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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | Fic (sf) Pendarvis, J. 2008 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
From the celebrated short-story writer Jack Pendarvis, a wholly original novel in which whales, giants, and robots abound.
A giant strides this land. A giant who builds robots, sweats mescaline, and kisses like a dream. From the rocky coast of New England to the golden hay fields of Stockton, California, he searches for America s greatest treasures. You might recognize him by the twinkle in his eye or the lustrous derby hat perched on top of his boulder-sized head.
But for a dude who has it all, he sure seems sad a lot of the time what s up with that? And what exactly does he plan to do with all of those wonderful treasures, besides cart them around the country in his enormous red wagon? Is there someone, a beautiful lady named Glorious Jones, perhaps, who has asked him to gather the bounty of America in order to prove his love for her?
There s no way to know, unless you buy Jack Pendarvis s awesome new novel and read it. Or have someone read it to you. Either way, laughter, wisdom, and good times are sure to follow "
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In his overly cute debut, author Pendarvis channels a hapless giant named Awesome who spends his days constructing robots, discovering a variety of uses for his bodily fluids and looking for those who will accept him. After having no luck with a group of teenagers who beat him to a pulp, and little luck with a Beluga whale he courts at the aquarium, the giant meets new neighbor Glorious Jones. Cut to their wedding a few pages later, where the giant botches his vows and is left at the altar. A madcap trek to prove his love and win back his fiancée ensues. While Pendarvis keeps the conceit furiously spinning, it's not enough to sustain the book, which fails to negotiate the perilous line between faux naïve and overly cute. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Pendarvis' previous fictional outings include two collections of well-received short stories distinguished by their quirky humor, and in his first published novel, he pushes the envelope of eccentricity even further. It's the tale of a derby-wearing giant who falls in love with a spirited woman named Glorious Jones. Awesome Mr. Awesome to his adoring public is renowned not only for his stature but for his proficiency in robotics, his hypnotic effect on women, and a predilection for glib philosophical musings. His world is thrown askew when Jones ditches him in a huff on their wedding day. To win back her affections, Awesome must meet several daunting challenges, including finding a literal needle in a haystack and finally resolving the meaning of life. Along the wildly unpredictable route of Awesome's picaresque journey, he crosses paths with a cult of mushroom-gobbling hippies, brawls with another giant, and engages in bawdy encounters with numerous love-struck women. Readers who like their fantasy on the lighter side will appreciate Pendarvis' laugh-out-loud wordplay and outlandish scenarios.--Hays, Carl Copyright 2008 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
His Own Biggest Fan A fable about a giant who tries to accomplish impossible tasks set for him by the woman he wants to marry. AWESOME By Jack Pendarvis. Illustrated by Michael Mitchell. 196 pp. MacAdam/Cage. $18. FUNNY is like pornography. You know it when you see it. One man's "Godot" is another man's God no. Being trapped in an elevator with Robin Williams is either a fantasy come true or makes you wish someone would come along and snip the cables. And so it is with Jack Pendarvis's determined first novel, "Awesome," a book that either is or isn't just that, depending upon your appetite for hyperbole and penis jokes. "Awesome" is a fable about a giant named Awesome who is also a giant narcissist. He spends most of his time (and ours) ruminating on his greatness. "I am a hale man with beautiful teeth," he declares in Chapter 1. "My doctor always remarks upon my superb physiognomy." A few paragraphs later, he describes his typical day: "Wake up. "Look at my handsome nakedness in my big mirror." And so it goes. At one point he wonders if perhaps his "awesomeness had expanded to such a degree that no one could aspire to it." It is a metaphorical question. After an aborted wedding, Awesome is sent on a symbolic quest by his wouldbe wife, a human named Glorious Jones, who thinks his ego needs to be cut down to size. Jones gives Awesome a list of impossible tasks - finding a needle in a haystack, locating the lost chord - he must complete in order to win her respect. So off Awesome goes, blowing his horn the entire way. Speaking of horns, Awesome is obsessed with his. Few pages elapse without a reference to, description of or tribute to the male anatomy. As the book begins we learn, for example, that Awesome requires release "12 times every day." A page later, Awesome explains that his car is "fueled by my ejaculate." Later he will lop off his manhood (don't ask) with a metal shed roof. This, unpredictably, does not diminish his priapism. Instead he, and most of the characters he encounters, becomes "hypnotized by the glow of the perfectly bare and pristine metallic hillock of my crotch." Pendarvis is a gifted, good-humored writer. He's wry and silly, his language full of provocative puns, eloquent blarney and tips of the hat to the absurdity of modern culture. At his best, he is neo-Chaucerian. If you're game, he'll show you a rude, jolly time in a universe at once fantastic and familiar. Fi fie foe fun! The issue is not the writing. The issue is the conceit. In a novel, one longs for a little expansion, and not the kind Pendarvis favors. Here, the "Seinfeld" rules seem to be in effect. Nobody learns anything. Awesome is really only interested in himself. This may be effective in a sitcom or a short story or a one-act play, but after a time, reading "Awesome" begins to feel a bit like eating risotto. Appetizing enough, but every bite_ tastes the same. "But what was I supposed to do," Awesome asks toward the conclusion of the book, "pretend not to be awesome?" He does not. In the end, having completed his scavenger hunt and tentatively reconciled with Glorious Jones, Awesome learns he must go back in time and relive his journey. Every meal, every decision, every emotion, every chore, moment by moment, mile by mile, "infinitely" in an endless loop. I feel for the guy. Allison Glock is the author of "Beauty Before Comfort," a memoir.
Library Journal Review
This satirical romp takes place in a somewhat puerile male fantasy world, with matter-of-fact prose that seems an uncanny hybrid of Philip K. Dick and Charles Bukowski. The main character, a giant named Awesome, is exceedingly conceited, annoying, and erratic yet strangely likable. The inherent tension created by the narrative gives readers a sharp sense of uncertainty about what might be possible in the bizarre world created by Pendarvis (Your Body Is Changing). His attempt to create this liminal state epitomizes the challenge of fiction. The revolving focus on the penis, Awesome's "wiener," and his attachment to and detachment from it, is a hilarious commentary on male phallocentric identity. Awesome exhibits a male subconscious that has become conscious and active; no opportunity is missed to add sexuality of any form to any relationship he has. The story is so over-the-top that savvy readers should pick up on its inherent playfulness and recognize it for the satire that it is. Others will just be irritated and offended. Recommended for larger fiction collections and academic libraries.--Henry Bankhead, Los Gatos P.L., CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.