The Futility Experts

by Margaret Broucek

Feeling trapped in a stagnant marriage, working a dead-end job, and desperately coveting the last good parking spot, Tim Turner decides to do what any middle-aged man not in his right mind would do; reinvent himself as a 21 year-old Marine sniper named Rusty. What could possibly go wrong? At the same time, Davis Beardsley―a professor of zoology with an unhealthy obsession for imaginary creatures―helplessly watches his chances for tenure circle the drain when a new department head takes a less-than-favorable view of his teaching methods. Throw in a decrepit Sasquatch, a Romanian adoptee hell-bent on destruction, and a trio of incontinent lapdogs, and you have the makings of a laugh-out-loud hit. Delivered with deadpan wit and keen insight, The Futility Experts is sure to appeal to fans of Jami Attenberg, Emma Straub, and Joshua Ferris.

307 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2018

About the author

Margaret Broucek is a Maine filmmaker and playwright whose works have appeared Off-Broadway and in film festivals in the U.S. and Europe. In addition to her 2018 novel, The Futility Experts (winner of the Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music in Literature), she has had short stories published in the anthologies Sudden Fiction, Continued (W.W. Norton) and Best of TriQuarterly, and also in Alaska Quarterly Review. She holds an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a BM in Music Composition from The University of Kansas.

Reviews

[Bandit]

This one had me at cryptozoology, which sadly doesn’t figure that much into the plot. This is very much a study of middle aged white men who can’t possibly be classified as mysterious species. One, predictably enough, starts something of a cyber affair with someone he believes to be an 18 year girl, while he himself pretends to be a 21 year old marine (his best version of self as visualized and conceptualized), the other just sort of muddles around in his life, trying to get a promotion, while contending with his complicated adopted 18 year old daughter. You can see the connection, right…although that actually turns out to be something of a misdirection. So anyway, a comedy of sorts or at least a satire, something different from my reading lately and a nice change of pace, but the trials and tribulations of the characters as they ride out the vagaries of adult life in all its tediousness were actually only somewhat entertaining and (possibly because of the humorous nature of the narrative) it was difficult to actually engage with or care about any of the characters all that much (for all their futile struggles), which resulted in a lukewarm sort of entertainment, ably done but projected to something like mild amusement at best. This is the sort of book that can quite possibly be enjoyed much more by a different reader. It had that sort of clever whimsy at times that worked nicely. Quick read too. Thanks Netgalley.

[Deblenares Lenares]

Loved this book!
The main characters were ... not attractive, not appealing, not loveable, maybe ... endearing.
I loved the small details: the smell of the teenage boy, the affect of men leaving their coats on in the bar.
It was funny and compelling.

[Joan Carrigan]

This is a story of two men who just can't seem to move forward in life without taking a step backwards first. One is a tenure-seeking professor of zoology at a university in Maine whose passion is cryptozoology (looking for and finding such unverified species as Bigfoot, Nessie etc...) The other is an ad writer for a school concert band trade magazine who fantasizes about a double life as an army sniper. Somehow their lives intertwine in the most interesting and funny way thanks to the smooth and clever writing of the author Margaret Broucek. A fun summer read that will keep you turning pages.

[L.C. Rooney]

To say that the characters are flawed, or that you will laugh out loud, or that you may recognize some of this craziness among your own circle is to grossly understate how simultaneously real and bizarre The Futility Experts really is. If you don't find yourself rooting for this strangely sympathetic and hilarious bunch, get to the nearest clinic to have both your heart and your sense of humor checked out. I haven't read anything like this since A Confederacy of Dunces--which I now have a sudden urge to pluck from my bookcase and re-read, The Futility Experts having put me in just such a mood.

And if you ever have occasion to hear the author herself do a reading from this book, by all means GO. That is how I heard of this gem of a book, and as cliche as it may sound, this is the truth: My face HURT from laughing when I left.

[Renee Bender]

I saw a little of myself (and almost everyone I love) in these flawed, likeable, funny and tenacious characters. By page 54, they were already my old friends. I laughed out loud so many times, and nodded in recognition even more. Broucek deftly uses absurdist humor to frame the existential crisis of middle age, but she never ridicules it. She writes her story with love and humor and beauty. I read it twice.

[Jan]

I stumbled upon this book somewhat randomly (author and I share an editor), and I am so happy I found it! It's exactly what I want to be reading in this deeply weird historical moment. While I crave a little escape reading, these characters are trying to create whole escape lives, harboring secret identities and plans that of course all fail marvelously. Broucek is really funny, dark, and so terrifically humane. No judgment or condescension: her characters are all (beyond) deeply flawed, and she is deeply observant, and therein lies the humor. And if you ever wanted fun facts about marching band equipment, the ABCs of piano tuning, or armchair cryptozoology, you've opened the right book. I can't wait for whatever Margaret Broucek is writing next!!

[Traci Browne]

I’m not sure if I liked this one or not. On one hand I didn’t really care what happened to the characters, but on the other hand I thought they were well written and unique. On one hand, I had no interest in their lives, on the other hand I found them all to be ridiculously fascinating. I can say this, it’s an incredibly wacky book. I would definitely give this author another try.

[Rachel Clark]

The Futility Experts is a sometimes funny, sometimes gut-wrenching look at two men who find themselves at middle age, and not at all where they thought they would. be in life. Tim is working at a magazine for band directors after having been rejected by more than 20 symphonies. Davis is seeking tenure at his university - in a field that roughly translates to trying to prove that Sasquatch is real - while struggling through life with an adopted teenage daughter who seems hellbent on making his life, well, hell.

In an awkward twist, Tim finds himself chatting with Davis's daughter on Words with Friends... and then Snapchat. Portraying himself as a hunky soldier stationed in Afghanistan, the in real life chubby Tim starts fantasizing about moving to Mexico with this hot, blonde 18 year old. Meanwhile, Davis worries about his daughter's proclivity for seeking sexual attention from much older men - including his boss.

These two guys struggle through work, marriage, and family life quite unsuccessfully. Sometimes it's funny. Sometimes it's sad. It's always interesting. There isn't a huge plot twist here. But if you tend towards movies like "Dan in Real Life," I think you'll like this one!