I cannot believe it has been eleven years--back in 2007--when Joshua Ferris made his impacting debut with, "Then We Came To The End." A sort of male ''Devil Wears Prada" humorous indictment of the advertising industry that Ferris had worked in, he got the whole workplace thing right, and sent it up in a manner more acerbic than embittered. Like many readers, I gobbled it up, and could not wait for more of Mr. Ferris.
That was the problem. I don't think he had anything more worth waiting for, as he said it all, in his first book. His second, "The Unnamed," in 2010, and his third, "To Rise Again At A Decent Hour," just four years ago, I could not tell you what they dealt with. I got through them, but barely. And now, comes the book to finish me with Ferris--"The Dinner Party, And Other Stories."
I admit, I am not big on short story collections, preferring novels, myself. The really gifted writers--like Shirley Jackson or Carson McCullers--can work in both spheres, but Ferris is not one of those. Even if one of the stories in here had been expanded to a novel, or even a novella, I am not sure it would have been successful.
In his acknowledgement, Ferris even admits his characters are "awful and male," but that does not mean they are hung up heteros. It would be too simplistic to dismiss them as that. All the men are straight. I get the impression Joshie is an open minded guy, but in his literary world, homosexuality, male and female, just does not exist. Now, there is something to think about.
The couples in this collection are united, but separate. In "A Night Out," a man and woman go their separate ways, with the ending having the woman walk into the most deadly and disturbing of traps, since Judith Rossner wrote "Looking For Mr. Goodbar," four decades ago. This was the story got to me the most, because it had a hard hitting narrative.
Likewise, when Mr. Ferris writes about the dirt and grind that comes with living in New York City, he gets it so right! But these moments are so few and far between. The rest is a collage of characters I could care less about; so much so, I could not wait to get this book over with.
Joshie, baby, what are you doing? Evidence shows you can still write, but find yourself a new subject fast, because you're losing readers, like me, with your redundant straight bullshit, which not many care about.
Save yourselves the trouble, girls, and pass this one over. And if Ferris turns out another book, I will be extra skeptical. His work is causing me problems.
Just like Zadie Smith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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