Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
The Verificationist
With a New Introduction by George Saunders
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year
It is early spring, and Tom has called together his fellow psychologists at the Krakower Institute for their biannual pancake supper—a chance for likeminded analysts to talk shop and casually unburden themselves over flapjacks. But, as Tom knows (at least subconsciously), his bra...more
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year
It is early spring, and Tom has called together his fellow psychologists at the Krakower Institute for their biannual pancake supper—a chance for likeminded analysts to talk shop and casually unburden themselves over flapjacks. But, as Tom knows (at least subconsciously), his bra...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
November 22nd 2011
by Picador
(first published March 27th 2001)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
752)
This is one of the few American novels I've read more than once, and one of even fewer published in the last 30 years that doesn't make me want to hold my head under a massive magnet until it erases all knowledge I have of the language. I first read the excerpt that was published in the new yorker in 99 or 2000 and couldn't believe that they actually published a decent piece of fiction. Astonishing. I waited for the book to come out and it far exceeded what the excerpt set up. So much humor plus...more
Life, I think, is like eating pancakes at night: full of compulsion, sweetness, regret, heaviness, strange incongruity, and, if the ingredients are just right, a surprising grace.
In this brilliant, witty, and insightful short novel by Donald Antrim, a group of psychologists meet for a pancake supper one evening. Not much happens. They talk both shop & gossip, they flirt and argue, and the narrator, whose narration is rich with astoundingly witty, inventive, insightful, sad, and hopeful lang...more
In this brilliant, witty, and insightful short novel by Donald Antrim, a group of psychologists meet for a pancake supper one evening. Not much happens. They talk both shop & gossip, they flirt and argue, and the narrator, whose narration is rich with astoundingly witty, inventive, insightful, sad, and hopeful lang...more
Jul 16, 2008
Phyllis
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
books-i-didn-t-like
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
If the Postal Service's Such Great Heights pops into your head more than once while reading The Verificationist don't be surprised, since most of the story takes place in the cloud layer of a pancake house. The protagonist--whose lengthy astral projection is the result of a homoerotic bear hug: floats as he admires his server, thinks about his wife, picks apart his co-workers, all while provoking a few debates within his introspective search for a comfortable state of maturity.
Antrim's brand of...more
Antrim's brand of...more
One review drew a strong parrallel between The Verificationist and the recent book, Atmospheric Disturbances. Of the two, I prefer the Verificationist because although it supposedly all takes place within a pancake house, things ACTUALLY HAPPEN in this book. The pilgrim's self-aware, pursues fantasies, and changes, whereas in Atmospheric Disturbances, as clever as it was, the book itself was one big disturbance. The protagonist moves around the planet but stays locked within his delusions.
To be...more
To be...more
Apr 11, 2013
Robert Wechsler
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
american-lit
This is one of the most successful novels in terms of employing surreal approaches. One reason seems to be that the novel̕s surreality is introduced gradually, and the author manages to make it seem both real and the protagonist̕s fantasy in the midst of what appears to be a nervous breakdown. It is both funny and sad, and yet not too funny nor too sad. What is also wonderful about the novel̕s surreality is that it is very limited -- e.g., the protagonist floating up toward the ceiling of a panc...more
Regarded only through the lenses of magic realism or surrealism, this book is a hilarious (albeit in an entirely disturbing and discomfiting manner) and occasionally poignant story of an adult male trying to simultaneously avoid and claim his status as a man. But Antrim seems to not be writing a narrative only about this character's dream-like journey (or lack thereof). His deft use of these techniques to heighten the disassociative state of the narrator, to lend it greater realness and credence...more
If you are in love with the written word, someone who cherishes sentences and the nerve endings they can expose, than look no further.
Donald Antrim's The Verificationist is a funhouse mirror of a novel to be sure. What it lacks in traditional plotting (something whose absence I'm always surprised to see denigrated 259 years after the publication of Tristram Shandy) it makes up for in an elaborate new twist on the dream sequence: the fugue state. Literary stuff aside, if you're tuned in correctl...more
Donald Antrim's The Verificationist is a funhouse mirror of a novel to be sure. What it lacks in traditional plotting (something whose absence I'm always surprised to see denigrated 259 years after the publication of Tristram Shandy) it makes up for in an elaborate new twist on the dream sequence: the fugue state. Literary stuff aside, if you're tuned in correctl...more
Antrim is one of my favorite writers, but he had more fun with this book than I did as a reader. George Saunders' intro nails it: the writer is like a dog rolling around in the grass without a care in the world. Which is both delightful and, ultimately, tiresome.
Still, I'm glad I read the book. Its humanity and humor are indispensable, and, like the Hundred Brothers, written amazingly in real time with only minor reflections on the past.
I don't resent being frustrated by a great writer like Ant...more
Still, I'm glad I read the book. Its humanity and humor are indispensable, and, like the Hundred Brothers, written amazingly in real time with only minor reflections on the past.
I don't resent being frustrated by a great writer like Ant...more
I have a feeling this is the sort of book you'll either like or detest. Antrim has a peculiar tone. In all of his books, the humor/interest stems from a deadpan, pedantic, seemingly logical narrator being placed in a surreal, nonsensical environment. In this book, the narrator spends most of his time hallucinating that he is floating and flying around a pancake restaurant while his colleagues (college psychology professors) eat and chat below him. There are also flashbacks about awkward sex with...more
I heard about this book in an interview with Rivka Galchen (author of Atmospheric Disturbances. She said it was her favorite book, if I remember correctly, and boy does it show. If you like one book, you'll probably like the other. The writing styles, themes, and even the plots are incredibly similar. As everyone notes, this book is full of absurdity, and so how you relate to that will probably determine how you relate to this book. For what it's worth, I preferred Atmospheric Disturbances to th...more
i didn't like this as much as elect mr robinson for a better world, or one hundred brothers. the verifcationist had far less of the vitality and rocket fuel. the mania of the protagonist was deeply reflective, perhaps whereas the other characters in EMRFABW and 100 Bros, were nearly oblivious about their psychological unmoorings. those protagonists also were essentially extremists in a extreme world, that was only slightly distorted from our own, and thus served as a fascinating commentary on mo...more
Feb 29, 2008
Nathanimal
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
someone on a 2 to 3 hour flight
I recommend this to the reader with a 2 to 3 hour flight because, like the compact little snack you'll probably get on the flight, this is a compact little book that you could probably finish off before you touch down to wherever you're going. Try starting the book in line at the airline consul and continue reading as you taxi around the runway for take off, then you should leave the ground at just about the same time the narrator does. It'll be like you're living the book! As the summary on the...more
1 like · like · see review
view 1 comment
Despite how much I look for strange fiction, this is one of the more unique novels I've managed to come across in a long time. It's premise, it's style, it's language, it's characters, it's everything are as fresh and interesting as anything I've seen in a long time. It is a real pleasure to read. I just got into it right form the first page and remained just as interested all the way through. There is wonderful humor as well. Really, it is a wonderful book.
Apr 01, 2012
Abby Rosmarin
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
disappointments
I must admit: if this story was about 40 pages long, it would get 5 stars, no questions about that. The problem is that the book is over 4x longer than it should be. It was drawn out and repetitive, and reading it just got tedious. The idea is great, and the written is intelligent, but that's not enough for a proper novel.
Jan 27, 2009
Marissa Morrison
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
tried-to-read-it-didn-t-work-out
I got past the scene where the husband has a bowel movement in front of his wife, right before they make love. But I struggled to keep reading after many, many pages of thinking and chatting while the protagonist had his *lengthy* out of body experience. Maybe the second half makes the book worth reading?
Would have been better as a short story. I think the author had a cool idea, but didn't know how to expand on it which caused me to lose interest part of the way through. Another issue, trying way too hard too be post-modern.
A hilarious and sexually charged novel from an inventive author. Falls flat a few times, when it's not floating around the room in an out-of-body experience. Will disappoint some readers and delight others.
I could see the cleverness, but I just could not identify with any of the characters, and the situation mostly made me uncomfortable, and did not end up going anywhere I felt worth getting to.
Very surreal with a whimsical writing style. All of the floating around on the ceiling of the pancake house made me feel like I was in a Chagal painting. This was enjoyable but not for everyone.
This is one of my go-to recommendations to people. it is so weird and funny, and though there are other books like it, none succeed so wildly as this one.
If there were a way to give no stars, I would. It seems like he decided he needed to write a book to prove his knowledge of psychoanalytic theory -- it's strange, chaotic, and I could not get past page 20.
This whole novel consists of the narrator having a psychotic episode in a pancake restaurant. If you have an appetite for the absurd, the bizarre, the pathetic, and the hilariously incongruous--as well as, of course, for breakfast food--you might enjoy it.
Oct 18, 2012
Jeremy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
awesome-tastic,
favorites
What a fantastic novel, no wonder DFW loved this guy so much. I have not laughed so hard in a long long time.
It says more about me than him, but as soon as people started flying I lost interest.
And now, a scene from the Simpsons that encapsulates my feelings towards this book:
Moe has radically remodeled his bar, and it is now filled with assorted eurotrash, yuppies and pseudo-hipsters. Homer and friends appear at the grand re-opening and are taken aback by the crowd and environment. Looking up at a TV above the bar that is showing an image of an eyeball blinking and looking wildly around, they ask him what the hell it's for. "It's po-mo" says Moe. This elicits no reply from the guys. "...more
Moe has radically remodeled his bar, and it is now filled with assorted eurotrash, yuppies and pseudo-hipsters. Homer and friends appear at the grand re-opening and are taken aback by the crowd and environment. Looking up at a TV above the bar that is showing an image of an eyeball blinking and looking wildly around, they ask him what the hell it's for. "It's po-mo" says Moe. This elicits no reply from the guys. "...more
There's a lot I want to say about this book and I'm just writing this to remind me to do so at some point. Apologies to anyone who stumbled upon this looking for useful input.
Like every other Joe Everyman, post-modern fiction tends to be too self-aware and parenthetical-happy for my ass. Somehow, though, exceptions abound! This is a case in point.
The novella transpires over the course of a single fantastic scene in a pancake house and, despite metaphors running a bit thin at times (seriously, put him down, man), it works. It's sort of like a contemporary parlor read perfect for a Sunday afternoon. And although I can anticipate/sympathize with any number of criticisms...more
The novella transpires over the course of a single fantastic scene in a pancake house and, despite metaphors running a bit thin at times (seriously, put him down, man), it works. It's sort of like a contemporary parlor read perfect for a Sunday afternoon. And although I can anticipate/sympathize with any number of criticisms...more
Psychoparty. And pancakes. All good fun ;)
I wanted to love this book. Wish I could give it two and a *half* stars. I think it's a great idea, the whole guy floating in the pancake house thing. The scenes with the wife are pretty awesome, I found them emotionally resonant and some passages I read twice, but overall this book made me sigh a little. I threw it a couple times because I just couldn't keep reading. The man holding the narrator for so long exhausted me :P I'd try once more to read another book by this author, though, he's obvi...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Donald Antrim is an American novelist. His first novel, Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World, was published in 1993. In 1999 The New Yorker named him as among the twenty best writers under the age of forty.
Antrim is a frequent contributor of fiction to The New Yorker and has written a number of critically acclaimed novels, including The Verificationist and The Hundred Brothers, which was a finali...more
More about Donald Antrim...
Antrim is a frequent contributor of fiction to The New Yorker and has written a number of critically acclaimed novels, including The Verificationist and The Hundred Brothers, which was a finali...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“We eat pancakes to escape loneliness, yet within moments we want nothing more than our freedom from ever having so much as thought about pancakes.”
—
7 people liked it
“Have you ever noticed?--people, no matter how beautiful or desirable, invariably will, if observed closely while going about their daily business of keeping alive, begin to seem like monsters.”
—
2 people liked it
More quotes…
