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18th out of 43 books
—
10 voters
Chinese Takeout
From the author of the cult classic The Fuck-Up comes a vicious new tale of art, drugs, love, and death on the Lower East Side.
Orloff Trenchant is a painter who sells books on West 4th Street in Manhattan and is obsessed with mastering his craft. Desperate for cash, Or agrees to take a commission no one else will touch: he has three weeks to carve a headstone for a recentl...more
Orloff Trenchant is a painter who sells books on West 4th Street in Manhattan and is obsessed with mastering his craft. Desperate for cash, Or agrees to take a commission no one else will touch: he has three weeks to carve a headstone for a recentl...more
Paperback, 284 pages
Published
July 29th 2003
by Harper Perennial
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254th out of 455 books
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335 voters
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Not bad...mind you, editing is dead. It's dead! He spelled author Henry Green's name with an 'e' like Graham Greene and said 'lockets of hair'. No, see, a locket is a pendant.
Word.net confirms this:
The noun locket has one meaning:
Meaning #1: a small ornamental case; usually contains a picture or a lock of hair and is worn on a necklace
Ed Iting is dead. Mr. Ed is dead. Mrs. Iting is a widder.
Back to Nersesian. The book concerns an Armenian artist named Orloff Trenchant (changed from Tanzarian), w...more
Word.net confirms this:
The noun locket has one meaning:
Meaning #1: a small ornamental case; usually contains a picture or a lock of hair and is worn on a necklace
Ed Iting is dead. Mr. Ed is dead. Mrs. Iting is a widder.
Back to Nersesian. The book concerns an Armenian artist named Orloff Trenchant (changed from Tanzarian), w...more
I was prepared to not like this book, maybe not even reading it but after meeting Nersesian at a reading when he passed thru Seattle on a doubleheader reading with Lydia Lunch there with "Predator's Diary" it was a debt owned. Now its debt-paid and I’m glad I did. AN is the quintessential NYC dweller (at least to my western sensibilities) and comes off as intriguing, passionate, underground, a beat-poet-of-the-mean streets -of -NY kind of guy which makes him a perfect match for his Akashic Press...more
There is an incredible quality to Nersesian's writing. Ever since reading The F*ck Up years ago, I never forgot the way he writes and his characters. This book is just as strong. He writes about, well about the f*ck ups, the overlooked, the ingored, the struggling, the artists, the junkies and the dreamers of New York City. The city is as much of a character in his books. It's strange, because these are not the characters one would normally care about, they are not the classic heroes and heroine...more
Orloff ("Or" for short) Trenchant is a struggling New York City artist in the East Village in the early 2000s. At the start of the story, he's breaking up with his live-in painter girlfriend, destroys some of her paintings in a fit of rage, and ends up living in his van. He's eventually able to sublet from a friend for a few months, and in the process ends up subletting part of the loft—forbidden, but who's counting?—to a fellow painter.
Considering that the story takes place right in my neighbo...more
Considering that the story takes place right in my neighbo...more
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A beautifully written book like this deserves a lot of credit for taking on tough topics such as living on the streets, struggling to make it as an artist, infidelity, drug addiction, and love for a drug addict. This is hands down my very favorite Nersesian book so far, and I'm almost certain it'll stay that way. Not only are the concepts powerful but the delivery is absolutely amazing. This is one of those books I wish I could read again for the first time. It truly hit hard, and I wish there w...more
hmmm..."it was ok", the phrase under the 2-star rating fits the bill. mostly because, i'm not completely sure how i feel about this book.
it's gritty, raw, and describes well an undercurrent among a world of artists and drugs in a part of new york city. i'm not really easily offended in what i read, and wasn't here...but sometimes wondered if it seemed a bit forced. i also felt like the author could have been much more subtle. any nuance you may have been able to gather from the dialogue or some...more
it's gritty, raw, and describes well an undercurrent among a world of artists and drugs in a part of new york city. i'm not really easily offended in what i read, and wasn't here...but sometimes wondered if it seemed a bit forced. i also felt like the author could have been much more subtle. any nuance you may have been able to gather from the dialogue or some...more
Jul 27, 2011
Nancy
added it
Nersesian's sparse but mildly raunchy prose and wobegone characters sneak up on you when you least expect it, and by the end of the story, you realize you actually do kind of care what happens to Rita, Or and the rest of the strange myopic bunch. The book isn't revolutionary by any means, and although I can't recall any off the top of my head, there were definitely some awkward, forehead-scrunching inconsistencies in details and characterizations towards the beginning of the text. Regardless, Ne...more
"I honestly believe Arthur Nersesian is very good when it comes to the nitty-gritty romance. The last novel I read by this author was Dogrun and it too was a romance. This one however was very good and had all the elements of a wonderful story.
The one part I like the most about this story is the emotional perspective given to the main character Or Terchant as we learn of how his living conditions in a reality truly by his own choice effects him and all his relationships around him. This story is...more
The one part I like the most about this story is the emotional perspective given to the main character Or Terchant as we learn of how his living conditions in a reality truly by his own choice effects him and all his relationships around him. This story is...more
Nersesian, the po-mo Damon Runyon, spinner of contemporary tales of New Yorkers on the lowest end of the caste, finally in this, the fifth of his novels I've read, manages a pitch perfect ending after wading through some dangerously mawkish territory.
This is a sad, bittersweet story of young urban artists, junkies, and other lower-rung characters in Gotham, struggling with love and life on the eve of the sad events of the 2000 presidential election.
About halfway into this I was leaning toward a...more
This is a sad, bittersweet story of young urban artists, junkies, and other lower-rung characters in Gotham, struggling with love and life on the eve of the sad events of the 2000 presidential election.
About halfway into this I was leaning toward a...more
Sep 24, 2007
Matt
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
artists and people into stories about
Shelves:
novels
The period of time the main character lives in is the same as when I was in NYC going to art school. I was at the Nader rally (Rage Against the Machine wasn't there but Bill Murry was). I celebrated Gore's win and cried over his loss on the same streets. It was pretty intense to read about it. I could've bumped into this guy (if he wasn't imaginary).
Initially I found his thoughts trite and his artwork and approach to making it abhorrent but I came to realise that it wasn't all that different fro...more
Initially I found his thoughts trite and his artwork and approach to making it abhorrent but I came to realise that it wasn't all that different fro...more
Entertaining, the life of a struggling Lower East Side artist and romantic.
notes
22..more than 12 hrs sleep and you're inviting bed sores.
63..couldn't've have been
96..to last as an artist one had to feast on neglect and guzzle down rejection, because those were the only two things you were guaranteed.
He ekes out a modest income peddling used books on the sidewalk...I wonder if that market is still alive.
notes
22..more than 12 hrs sleep and you're inviting bed sores.
63..couldn't've have been
96..to last as an artist one had to feast on neglect and guzzle down rejection, because those were the only two things you were guaranteed.
He ekes out a modest income peddling used books on the sidewalk...I wonder if that market is still alive.
This book did not start off as unique and fetching as "Suicide Casanova" did which made me a little skeptical at first. However, I'm impressed at how Nersesian can pull you into a life unlike your own and make you understand the littlest details of it. He makes you familiar with things you never thought you could be familiar with. I also enjoy his characterization, as the most unique of characters come alive and become truly believable. It is a difficult task to make a unique character believabl...more
This is the fourth novel I've read by Nersesian, a writer obsessed with NYC for all the right reasons. The style is very much like his earlier stories--a first-person trip through the weirder, darker (= the vanishing) sides of the city. He throws in so much action that I could almost imagine it being made into a graphic novel--something along the lines of Daniel Clowes. But not a film, please. His characters are amusing to read about, though not always completely believable. Must give him credit...more
I read this book as a follow-up to "The Fuck-up" because I felt Nersesian's writing was sort of let-down by the lack of narrative summation. This book seemed a lot more resolved and less meandering than the previous attempt. The characters seemed to mature as the book came to a close and that was really what his last novel needed. I also always enjoy painting references especially when they are from a writer's point of view. I am, unfortunately terrible with words and find myself wanting to writ...more
Picked this book up for a dollar at Goodwill and to be honest it was a completely different plot line then I was thinking. This story captured me from the moment I started reading it and I feel like Or represents so many of us that either struggling to be artists or even us that are aspiring to be writers! The ending left be breathless and it had such a cruel but nice ending- the real question is what is Or doing now? He has a review and his first sculptor- will he keep doing this ? Will he purs...more
Loved this book and Arthur Nersesian! His style of writing is descriptive with witty comparisons that his readers can completely relate to.I truly felt I was living the life of the character. I want more books from him!
This is my favorite book by Arthur who is one of my favorite novelists. It is one of the most honest and on point portrayals of the life of a "starving artist." Just lovely.
This was the first time a read a book which truly made me hate a character to the point where when they were mentioned I would not want to read what she were doing.
Arthur Nersesian is one of my favorite authors, and this book is a good reason why. The author takes me inside New York City; the story seems to both swallow me, and suffuse me with its prose. I don't want it to end despite the painful realizations of its main character because now I am addicted and crave more. Nersesian you devil! Well done.
Makes me want to live in the East Village every time. As some poor artist or musician figuring out life.
Read this almost too long ago to count it. I remember thoroughly enjoying the story though.
I love this book and just re-read it this week. No review I could write would do it justice.
the story of a struggling artist sort of reminded me of a cross between tweak and hard cash.
Pretty good book overall, but a bit uneven. Better than dogrun at least.
It was good. A great read for those who are interested in how an artist thinks
Liked it - very much an indie artist book. Enjoyed it but wasn't blown away...
Makes me want to be a starving artist in nyc, just a tiny bit...
starving artist, NYC, drugs, love for the unattainable, pretentious parties, etc. It was a good fast with good character analysis but I feel the topics have been written about over and over again.
This might be my favorite Nerseian title.
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Arthur Nersesian is the author of eight novels, including The Fuck-Up (Akashic, 1997 & MTV Books/Simon & Schuster, 1999), Chinese Takeout (HarperCollins), Manhattan Loverboy (Akashic), Suicide Casanova (Akashic), dogrun (MTV Books/Simon & Schuster), and Unlubricated (HarperCollins). He is also the author of East Village Tetralogy, a collection of four plays. He lives in New York City.
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May 31, 2010 06:21pm