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Unimaginable Zero Summer: A Novel
Perhaps you too have experienced the nausea brought on by the arrival of an invitation to a high school reunion.
Bookstore clerk and culture junker Verity Presti will soon attend her fifteenth reunion with her boyfriend, the unfortunately but aptly named Charlie Brown, who lives with his parents while training to be an urban shaman—a modern-day medicine man somewhat capable of exorcising ghosts from apartments and cubicles, predicting baseball scores, and channeling lost pets. Verity, angst-ridden and burdened with fifteen years of magnificent failure, will be reunited with Craig and Carolyn, sickeningly perfect high school sweethearts, married now and perfectly sick of each other; Verity’s former crush Stan and his wife, Laurel, a frustrated author of angry haikus; and Will, a rage-aholic KJ (that’s “karaoke jockey”) whose only soft spot is the one he still has for Verity. A growing anxiety permeates the round of cocktail parties that precedes the reunion, causing old affections and animosities to boil over and threaten the dubious complacency of these seven lovable losers.
With her trademark sarcasm and uncanny ability to skewer the oddities of contemporary hipster life, Stella has created a cast of endearingly eccentric characters who embody the insecurities and foibles that all of us—former prom desperados, band nerds, the burnout brigade, and loner stiffs—have and hope nobody else will notice.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Bookstore clerk and culture junker Verity Presti will soon attend her fifteenth reunion with her boyfriend, the unfortunately but aptly named Charlie Brown, who lives with his parents while training to be an urban shaman—a modern-day medicine man somewhat capable of exorcising ghosts from apartments and cubicles, predicting baseball scores, and channeling lost pets. Verity, angst-ridden and burdened with fifteen years of magnificent failure, will be reunited with Craig and Carolyn, sickeningly perfect high school sweethearts, married now and perfectly sick of each other; Verity’s former crush Stan and his wife, Laurel, a frustrated author of angry haikus; and Will, a rage-aholic KJ (that’s “karaoke jockey”) whose only soft spot is the one he still has for Verity. A growing anxiety permeates the round of cocktail parties that precedes the reunion, causing old affections and animosities to boil over and threaten the dubious complacency of these seven lovable losers.
With her trademark sarcasm and uncanny ability to skewer the oddities of contemporary hipster life, Stella has created a cast of endearingly eccentric characters who embody the insecurities and foibles that all of us—former prom desperados, band nerds, the burnout brigade, and loner stiffs—have and hope nobody else will notice.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
- GenresFiction
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
3 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Leslie Stella
7 books25 followersLESLIE STELLA is the author of the YA novel, Permanent Record (March 2013, Skyscape), and three previous novels of contemporary adult fiction, Unimaginable Zero Summer, The Easy Hour, and Fat Bald Jeff. She was a founding editor of the Chicago-based politics and satire magazine Lumpen, and her work has been published in The Mississippi Review, The Adirondack Review, Bust, Easy Listener, and anthologized in The Book of Zines: Readings from the Fringe (edited by Playboy’s Chip Rowe), a collection of essays and articles from the obsessive, frequently bizarre world of zines. Leslie is a Pushcart Prize in short fiction nominee.
(I won't rate books by other authors here on Goodreads. I think there are obvious reasons why an author might feel uncomfortable doing that.)
Photo: © John McMullen 2012
(I won't rate books by other authors here on Goodreads. I think there are obvious reasons why an author might feel uncomfortable doing that.)
Photo: © John McMullen 2012
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 2, 2013
I LOVED THIS BOOK! Leslie Stella is my new author crush. So smart, witty, endearing...quirky yet accessible characters, incredible lines. A reviewer on amazon (MC Quake) perfectly summed up my feelings on this one (Leslie has a "keen eye for the absurdity of the mundane"). I'd just attempted to read a bestselling (but HORRIBLY written) book, and this was the perfect antidote.
On to Permanent Record!
On to Permanent Record!
December 16, 2022
"I'd rather have a lap dance from Trent Lott."
You won't forget this book — already, I've got your attention, don't I?? Once again, I'm reminded of the snide words with which some critic dismissed the Perry Farrell follow-up to Jane's Addiction (except for the radio hit, "Pets"): "Bohos have such great sex ... don't you wish you were one??" Well, the funny thing is, with a healthy sex life, one seems to increase the referentiality, the ability to see the world as terrain, semiotically-speaking: Roland Barthes, Andy Warhol, William Gibson, Douglas Coupland, Richard Linklater, Lisa Carver, Pagan Kennedy, Thomas Pynchon (mentioned in the book, natch) — months before (in a certain sense ... ), miles before (just a few short ones ... if you *hop* ... ) Halle Butler's recent novels of discontent, and, for that matter, the movie "Emily the Criminal," comes this work. "Children can break your heart, in more ways than one," it says, and yes -- mama, we want to *leave home*. Generation X is still stretching to leave the nest, after no Vietnam-draft and other arbitrary life-roles that no-one wanted anyway, including parenting, dentistry, and accounting ... this is a good book.
I liked it a lot — you'll feel right at home, if you *live there*!!!
Otherwise, it's alien territory, and bad luck to you.
It's a litmus test.
Ha!
Cheerio to you Ms. Stella, cheerio to you.
Another fine production.
Two thumbs up ... if I'm *allowed* to use both of mine!!!
Ha again.
Ha, I say -- *ha*!!!
You won't forget this book — already, I've got your attention, don't I?? Once again, I'm reminded of the snide words with which some critic dismissed the Perry Farrell follow-up to Jane's Addiction (except for the radio hit, "Pets"): "Bohos have such great sex ... don't you wish you were one??" Well, the funny thing is, with a healthy sex life, one seems to increase the referentiality, the ability to see the world as terrain, semiotically-speaking: Roland Barthes, Andy Warhol, William Gibson, Douglas Coupland, Richard Linklater, Lisa Carver, Pagan Kennedy, Thomas Pynchon (mentioned in the book, natch) — months before (in a certain sense ... ), miles before (just a few short ones ... if you *hop* ... ) Halle Butler's recent novels of discontent, and, for that matter, the movie "Emily the Criminal," comes this work. "Children can break your heart, in more ways than one," it says, and yes -- mama, we want to *leave home*. Generation X is still stretching to leave the nest, after no Vietnam-draft and other arbitrary life-roles that no-one wanted anyway, including parenting, dentistry, and accounting ... this is a good book.
I liked it a lot — you'll feel right at home, if you *live there*!!!
Otherwise, it's alien territory, and bad luck to you.
It's a litmus test.
Ha!
Cheerio to you Ms. Stella, cheerio to you.
Another fine production.
Two thumbs up ... if I'm *allowed* to use both of mine!!!
Ha again.
Ha, I say -- *ha*!!!
April 20, 2019
Great book and very relatable characters. I didn’t want it to end.
March 11, 2017
I still don't understand the title, even after reading the whole book. The characters were meant to be quirky but it was a little too much. It did get better towards the end but not enough to redeem the iself.
April 9, 2015
Leslie Stella does it again!
Verity Presti has no desire to attend her 15-year high school reunion. Why would she? She’s a bookstore clerk, and she’s dating a man named Charlie Brown.
The good news is, Verity’s high school friends don’t really feel great about the reunion either. One friend, Will, is a KJ (karaoke jockey). See? Verity’s not doing so poorly after all.
The greatness of this novel comes from two places: the setting (Chicago) and Stella’s humor. Leslie Stella knows Chicago, and she knows funny. Seriously funny.
The story is full of gems, far too many to list. The characters are great, the setting is amazing (Chicago as it really is, told from an insider’s perspective), and the author’s ability to see humor in any and all situations. If you need a laugh, check this out. You will not be disappointed.
Verity Presti has no desire to attend her 15-year high school reunion. Why would she? She’s a bookstore clerk, and she’s dating a man named Charlie Brown.
The good news is, Verity’s high school friends don’t really feel great about the reunion either. One friend, Will, is a KJ (karaoke jockey). See? Verity’s not doing so poorly after all.
The greatness of this novel comes from two places: the setting (Chicago) and Stella’s humor. Leslie Stella knows Chicago, and she knows funny. Seriously funny.
The story is full of gems, far too many to list. The characters are great, the setting is amazing (Chicago as it really is, told from an insider’s perspective), and the author’s ability to see humor in any and all situations. If you need a laugh, check this out. You will not be disappointed.
February 26, 2007
Simple quick read...witty and funny...characters I can relate to...takes place in Chicago and is fun to read about the neighborhood I live in...sometimes the main character is kinda annoying. Stella sometimes adds fantastic events in her books which can either be funny or just completely unbelievable
Read
December 20, 2007This was a funny, quick read and I could relate to it as a few years back I went to my 10 year high school reunion. I love the character Verity and share her appreciation for thrifting. And her boyfriend, Charlie Brown the aspiring Urban Shaman was funny. I liked how relatable the characters were and reminded me of people I know.
July 21, 2009
Normally I like flawed characters. The main flaw for these characters is their self absorption. I found it difficult to tell them apart. But I would say the book improved as I continued reading.
May 28, 2015
Second book to read from this writer. Had some memorable lines, but found it hard to keep the couples straight; they seemed too much alike, miserable and lost. Quirky cast but didn't become invested in any of their experiences.
April 9, 2012
Ehhh, it was ok. Felt disjointed and rambling alot.
October 23, 2012
I really like the author's writing style. The story wasn't what I expected it to be, but it was entertaining.
August 16, 2014
Surprisingly good and funny
September 29, 2015
poor, rambling, pointless
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews