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A review by tdstorm
The Ask by Sam Lipsyte
4.0
The protagonist of this novel is an interesting guy. He's witty, well-educated, liberal, and relatively self-aware, but he's also a jackass. Lipsyte does a good job keeping him a real person, even while the comedy flattens many of the supporting characters. In fact, some of the funniest characters are the least complex. Bernie, the protagonist's son, is hilarious, as are his coworkers Horace and Vargina. I don't have complaints with these characters; I'm just noting that comedy seems to rely on a fair share of one-dimensional supporting cast members.
What Lipsyte doesn't do with his protagonist is imbue him with unrealistic amounts of eagle-eyed hindsight. I like that. Too many first person narrator's have excessive psychological insight. Lipsyte's guy is damaged and things are falling apart around him. As with any narrator who would relay his own downfall, he has a humble, self-deprecating voice. But it's not a wise voice. And that's refreshing.
It's also somewhat refreshing that Lipsyte doesn't feel the need to redeem his character or to have the plot arc curl back up toward a restorative ending. But in the end, it kind of feels like the author is resisting that urge, like he's refusing to give us any redemption because too often stories deliver such redemption. I admire that impulse to fight what's been done, but the price is an ending that feels inconclusive and a character that hasn't really transformed much. I admit, though: I'm a sucker for positive transformation in stories.
The NYT blurb on the back cover of my edition is a good summation of this one: "This book is a success: not only the belly-laughs but also the sadness attendant upon the cultural failure it describes."
What Lipsyte doesn't do with his protagonist is imbue him with unrealistic amounts of eagle-eyed hindsight. I like that. Too many first person narrator's have excessive psychological insight. Lipsyte's guy is damaged and things are falling apart around him. As with any narrator who would relay his own downfall, he has a humble, self-deprecating voice. But it's not a wise voice. And that's refreshing.
It's also somewhat refreshing that Lipsyte doesn't feel the need to redeem his character or to have the plot arc curl back up toward a restorative ending. But in the end, it kind of feels like the author is resisting that urge, like he's refusing to give us any redemption because too often stories deliver such redemption. I admire that impulse to fight what's been done, but the price is an ending that feels inconclusive and a character that hasn't really transformed much. I admit, though: I'm a sucker for positive transformation in stories.
The NYT blurb on the back cover of my edition is a good summation of this one: "This book is a success: not only the belly-laughs but also the sadness attendant upon the cultural failure it describes."