David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "man-booker-awards"
To Rise Again at a Decent Hour
Joshua Ferris was a finalist for the National Book of the Year for his novel, THEN WE CAME TO AN END; he was also a finalist for the Man Booker Award for this effort, TO RISE AGAIN AT A DECENT HOUR.
Ferris is an extremely original writer. It takes a lot of guts to make your main character a dentist. We learn all about the frustrations of the profession. Dr. Paul O’Rourke is a Park Avenue dentist in New York City, but he gets his share of eccentrics. He shows one patient three cavities, but the man decides not to have them filled because they don’t hurt. The man religiously goes to the dentist twice a year, because you’re supposed to.
The fact that O’Rourke is a dentist is almost coincidental. This book is really about identity theft and atheism. O’Rourke is down on social networking, although his receptionist and head hygienist would like him to advertise his practice via Facebook etc. One day Betsy, his crackerjack hygienist, shows him his new Facebook page, congratulating him on coming out of the dark ages. Problem is it’s not him, although the page identifies him as the owner.
Okay, identity theft is a serious problem in our society, but that’s still not what this book is about. O’Rourke is a sad man. He had a serious relationship with his receptionist, Connie, who happened to be an Orthodox Jew, apparently in name only. Paul fell in love with her family, especially Uncle Stuart, a father figure. His own father committed suicide. But Connie wanted kids and Paul didn’t want that responsibility. About the only thing Paul has left, besides his practice, is his love for the Red Sox, but even that is hampered when they actually win the World Series in 2004, after an 86 year lapse. These days they’re more like the hated Yankees, adopting some of their methods, buying free agents etc. It’s more fun to pull for a bunch of loveable screw-ups.
Ferris pulls another switcheroo when whoever is harassing the doctor, begins posting weird comments in his name about an ancient religion that was massacred by the Israelites, the Ulms, whose main theology was “doubt” about the existence of God. Paul establishes an e-mail relationship with the man who’s impersonating him and he meets several other people who are supposedly descended from the Ulms. He becomes so absorbed in the Ulms that his practice begins to suffer. Eventually a woman comes to see him who gives him a detailed genealogy which seems to prove that he was indeed descended from the Ulms. And a antiquities expert finds a copy of their holy book, written in Yiddish.
At one point one of the characters claims atheists and agnostics are the most discriminated against group in America. But that’s not what this book is about; Paul O’Rourke, although he is an atheist, is a searcher, trying to find a place or group to belong to. In most respects we all are.
Ferris is an extremely original writer. It takes a lot of guts to make your main character a dentist. We learn all about the frustrations of the profession. Dr. Paul O’Rourke is a Park Avenue dentist in New York City, but he gets his share of eccentrics. He shows one patient three cavities, but the man decides not to have them filled because they don’t hurt. The man religiously goes to the dentist twice a year, because you’re supposed to.
The fact that O’Rourke is a dentist is almost coincidental. This book is really about identity theft and atheism. O’Rourke is down on social networking, although his receptionist and head hygienist would like him to advertise his practice via Facebook etc. One day Betsy, his crackerjack hygienist, shows him his new Facebook page, congratulating him on coming out of the dark ages. Problem is it’s not him, although the page identifies him as the owner.
Okay, identity theft is a serious problem in our society, but that’s still not what this book is about. O’Rourke is a sad man. He had a serious relationship with his receptionist, Connie, who happened to be an Orthodox Jew, apparently in name only. Paul fell in love with her family, especially Uncle Stuart, a father figure. His own father committed suicide. But Connie wanted kids and Paul didn’t want that responsibility. About the only thing Paul has left, besides his practice, is his love for the Red Sox, but even that is hampered when they actually win the World Series in 2004, after an 86 year lapse. These days they’re more like the hated Yankees, adopting some of their methods, buying free agents etc. It’s more fun to pull for a bunch of loveable screw-ups.
Ferris pulls another switcheroo when whoever is harassing the doctor, begins posting weird comments in his name about an ancient religion that was massacred by the Israelites, the Ulms, whose main theology was “doubt” about the existence of God. Paul establishes an e-mail relationship with the man who’s impersonating him and he meets several other people who are supposedly descended from the Ulms. He becomes so absorbed in the Ulms that his practice begins to suffer. Eventually a woman comes to see him who gives him a detailed genealogy which seems to prove that he was indeed descended from the Ulms. And a antiquities expert finds a copy of their holy book, written in Yiddish.
At one point one of the characters claims atheists and agnostics are the most discriminated against group in America. But that’s not what this book is about; Paul O’Rourke, although he is an atheist, is a searcher, trying to find a place or group to belong to. In most respects we all are.
