when Jonathan Franzen first came out with "Freedom," there was a slew of commentary about White American male novelists; who was the Old Guard, and who the New. The New turned out to be Franzen, courtesy of "The Corrections," Michael Chabon, with 'Kavalier And Klay', Joshua Ferris with his book, and Junot Diaz, with "The Brief Life Of Oscar Wao."

After scanning all these lists, I made a note of them, and resolved to read or reread these books, to see if they were as good as purported, or whether or not they held up. Having found an inexpensive paperback copy of Ferris first book at the Strand, I decided to give it a reread, to see how I would react, now that the media frenzy over he and his book has died down.

It was interesting, to me, that the strongest memories I carried from this book, was the episode where Janine, the grief stricken mother, whose child is abducted from her bedroom a la Elizabeth Smart, but, who, unlike Smart, is not found alive, copes by going to the local McDonald's and sits in the play area amidst all the colored plastic balls. Or when a disgruntled laid-off worker, named Tom, returns to the office, toting a gun, and shoots at everyone. But what should have been an office carnage turns out to be nothing more than colored paint pellets staining people's clothes; though it does land him in the slammer on an assault charge.

Tom is also the character who got on my nerves--Mr. Straight Man, who resents that his wife left him, when maybe she had good reason. In what is supposed to be humorous, Ferris writes of a heated domestic exchange between the couple, where he says--I kid you not, and in caps, just as I will demonstrate--"I HOPE OVARIAN CANCER EATS OUT YOUR CUNT!" This, when one of the other characters, Lynn, the supervisor, is facing her own battle with breast cancer, and later passes on from ovarian. Ferris handles Lynn's situation so well and with such humanity and sensitivity that, while one may interpret Tom's remark as criticizing such blatant insensitivity, it just comes off--when you add into the mix the idea that all the women do on their weekends is shop and all the men do is watch sports on television--as too much testosterone being thrown around, just to show off. There is just a hint of homosexuality, via one, enigmatic character, but, God forbid there should be an actual one, which is ridiculous, when you consider, whether in New York or Chicago, where the novel takes place, the ad industry is bound to have a sturdy gay population. I guess Ferris was more interested in throwing around his testosterone than offering a balance to the satire.

Which is why, for me, this book did not hold up on a second reading. I admired the writing, but I just could not wait to finish the story. I really did not care about the people that much; what kept me going was Ferris' lyrical writing technique, which he honed even finer, in his better, though, not as well received, second novel, "The Unnamed."

However, the dripping testosterone is not nearly as bad here as in Joanthan Tropper's "This Is Where I Leave You," which I covered several years back.

What is it with these J writers?--
Jonathan Franzen--the King
Jonathan Lethem
Josshua Ferris
Jonathan Tropper
Jonathan Tollins--playwright
Jon Robin Baitz-playwright

If I ever publish under a REAL name, it makes me wonder if I should adopt a pseudonym with "J." Hey, my Confirmation name is "John," so there you are.
I was ahead of my time, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As the Raving Queen always should be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!