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The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure
Laugh-out-loud funny and dripping with style, this debut collection of stories holds a fun house mirror to the everyday lives of characters as empathetic as they are absurd. From the self-appointed historian of the title piece to the wage slaves of "Our Spring Catalog" and "The Pipe," these are characters you’ve met before. They’re quirky visionaries and misguided dreamers sprung from a world of high school ambitions and misunderstood intentions. Laugh-out-loud funny, absurd, and always human, Jack Pendarvis’s debut collection is the work of a writer of rare comedic literary talent.
187 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 17, 2021
I really tried to figure out the appeal. I like the ideas that he has. I wanted to be on board with his whole vibe, but it just wasn't doing anything for me. I mean he pushed some cool bits of writing into new ways to deliver them to readers, but my problem was that I just never thought any of it was funny and he clearly was trying.
Maybe that's on me. I just feel like I read better banter like this from my friends on Facebook, and they deliver the laughs. Most of the time it just felt depressing.
At best, parts of the book are like a moderately clever McSweeney's post. Likely this is for fans of Confederacy of Dunces or something.
Maybe that's on me. I just feel like I read better banter like this from my friends on Facebook, and they deliver the laughs. Most of the time it just felt depressing.
At best, parts of the book are like a moderately clever McSweeney's post. Likely this is for fans of Confederacy of Dunces or something.
January 6, 2026
Es handelt sich um eine Sammlung kurzer Geschichten, bei denen ich zuerst ungläubig die Augen aufgerissen und dann für den Rest der Lektüre breit vor mich hin gegrinst habe. Schon der Titel hat mich neugierig gemacht, trotzdem habe ich für meine Verhältnisse lange, nämlich ein halbes Jahr gebraucht, bis ich das Buch endlich gelesen habe.
Die einzelnen Geschichten sind herrlich absurd und trotzdem mit so einem Ernst erzählt, dass ich mir gut vorstellen kann, dass das Buch nicht für jeden Leser geeignet ist. Vieles von den Inhalten sind Dinge aus dem täglichen Leben, die aber so ironisch erzählt werden, dass ich auch über den penetranten Nachbarn, von dem ich auch ein Exemplar bei uns im Haus wohnen habe, nur schmunzeln konnte.
Meine Lieblingsgeschichte ist The Pipe, in der sich ein Radiomoderator in einer Kiste unter der Erde eingraben lässt. Seine einzige Verbindung ist eine kleine Röhre, die ihn mit Frischluft versorgt. Zur Bewachung dieser Röhre sind rund um die Uhr zwei Männer abgestellt. Leider kommen besonders die Männer der Nachtschicht mit der Stille, die aus dieser Röhre kommt, überhaupt nicht zurecht. Die Situationen, die sich daraus ergeben, haben es in sich :breitgrins:
Das Buch ist mit 190 Seiten kurz gehalten und das ist meiner Meinung nach auch gut so. Die kurzen Geschichten haben mir sehr gut gefallen, aber gerade die lange Titelgeschichte konnte mich nicht mehr so fesseln. Ich denke, dass sich zumindest bei mir die Begeisterung bei längeren Geschichten irgendwann gelegt hätte.
Die einzelnen Geschichten sind herrlich absurd und trotzdem mit so einem Ernst erzählt, dass ich mir gut vorstellen kann, dass das Buch nicht für jeden Leser geeignet ist. Vieles von den Inhalten sind Dinge aus dem täglichen Leben, die aber so ironisch erzählt werden, dass ich auch über den penetranten Nachbarn, von dem ich auch ein Exemplar bei uns im Haus wohnen habe, nur schmunzeln konnte.
Meine Lieblingsgeschichte ist The Pipe, in der sich ein Radiomoderator in einer Kiste unter der Erde eingraben lässt. Seine einzige Verbindung ist eine kleine Röhre, die ihn mit Frischluft versorgt. Zur Bewachung dieser Röhre sind rund um die Uhr zwei Männer abgestellt. Leider kommen besonders die Männer der Nachtschicht mit der Stille, die aus dieser Röhre kommt, überhaupt nicht zurecht. Die Situationen, die sich daraus ergeben, haben es in sich :breitgrins:
Das Buch ist mit 190 Seiten kurz gehalten und das ist meiner Meinung nach auch gut so. Die kurzen Geschichten haben mir sehr gut gefallen, aber gerade die lange Titelgeschichte konnte mich nicht mehr so fesseln. Ich denke, dass sich zumindest bei mir die Begeisterung bei längeren Geschichten irgendwann gelegt hätte.
January 12, 2008
Finally revisited this and finished it this morning. I need a clean slate to begin the semester. I can't have all these half-finished book laying about!
In early December, I read all but the title story, which is longer, maybe half the book. Getting through all the other stories had been too exhausting, and I just didn't have the wherewithal to finish at the time. This is the first book in a long time that I was truly disappointed by. I had high hopes because it had come up in conversation during a wonderful class I took last year on the contemporary short story.
This should have been the kind of thing I really like, but the stories, as a group, were too much gimmickry with not enough substance. They were little po-mo jokes and usually not enough to sustain a story. Pendarvis added a fake "Contributors' Notes" page and a page of "advance praise" for a fake novel at the back. These items, not the stories, gave me the most enjoyment because I thought, "Finally, some satire that is not overdone or too far-reaching."
The one story I thought was excellent and would recommend to others is "The Pipe." A radio DJ has been buried underground for a publicity stunt with a single pipe bringing air down to him, and a paramedic and security guard are tasked with sitting by the pipe each night in case something goes wrong. This story was well-drawn with characters that felt like, well, characters, instead of cardboard cutouts being propelled from one joke to the next.
You know what I just realized? A lot of the other stories read like the "Shouts and Murmurs" feature in The New Yorker. I hate that feature.
I don't hate Pendarvis or think he is untalented. Actually, I found him quite clever, and there were parts of all the stories that I found funny. I just wish he would dig deeper and find the humanity in his gimmicks.
In early December, I read all but the title story, which is longer, maybe half the book. Getting through all the other stories had been too exhausting, and I just didn't have the wherewithal to finish at the time. This is the first book in a long time that I was truly disappointed by. I had high hopes because it had come up in conversation during a wonderful class I took last year on the contemporary short story.
This should have been the kind of thing I really like, but the stories, as a group, were too much gimmickry with not enough substance. They were little po-mo jokes and usually not enough to sustain a story. Pendarvis added a fake "Contributors' Notes" page and a page of "advance praise" for a fake novel at the back. These items, not the stories, gave me the most enjoyment because I thought, "Finally, some satire that is not overdone or too far-reaching."
The one story I thought was excellent and would recommend to others is "The Pipe." A radio DJ has been buried underground for a publicity stunt with a single pipe bringing air down to him, and a paramedic and security guard are tasked with sitting by the pipe each night in case something goes wrong. This story was well-drawn with characters that felt like, well, characters, instead of cardboard cutouts being propelled from one joke to the next.
You know what I just realized? A lot of the other stories read like the "Shouts and Murmurs" feature in The New Yorker. I hate that feature.
I don't hate Pendarvis or think he is untalented. Actually, I found him quite clever, and there were parts of all the stories that I found funny. I just wish he would dig deeper and find the humanity in his gimmicks.
January 17, 2008
pretty funny schtuff... So the first half of this book is incredible entertaining, with pendarvis pulling jokes and funny prose out of his sleeves like magic. Everyday magic, with a bit of a highbrow slant. His introductory faux book reviews and faux contributors biographies are hilarious. He seems to be at his best in the 5-10 pg length feature - enough to get to the pithy point and infuse it with some sarcastic, self-effacing humor. Shorter pieces are enough to birth a smile; the longer eponymous story is a bit disappointing - starts off as an interesting engagement of the current fate of the American man and quickly dissolves into a series of unlikely, and then unfunny events. I appreciated the style and voice that pendarvis presents in this book, and did enjoy it.
July 26, 2023
Laughed my ass off from the very first page. I don't yet know his other books, but from this one I'd guess that Pendarvis, like George Saunders, is a pony to be judged by the quality of his tricks rather than the quantity. He mostly writes about loserish guys stuck on their unlikely dreams, and he has a perfect grasp of a certain voice that strives toward eloquence but isn't quite there yet. There are some great micro-pieces in here, but the two big stories that bookend it -- "The Pipe" and the title track, Mysterious Secret -- overshadow the rest.
October 18, 2008
Clever and brilliantly constructed. This is a collection of short stories-- most of them are intentionally written from the point of view of narrators who can't really write, an idea which sounds terrible in theory but which is incredibly hilarious in execution. I wanted his new novel, "Awesome," but they only had this-- which I enjoyed quite a bit.
July 7, 2009
If I were going to have another favorite book--assuming that A Confederacy of Dunces ever steps down--then this is currently the prime candidate. Pendarvis has my favorite sort of wit: Mine. Except that he's able to convey it, whereas mine just rattles around my head wondering why I've never developed the tools to use it.
June 24, 2009
These stories of clueless, unlovable losers work best either when they are very short--the astonishing lead-off story "Sex Devil"--or when expanded to the novella-length title piece, itself assembled from 25 2- to 3-page "chapters."
April 27, 2011
Absolutely the wittiest, freshest and funniest collection since I discovered George Saunders. Some are brilliant, but all satisfy. Not David Sedaris-funny, more like Woody Allen, but with a lot more dialogue. For those looking for smart humor.
January 22, 2017
I am *re*reading this book and theoretically know all the jokes but I am still laughing until I'm crying.
This is the funniest book I have ever read and it's not even super close. David Sedaris is maybe up there.
Just do yourself a favor and check it out.
This is the funniest book I have ever read and it's not even super close. David Sedaris is maybe up there.
Just do yourself a favor and check it out.
March 18, 2007
Hit or miss really. 'The Pipe' is my personal fave out of the set.
September 29, 2007
One of the funniest books I've ever read.
December 28, 2007
Funny stuff! If you enjoyed Woody Allen's "Without Feathers" and "Side Effects" (or "Getting Even") you'd like this book.
December 30, 2007
hahahahaha. What fun reading. It's like being tickled and told silly jokes by someone you really, really like.
July 5, 2008
promising
July 28, 2008
Gut-wrenchingly funny--a new favorite!
January 8, 2009
Strange, winding stories that intrigue and sharpen the mind. Not overly satisfying, complicated or restful...
May 6, 2010
I wrote about this during my week of blogging book reviews on the Wake County book blog. http://wakebookaday.wordpress.com/201...
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August 4, 2011Some really amazing short stories sandwiched in between some slighter bits, but the titular story is one of the best I've read in a long time. Excited to read his other work now.
August 20, 2011
Imagination is a cuddly kitten with alligator teeth. Cultivate a spirit of adventure and general willingness in it and it will do your bidding most foul. Jack Pendarvis clearly knows this.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews