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From Publishers Weekly
Like many a hip young literary antihero these days, the protagonist of this hilarious if aimless debut is sunk in slacker anomie. Shane has a monotonous temp job at an insurance agency, where he is supposed to alphabetize paperwork but instead spends his time sleeping on the toilet. After work, he is besieged by a gallery of grotesques: a vapid girlfriend who sexually brutalizes him; an absurdly macho neighbor with a leather-clad guinea pig for a sex slave; and his dentist's deaf assistant, who sings atonal karaoke, teaches him to sign obscenities and furnishes a wispy narrative thread by getting murdered. In a world both banal and assaultive, Shane can only drink, steal salt shakers and cultivate his sense of irony; "[t]here's only so much you can do," he shrugs, "and even that's not worth the trouble." Shane's malaise doesn't feel earned; job aside, there are just too many gonzo goings-on—the landlord, for instance, is paying him to have sex with his wife—for him to feel so listless. There's not much to Shane besides a defiant dejectedness, but from that Neilan spins many sparkling comic riffs on the tawdriness and sterility of American life. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Shane's a numb loser in a city full of freaks. He learned to swear in sign language so he could converse with his dentist's deaf hygienist, but now she's dead, and the police want answers and fluid samples. When it's not sending up crime novels, the narrative satirizes soulless corporate life, but Shane is hard to take either way. In a rare moment of honest assessment, he notes, "I have always thought of people as punch lines." And that's what this book is: an onrushing series of twisted gags, some of them hilarious, others not so much. (Neilan would be funnier if he wasn't so smugly sure of how funny he is.) A highlight: "And then there was some sex . . . We were like two dead fish being slapped together by an off-duty clown." Remember those "Deep Thoughts with Jack Handey" throwaways that used to run between sketches on Saturday Night Live? This is a (barely) novel-length version of that kind of humor. In other words, juvenile fun for undiscerning lads with two hours to kill. A mystery for the Maxim generation. Frank Sennett
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely for the cynic,
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This review is from: Apathy and Other Small Victories (Hardcover)
I loved this book, I come from a family of cynics, and from the quote I've heard "Behind every cynic is a disappointed optimist" I can only gather that the lead character Shane must have had his share of disappointments in his life. He doesn't care about ANYTHING, despite that, he still has to find a way out of the murder he's accused of since being in jail would still be worse... I bought this book before a long flight, and I can whole heartedly say I enjoyed it, and if I see another Neilan book, would definitely be interested in it
5.0 out of 5 stars
My new favorite novel,
This review is from: Apathy and Other Small Victories (Paperback)
I loved this book so much, I was sad to finish it, so funny, I definitely need more of this.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funniest Book I've Ever Read...,
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This review is from: Apathy and Other Small Victories (Paperback)
This was without a doubt, the funniest book I have ever read. I laughed out loud and at times, had tears running down my face from excessive laughter. It also keeps you guessing throughout as to who was behind the mysterious murder.Very entertaining read, I have and will continue to recommend it to anyone.
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