CHEZ CHANCE: A Novel

by Jay Gummerman

Chez Chance holds a finely polished funhouse mirror up to our world and allows us a piercingly clear- often hilarious, often bracingly sad- reflection of the crazed underpinnings of what we insist on calling normalcy.

211 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1995

About the author

Born in Whittier, California, he is a San Clemente resident.

"A quietly stubborn innovator who's got Kafka and Pynchon under his belt and in his bones, Gummerman isn't particularly concerned with the audience's pleasure but rather writes fiction about as visionary as you're going to get when you tend to set your work in the smog-clogged motel corridors around Disneyland."

Source - http://www.ocweekly.com/content/print...

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this. Overall, it was fun, and funny, but not necessarily light. It definitely, definitely reminded me of John Haskell, though this novel precedes Haskell's work, so vice-versa that. There were parts that I wasn't really sure about, including an extended metaphorical tale of Disneyland's inception and cultural implications; overall, Disneyland played a bit too big of a role in the book with not too much payoff. It's a tough subject to tackle, as Disneyland is such a weighty and symbolic place/entity, so. But, despite this I really enjoyed the book. Had that quirky almost caricature-like characters, the way Haskell's work has, but they aren't flat or uninteresting. "Sometimes I feel naked when I'm not in a car," says the female supporting role. Indeed! There's California in a nutshell. Smart writing. I'll definitely read more of Gummerman's work.

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

It turns out I read a collection of short stories by this author a long time ago which I can't remember but probably liked pretty well since this book is put together nicely. It reads quickly and will keep readers entertained with its action. It doesn't get much deeper than what's on the book jacket, but sometimes that's all it takes.