First published 2019
Meet the guy from your MFA program who has read Infinite Jest nine and a half times. He rides the L train scribbling in his Moleskine notebook and hand rolls cigarettes outside Williamsburg coffee shops despite the wind. This insufferably confident literary wannabe takes it upon himself to explain the most important writers of Western literature, all of whom happen to be white men. He pontificates on Shakespeare's greatest mystery (how did a working class writer become so prolific without an MFA?), defines what makes something truly Kafkaesque, and delivers a minimalist analysis of Raymond Carver before critiquing his own New Yorker rejection letter. He teaches you to respond to Bartleby discussions with "I would prefer not to" and explains why all three famous Jonathans hate Twitter and live in Brooklyn. Through Venn diagrams, literary name dropping, and endless mansplaining, this fictional guide captures every pretentious literature student you've ever wanted to avoid at Brooklyn house parties.
Genres: satire, literary-fiction, american-fiction, contemporary, comedy, 21st-century, books-about-books, academia
Vibes: humorous, intimate, satirical, thought-provoking
Tropes: literary-commentary, satire
Setting: Brooklyn, Williamsburg
Period: 21st-century
272 pages · Paperback · Harper Perennial