Apathy and Other Small Victories
ISBN-10: 0312352190
ISBN-13: 978-0312352196
Rating:
This book was recommended to me a bit hesitantly by a friend. Hesitantly because my taste is known to be at times almost random and she wasn't sure the type of humor in the book would quite fit to me. I have since decided the best way to describe the humor is something along the lines of calling it "a book narrated by the village idiot."
I liked it, though.
It's really sort of difficult to describe the plot, because it's a book where things aren't always as they seem. I think instead it's more fruitful to describe the main character and let you traverse the plot line on your own. And so I shall attempt to try.
Shane. A man who is as brilliant as he is dumb, perhaps a clear illustration of just how close genius and stupidity can really come. Cynical, witty, and good at running from both the truth and responsibility. His main defining trait is his apathy, or so he might say, personally I think his tendency to run from things is. And the entire book is spent running, though Shane never seems to know what he is running from exactly at any point. The force of paranoia is strong in this one, maybe some other cocktail of delusions besides.
The cast is fleshed out by a pair of asshole police detectives, an abusive "girlfriend," his dentist's deaf and smartass assistant, a landlord and fellow renters that seem handpicked from a bad Hollywood movie, and a myraid of other small characters whom Shane always picks the most colorful points to embellish on.
Shane is really good at embellishment. And being witty about it. Dramatic too.
The sort of humor the book is written in is that sharp wit, can cut like a knife if you take it too seriously. The characters are bizarrely ridiculous, and the writing style is like the rambling of a babbler. Not quite stream-of-consciousness, more like a person who says everything and nothing at all. Mixed with a bit of the nature of a compulsive liar. It's interesting, really ties the cast of unlikely characters and the book itself together. Shane's narrative makes it larger than life, dramatic, colorful--and then the reality behind things peaks through every once in awhile, just enough to keep you grounded and from flying to far off into his paranoid delusions.
I personally found the contrast intriguing. But I like that sort of thing. The humor can be a bit stupid at times, but even a reader who prefers things on the serious side (me) was able to enjoy it. So you might consider giving it a try :3.
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