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  <title><![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]></description>
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    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
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    <body><![CDATA[Read the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://stopsmilingonline.com/story_detail.php?id=997">STOP SMILING interview</a> with Sam Lipsyte:<br/><br/><strong>Face to Face: Sam Lipsyte</strong><br/>by Alex Abramovich<br/><br/>(This interview appeared in the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.stopsmilingstore.com/issue29thephotographyissue.aspx">STOP SMILING <em>Photography Issue</em></a>)<br/><br/><strong>Alex Abramovich</strong>: Let’s talk about Martin Amis. <em>The Moronic Inferno</em> and <em>Money</em> seem like Amis’ first ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52653386">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
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  <date_added>Thu Dec 18 16:30:35 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 18 16:35:45 -0800 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[This novel is a riot, it is about a terminal illness that cannot be cured. Totally a satire it follows the man who has a disease, but he keeps living. After awhile it can become a bit much, but that is near the end and believe me you'll get a lot of laughs from this quirky book. It does get shocking...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40411533">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Dan]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
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    <body><![CDATA[The obscurity of The Subject Steve is what initially draws you in, but it eventually makes the plot ramble away from stability. It feels rushed after the half-way mark, and although Lipsyte's prose is capable of holding it together, it never really takes off. It's still enjoyable, but there is defin...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55061804">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[As much as I loved Home Land, the beginning of this book is not drawing me in and I am going to put it back as &quot;to-read&quot; and try to finish one of the bazillion books I really am all the way in the middle of. It's not really like me to have all these books half-read, but then again, never b...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6848310">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Wed Apr 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Apr 27 14:50:19 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 29 15:12:42 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[This was hilarious in a way <em>Homeland</em> never quite reached, possibly because of <em>Homeland's</em> set-up, or possibly because this absolutely embraces the absurd, so that you can only nod and laugh and trust Lipsyte. And my trust was not misplaced. ]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>160</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2001</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Nov 12 08:12:18 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Nov 12 08:14:55 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It's been a while since I read this, and I don't remember too much other than it was ridiculous and fun. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Homeland, which I'd totally recommend.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77543620]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77543620]]></link>
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      <review>
  <id>58399788</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Eric]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>160</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2001</published>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jun 04 06:36:12 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jun 04 06:37:51 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is his first of two novels. Home Land, his second, is a much more enjoyable read in my opinion.  This one is a bit out there, but definitely worth the time.]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>11284882</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
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  <published>2001</published>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[the bleached teeth, the smling eyes]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Dec 30 12:02:42 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 31 12:33:03 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'm still laughing two or three years after reading this one. I'm laughing <em>with</em> the book, not against it. I laughed later when I reread it. I laughed again when I thought of reading it a third time but did not. I'm resisting but ultimately failing to resist a reference to that old &quot;laughter is ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11284882">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11284882]]></url>
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      <review>
  <id>12899409</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
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  <published>2001</published>
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    <rating>2</rating>
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  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jan 19 08:45:18 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jan 20 20:32:07 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Although Sam Lipsyte's talent is well on display here, the last third of the book was a struggle to get through. The long-winded monologues and conversations of the characters, though funny in effect and theory, became incredibly tedious and boring about half way through the book. I also felt that r...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12899409">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12899409]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12899409]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>38990440</id>
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    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>160</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2001</published>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <date_added>Sun Nov 30 19:21:23 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Nov 30 19:22:09 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'm just not really alright with satire. It bores me.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38990440]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38990440]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve: A Novel]]>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/874212.The_Subject_Steve_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>2.93</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>14</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jun 30 16:37:55 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 16 23:14:29 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book did have a one-liner feel to it. I thought maybe I had found a new author to follow but I'm afraid Lypsite has left me a little too disappointed, at least for now, (his short story in 07's NOON is really nice). His style does maintain a disgruntled consistency, which at times is very funny...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2575158">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2575158]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2001</published>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jun 05 16:15:57 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jun 05 16:17:45 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is early Sam Lypsyte, and it shows. The fun tale and all the craziness is there, but the sticky flare gluing it all together is shaky; espically at the book's mid point. If you love Sam- READ THIS. If you have not read Sam before read Homeland.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23807232]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23807232]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>4820443</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Len]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>160</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2001</published>
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    <rating>2</rating>
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  <read_at>Sun Jan 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Aug 20 12:43:21 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jan 11 16:36:48 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Don't you hate it when you have such high expectations for a book and then you finally get to it and it sucks? I really loved Lipsyte's 2004 novel Home Land, but The Subject Steve was a total mess. Wannabe Kurt Vonnegut without the humor. Yuck!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4820443]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4820443]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>53126</id>
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    <id>5553</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ryan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Tulsa, OK]]></location>
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  <isbn>0007133669</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780007133666</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">4</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>160</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2001</published>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Feb 17 20:24:51 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Feb 17 20:33:46 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The writing style of this book is not particularly an easy or smooth experience. If you can get past this, it is an interesting story and worth the time.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53126]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53126]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>2249413</id>
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    <id>146639</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Maranda]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>160</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2001</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <date_added>Fri Jun 22 07:33:28 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jun 22 07:34:21 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[<br/>fun, good writing, but in the end belong to the family of the one-joke book. still, pick it up now and then, good times]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2249413]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2249413]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>10178270</id>
    <user>
    <id>665083</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jarvis]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>160</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2001</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <date_added>Sun Dec 09 11:06:19 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Dec 09 11:06:35 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Huh? No, you can't borrow my copy.  Quit asking.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10178270]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10178270]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>122413</id>
    <user>
    <id>14259</id>
    <name><![CDATA[jake]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Astoria, NY]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>160</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2001</published>
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    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Feb 28 09:13:49 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 16 16:12:52 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[this shit be wild. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/122413]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/122413]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>81656066</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Anelise]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>160</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2001</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
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  <date_added>Mon Dec 21 09:51:04 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 21 09:51:04 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81656066]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Josh]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve: A Novel]]>
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  <average_rating>3.26</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
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    <![CDATA[The Subject Steve]]>
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    <![CDATA[<em>The Subject Steve</em>, Sam Lipsyte's remarkable debut novel, is an ebullient, bawdy, and idiosyncratic assault on American consumer culture. Like fellow mercurial satirists Don DeLillo, Thomas Pynchon, and David Foster Wallace, Lipsyte is an impressive stylist. His argot is the psychobabble of corporate jargon, advertising slogans, and sound bites. Wordplay rather than characterization is Lipsyte's métier and his language positively fizzes with invention. The characters here don't so much converse as exchange obtuse epigrammatic non sequiturs and indulge in linguistic quips. This should, of course, be utterly infuriating, but it isn't. The dialogue, like the rest of this savage, absurdist take on contemporary life (and more precisely our horror of death), is startlingly acute and unrelentingly funny.    <p>  The eponymous Steve (who claims his name is not Steve) is a mild-mannered 37-year old ad man who pens slogans celebrating the &quot;ongoing orgasm of the information lifestyle.&quot; Unfortunately, he's dying, but &quot;he's dying of something nobody has ever died of before: he's actually going to die of boredom.&quot; The scientists (who may not be scientists although they do wear white coats) &quot;calculate that there can be no calculations&quot; about how long he has left to live. Faced with this eventuality he embarks on a particularly wayward sexual, narcotic, and religious odyssey. Lipsyte fills Steve's journey with so many oddball doctors, multimedia weirdoes, dysfunctional gurus, and bizarre sexual encounters that it's actually rather difficult to imagine anyone dying of boredom. Exhaustion, perhaps.  Ludicrous and occasionally even a little bit sick, Lipsyte's surreal, intelligent black comedy proves that death really can be a laughing matter. <em>--Travis Elborough, Amazon.co.uk</em> </p>]]>
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