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Fuccboi
A fearless and savagely funny examination of masculinity under late capitalism from an electrifying new voice.
Set in Philly one year into Trump’s presidency, Sean Thor Conroe’s audacious, freewheeling debut follows our eponymous fuccboi, Sean, as he attempts to live meaningfully in a world that doesn’t seem to need him. Reconciling past, failed selves—cross-country walker, SoundCloud rapper, weed farmer—he now finds himself back in his college city, trying to write, doing stimulant-fueled bike deliveries to eat. Unable to accept that his ex has dropped him, yet still engaged in all the same fuckery—being coy and spineless, dodging decisions, maintaining a rotation of baes—that led to her leaving in the first place. But now Sean has begun to wonder, how sustainable is this mode? How much fuckery is too much fuckery?
Written in a riotous, utterly original idiom, and slyly undercutting both the hypocrisy of our era and that of Sean himself, Fuccboi is an unvarnished, playful, and searching examination of what it means to be a man.
Set in Philly one year into Trump’s presidency, Sean Thor Conroe’s audacious, freewheeling debut follows our eponymous fuccboi, Sean, as he attempts to live meaningfully in a world that doesn’t seem to need him. Reconciling past, failed selves—cross-country walker, SoundCloud rapper, weed farmer—he now finds himself back in his college city, trying to write, doing stimulant-fueled bike deliveries to eat. Unable to accept that his ex has dropped him, yet still engaged in all the same fuckery—being coy and spineless, dodging decisions, maintaining a rotation of baes—that led to her leaving in the first place. But now Sean has begun to wonder, how sustainable is this mode? How much fuckery is too much fuckery?
Written in a riotous, utterly original idiom, and slyly undercutting both the hypocrisy of our era and that of Sean himself, Fuccboi is an unvarnished, playful, and searching examination of what it means to be a man.
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First published January 25, 2022
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March 26, 2022
Reading Fuccboi was like pulling up to a bad car accident, and even though one of the drivers was at fault, you can’t help but feel sorry for everyone involved.
In recent weeks, the autofiction novel Fuccboi has gotten a lot of press: Interview Magazine, Nylon, Vulture, The Guardian, New York Times, and a write-up in the Wall Street Journal by Bright Lights Big City author Jay McInerney. The review from McInerney is symbolic because of his own success with the literary “Brat Pack” of the 1980s (w/ Bret Easton Ellis, Tama Janowitz, and Jill Eisenstadt), and it appears that this is a push from the publisher (Little, Brown and Company, owned by Hachette Book Group) to create their own millennial/Gen-Z new wave literary icons.
The author, Sean Thor Conroe, is most known for his literary podcast: 1storypod, which focuses on authors and books in the small press world. With only 584 followers on Twitter, the podcast can comfortably be called “niche”. Previously, Sean had only published stories online with web-based journals (X-Ray, Hobart, NY Tyrant Magazine) so when word got out about his 200k advance for his novel Fuccboi, a lot of people were left wondering how he did it.
BACKSTORY
Giancarlo DiTrapano (aka Gian), founder and publisher of New York Tyrant (aka Tyrant Books) is credited for discovering Conroe and was editing his book for publication up to his unexpected death. Alex Vadukul for The New York Times reports that Gian “was working on the debut books of a group of young writers that he believed marked the arrival of the first wave of Gen Z literary voices.”
Flipping the calendar back to January 20, 2020, what would become Fuccboi’s opening pages were published on Gian’s New York Tyrant Magazine website in a piece titled “Postmate”. After this post on Twitter, we can see an exchange unfold on Instagram and Twitter between Gian and Conroe, and Conroe eventually flying out to Napoli, Italy a year later to work on editing the novel for publication with Gian at his home (either with Tyrant Books or a new publishing venture he hinted at since his Tyrant accounts were frozen due to a lawsuit).
Two months later, on March 30, Gian passed away at a hotel in Manhattan. Less than 30 days later, Conroe announced on Twitter that Little, Brown was publishing Fuccboi. The small press world was shocked by Gian’s sudden death, and Conroe’s announcement gave many writers hope that Gian’s last gift to the indie space he helped cultivate for over a decade would finally get the mainstream attention it deserved. That is, until August 15, 2021, when Sam Pink (author of Person, The Garbage Time/White Ibis, The Ice Cream Man & Other Stories) posted a roughly 5,300-word tell-all essay titled FUCK BOY! on Neutral Spaces about the book.
According to Pink: “Fuccboi is a complete rip off of my style.”
Pink goes on to write: “This isn’t even a debate. He has admitted it himself and every person I talk to about it agrees, even people close to/supporting him.” (from FUCK BOY!)
The response to Pink’s essay was mixed, die-hard fans were convinced, while others were more skeptical.
Leading up to the essay, Blake Butler (author of Alice Knott, Three Hundred Million, Sky Saw) subtweeted Pink’s behind the scenes disagreement with Conroe by saying, “If someone can bite your style it wasn’t yours” [July 31, 2021]
Butler, who has been an inspiration for numerous writers and countless novels, either didn’t completely understand the situation or is perhaps so used to people ripping off his original style, he doesn’t think it’s something to be concerned about.
AFTERMATH
After reading Pink’s essay I remember being of two minds. First, Pink’s style is as unique as a personality. If someone started writing like him, it would be obvious. It’s like someone doing a Donald Trump or Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation, people recognize it when they see it, even when it’s done poorly. Sure, many have been influenced by Pink’s writing, but Pink’s voice stands alone.
Pink writes: “Then it occurred to me, that given the timeline, he read garbage times when it came out and then got into Columbia after that. So I asked him, and sure enough, he used the Fuccboi early draft, for his writing app at Columbia. So he got into the ivy league/top three writing school, using my work, which he later sold for 200k to a major publishing house for his debut, after barely publishing anything online, and mostly using his podcast to make connections and network.” (from FUCK BOY!)
If someone ripped off Pink’s style to get into a grad school program and then to get a book deal, that’s something akin to a personal loss. It’s cheating. It’s stealing. Whatever it is, it’s not right.
On the other hand, I thought, maybe Pink’s just pissed because a younger writer he influenced got a big book deal, after all, no one gave him 200k? To someone who works an hourly job and sells paintings, 200k gets you out of paying a Michigan landlord rent and into a house. Pink has been a published author for as long as Gian has been a publisher (2009), and according to Pink, the biggest advance he received was 13K for The Garbage Times/White Ibis from Soft Skull (according to a tweet on June 8, 2020). So, was it the money?
I don’t think so. Pink has openly promoted writers Blake Butler, Scott McClanahan, Tao Lin, and Bud Smith, who have all gone on to get large advances. So, what gives?
WHAT GIVES
Before I get into Gian and Tyrant and Sam Pink’s essay, I want to compare two passages and talk about style so you have this going forward.
I’ll let you be the judge:
Here is the first page from Fuccboi
1
Got into a thing with the Fresh Grocer lady over coffee filters.
It honestly wasn’t a biggie, but why say they’re on sale if they aren’t, all I’m sayin.
She was like This muhfucker. What aisle.
I told her what aisle and we went and checked. Together.
Well we started to, but then she told me not to follow her when she noticed me following her.
I was like Aite, fasho, putting my hands up. Like I’ll hold it down. Man the reg’.
When she came back and said No du’, they ain’t on sale, I snapped.
That’s why I tried to come with! I said. To show you they are.
So we checked, actually together this time, she hemming and hawing the whole way.
Honestly can’t remember whether they were or weren’t, but I’ll never forget that incident. It connected us. It marked the start of a long, fruitful, and strictly nocturnal friendship.
--
Here’s the first page of White Ibis:
1
‘Just, whatever,’ I said, standing in a drugstore aisle with my girl. ‘Grab whatever’s gonna knock her out’
It was 2 a.m. and we were buying allergy medicine to drug our cat, Dotty, for the move from Chicago to Tampa Bay.
‘This should knock her out,’ said my girl.
A guy in the next aisle looked over.
I noticed him but my girl didn’t.
‘We need to make sure she’s out-out,’ I said. ‘Like for good. We can’t have her waking up halfway there. We just can’t.’
‘Yeah she can’t wake up,’ she said.
‘Once she’s out,’ I said, ‘we can stuff her in the cage and get her in the car. Then we’re home free.’
‘All right yeah,’ she said, shaking the pills. ‘These should do then.’
‘Cool, so what do we do? Mash some up and put it in her dinner?’
‘Yep.’
“Niiiiice,’ I said, smiling.
My girl kissed me on the cheek.
--
Have your opinion? Great. Here’s mine.
The first thing that strikes me as odd is both books open with a scene where the main character is at a store buying something. No harm in this, but Conroe admits that The Garbage Times/White Ibis was a huge influence when he was writing Fuccboi.
Quote from Conroe’s email to Pink: “When i started writing this was right around when Garbage Times dropped, and I remember I couldn’t read anything else. You killed all other books for me.” (from FUCK BOY!)
There are a lot of similarities in the line structure and tone, but Conroe’s is missing something. Pink weaves humor into his narrative and sets it up beginning with the first line, and without it, reading Pink’s work would be disorienting. The reason why Pink’s sentences work so well is because he makes us laugh while we’re crying. The sentences in Fuccboi are void of this comic relief. When there isn’t humor or it’s done poorly, it deadpans, so we are only left with the sad, which is just unsettling.
THE BOOK/EDITORS
So, why did I rate this 2 stars? Because there is something in here that is truly Sean’s, and the editors failed him. The premise is great: a Kerouac lead character based in Philadelphia working shitty jobs trying to write about that one time he tried walking across the US, and trying to make it as a writer, in various polyamorous relationships while commenting on current trends such as masculinity, identity (specifically, as someone who was born in Japan and whose mother is Japanese), and US politics. There are diamonds here, but Sean was never willing to bare his soul, and instead hid behind drug references, style (SoundCloud speech mannerism), and form (which he borrowed from Sam Pink and failed to replicate in an impactful way). I didn’t get that kick in the gut that I’ve gotten from previous Tyrant books or Sam Pink books.
A good editor would recognize this and wouldn’t let Conroe get away with writing that lacks originality and follows an obvious plot, because it just ends up being boring. But maybe I’m wrong. Would I still have this opinion had I not read Pink’s work?
GIAN (THE EDITOR)
Every interaction I had with Gian was positive. Even though we didn’t see eye to eye on everything, and he told me when he thought I was being stupid, he was kind to me when he didn’t have to be.
Note:
Even if he had been rude to me (and many thought he was rude to people), I would still have to admit that he was a talented editor. To clear the air here, if an editor or publisher is nice to me, I’m still honest if I don’t like one of their books, because if one of us isn’t honest, that’s how all this buddy buddy stuff starts. And buddy buddy stuff is a slippery slope to doing things that go against your values. And when that happens, we open a can of worms where unqualified people become gatekeepers and things get published not on merit, but on friendship. When authors blurb books not because they think it’s a good book, but rather, because they want to give someone a boost who will do a favor for them in return. And that’s not right.
I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every Tyrant book I’ve read, even Cherry by Nico Walker (which Tyrant sold to Alfred A. Knopf).
So, why does this one miss the mark?
In Pink’s essay, he says Gian was familiar with his work, which is true, but I’m curious if he ever read one of his books. Giving a manuscript to someone doesn’t mean they read it all. There are a lot of reasons why editors pass on books, and sometimes it’s not about the manuscript. Sometimes the current workload is crushing or something happens in their personal life or their publishing schedule is full.
If every other Tyrant Book was really good, what did Gian see in this one that I can’t? Honestly, I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because I have a bias because I have read Pink’s work and know when the form and style aren’t forced and work well together. Someone who hasn’t read Pink’s work wouldn’t be entering Fuccboi from the same frame of reference. Which brings me to the next point: Did Gian read Pink’s work? According to Pink’s essay “Gian had asked for/read the garbage times and other work of mine, and was, no doubt, familiar with it.” (from FUCK BOY!)
I had a phone call with Gian at noon (Central Time) on September 24, 2020 and we talked for over an hour about publishing stuff, what we were working on, etc. I mentioned Pink’s Early Stuff we published in late February and we talked about the Pets anthology he published that was edited by Jordan Castro, why it was dropped from Soft Skull, and so on and so on.
Note: Pink writes “…the whole idea of the Pets Anthology was stolen from me…” (from FUCK BOY!)
During this conversation, he asked what Pink was like because he had never spoken to him and didn’t really know anything about him.
Was he fishing for info? Perhaps. Honestly, I didn’t know Gian very well and he came off as spacey at times. When he asked about Pink, it was confusing because Gian was friends with Pink’s friends (Blake Butler, Scott McClanahan, Tao Lin), so I assumed they were also in contact. Maybe Gian knew exactly what he was doing. He had a hot novel and he thought Conroe pulled off Pink’s style better than Pink? He wanted me to spill the beans about working with Pink so he knew what he was up against? I don’t know. It doesn’t add up. But I also know that Gian sits on manuscripts for a while and sometimes rejects them without reading much of them, so it is possible that he has never read a Pink novel. I haven’t asked Pink about his experience with Gian, nor does it seem relevant now.
CULTURAL IMPACT
Is Pink justified in being angry?
Absolutely.
Did Conroe steal his style?
He definitely drew heavily from it, but I’m not sure what constitutes stealing or plagiarism or trademarking one’s personality (or whatever celebrities do when they don’t want someone to act like them or a character they created).
The hardest part about reading Fuccboi is, it would have worked if it was in Conroe’s own style. There is the potential for something brilliant to be there. If the book wasn’t trying so hard to be the great novel for our generation, maybe it would be.
Is it possible that I’m missing something and Fuccboi is a standalone “good novel”?
I doubt it. The only people I see liking this are those who are just as out of touch with this generation of writers, and it makes sense that the New Yorker and Paris Review crowd, people who are also pretending to be something besides themselves, would think this is an accurate portrayal of millennial or Gen Z American life.
The only other people who are talking about this book are writers and publishers because of the cultural impact this has on the small press scene. The fact that a big publishing house is trying to manufacture their own voice for this generation is insane, but one wonders how many times this has been done in the past, and how much more we must endure. But there are dozens of small presses and hundreds of authors doing just that and doing it better!
So why are a bunch of famous people saying good things about Fuccboi? Two reasons. The first: they are old and famous and live outside the world of small press authors. The second: the publisher bought the publicity. Yes, if you have enough money, you can do that.
WHO IS THE SPEAKER OF OUR GENERATION?
I don’t like these kinds of questions and honestly don’t know how it helps anyone.
Tyrant Books published one of the best coming of age books I’ve read, Welfare by Steve Anwyll, and it deserves all the attention and praise Fuccboi is getting. I know Gian tried hard with this one, but the powers that be didn’t let it through. Sorry Steve, you wrote a truly heartfelt book.
If there is a writer for this generation, it’s one or all of these: Chelsea Hodson, Scott McClanahan, Sam Pink, Big Bruiser Dope Boy, Elle Nash, Lindsay Lerman, Troy James Weaver, Thomas Moore, and Grant Maierhofer.
Three books that came out in the last year that also blew me away: My Dead Book by Nate Lippens, Body High by Jon Lindsey, The Secret Diary of a SoundCloud Rapper by Young Stepdad.
SPEAK UP OR LEAVE QUIETLY
It sucks when you feel like you have to self-censor yourself. I know plenty of people with opinions about the publishing world who are too afraid to share them. In posting this, I’m putting myself at risk as a publisher, editor, and most critically, as an author.
In the publishing world, everyone either knows each other or they know of each other. That’s why people can be so guarded. I don’t blame them for being anxious. For most of us, writing is our life. I also believe in doing what’s right and I can’t be bullied into hiding in the dark. Likewise, none of you should feel bullied. Please, share your stories, share your reviews, share your opinions. Don’t let the fear of not being published keep you back. We are at a critical moment in publishing where the big publishers are falling apart. If you don’t like the current guards, don’t keep them in business. If you want new guards, support the authors and publishers you love.
One final note. Please do keep in mind to be sincere but don’t take yourself or others so seriously that you lose your identity. Because when you forget who you are, your values also go. It is possible to not like something or qualities about a person and still be kind. Most negativity comes from insecurity, and people feeling insecure is the cause of most problems in the world. If you’re confident in who you are, you will find the kindness to have a civil discussion with anyone about anything.
<3
In recent weeks, the autofiction novel Fuccboi has gotten a lot of press: Interview Magazine, Nylon, Vulture, The Guardian, New York Times, and a write-up in the Wall Street Journal by Bright Lights Big City author Jay McInerney. The review from McInerney is symbolic because of his own success with the literary “Brat Pack” of the 1980s (w/ Bret Easton Ellis, Tama Janowitz, and Jill Eisenstadt), and it appears that this is a push from the publisher (Little, Brown and Company, owned by Hachette Book Group) to create their own millennial/Gen-Z new wave literary icons.
The author, Sean Thor Conroe, is most known for his literary podcast: 1storypod, which focuses on authors and books in the small press world. With only 584 followers on Twitter, the podcast can comfortably be called “niche”. Previously, Sean had only published stories online with web-based journals (X-Ray, Hobart, NY Tyrant Magazine) so when word got out about his 200k advance for his novel Fuccboi, a lot of people were left wondering how he did it.
BACKSTORY
Giancarlo DiTrapano (aka Gian), founder and publisher of New York Tyrant (aka Tyrant Books) is credited for discovering Conroe and was editing his book for publication up to his unexpected death. Alex Vadukul for The New York Times reports that Gian “was working on the debut books of a group of young writers that he believed marked the arrival of the first wave of Gen Z literary voices.”
Flipping the calendar back to January 20, 2020, what would become Fuccboi’s opening pages were published on Gian’s New York Tyrant Magazine website in a piece titled “Postmate”. After this post on Twitter, we can see an exchange unfold on Instagram and Twitter between Gian and Conroe, and Conroe eventually flying out to Napoli, Italy a year later to work on editing the novel for publication with Gian at his home (either with Tyrant Books or a new publishing venture he hinted at since his Tyrant accounts were frozen due to a lawsuit).
Two months later, on March 30, Gian passed away at a hotel in Manhattan. Less than 30 days later, Conroe announced on Twitter that Little, Brown was publishing Fuccboi. The small press world was shocked by Gian’s sudden death, and Conroe’s announcement gave many writers hope that Gian’s last gift to the indie space he helped cultivate for over a decade would finally get the mainstream attention it deserved. That is, until August 15, 2021, when Sam Pink (author of Person, The Garbage Time/White Ibis, The Ice Cream Man & Other Stories) posted a roughly 5,300-word tell-all essay titled FUCK BOY! on Neutral Spaces about the book.
According to Pink: “Fuccboi is a complete rip off of my style.”
Pink goes on to write: “This isn’t even a debate. He has admitted it himself and every person I talk to about it agrees, even people close to/supporting him.” (from FUCK BOY!)
The response to Pink’s essay was mixed, die-hard fans were convinced, while others were more skeptical.
Leading up to the essay, Blake Butler (author of Alice Knott, Three Hundred Million, Sky Saw) subtweeted Pink’s behind the scenes disagreement with Conroe by saying, “If someone can bite your style it wasn’t yours” [July 31, 2021]
Butler, who has been an inspiration for numerous writers and countless novels, either didn’t completely understand the situation or is perhaps so used to people ripping off his original style, he doesn’t think it’s something to be concerned about.
AFTERMATH
After reading Pink’s essay I remember being of two minds. First, Pink’s style is as unique as a personality. If someone started writing like him, it would be obvious. It’s like someone doing a Donald Trump or Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation, people recognize it when they see it, even when it’s done poorly. Sure, many have been influenced by Pink’s writing, but Pink’s voice stands alone.
Pink writes: “Then it occurred to me, that given the timeline, he read garbage times when it came out and then got into Columbia after that. So I asked him, and sure enough, he used the Fuccboi early draft, for his writing app at Columbia. So he got into the ivy league/top three writing school, using my work, which he later sold for 200k to a major publishing house for his debut, after barely publishing anything online, and mostly using his podcast to make connections and network.” (from FUCK BOY!)
If someone ripped off Pink’s style to get into a grad school program and then to get a book deal, that’s something akin to a personal loss. It’s cheating. It’s stealing. Whatever it is, it’s not right.
On the other hand, I thought, maybe Pink’s just pissed because a younger writer he influenced got a big book deal, after all, no one gave him 200k? To someone who works an hourly job and sells paintings, 200k gets you out of paying a Michigan landlord rent and into a house. Pink has been a published author for as long as Gian has been a publisher (2009), and according to Pink, the biggest advance he received was 13K for The Garbage Times/White Ibis from Soft Skull (according to a tweet on June 8, 2020). So, was it the money?
I don’t think so. Pink has openly promoted writers Blake Butler, Scott McClanahan, Tao Lin, and Bud Smith, who have all gone on to get large advances. So, what gives?
WHAT GIVES
Before I get into Gian and Tyrant and Sam Pink’s essay, I want to compare two passages and talk about style so you have this going forward.
I’ll let you be the judge:
Here is the first page from Fuccboi
1
Got into a thing with the Fresh Grocer lady over coffee filters.
It honestly wasn’t a biggie, but why say they’re on sale if they aren’t, all I’m sayin.
She was like This muhfucker. What aisle.
I told her what aisle and we went and checked. Together.
Well we started to, but then she told me not to follow her when she noticed me following her.
I was like Aite, fasho, putting my hands up. Like I’ll hold it down. Man the reg’.
When she came back and said No du’, they ain’t on sale, I snapped.
That’s why I tried to come with! I said. To show you they are.
So we checked, actually together this time, she hemming and hawing the whole way.
Honestly can’t remember whether they were or weren’t, but I’ll never forget that incident. It connected us. It marked the start of a long, fruitful, and strictly nocturnal friendship.
--
Here’s the first page of White Ibis:
1
‘Just, whatever,’ I said, standing in a drugstore aisle with my girl. ‘Grab whatever’s gonna knock her out’
It was 2 a.m. and we were buying allergy medicine to drug our cat, Dotty, for the move from Chicago to Tampa Bay.
‘This should knock her out,’ said my girl.
A guy in the next aisle looked over.
I noticed him but my girl didn’t.
‘We need to make sure she’s out-out,’ I said. ‘Like for good. We can’t have her waking up halfway there. We just can’t.’
‘Yeah she can’t wake up,’ she said.
‘Once she’s out,’ I said, ‘we can stuff her in the cage and get her in the car. Then we’re home free.’
‘All right yeah,’ she said, shaking the pills. ‘These should do then.’
‘Cool, so what do we do? Mash some up and put it in her dinner?’
‘Yep.’
“Niiiiice,’ I said, smiling.
My girl kissed me on the cheek.
--
Have your opinion? Great. Here’s mine.
The first thing that strikes me as odd is both books open with a scene where the main character is at a store buying something. No harm in this, but Conroe admits that The Garbage Times/White Ibis was a huge influence when he was writing Fuccboi.
Quote from Conroe’s email to Pink: “When i started writing this was right around when Garbage Times dropped, and I remember I couldn’t read anything else. You killed all other books for me.” (from FUCK BOY!)
There are a lot of similarities in the line structure and tone, but Conroe’s is missing something. Pink weaves humor into his narrative and sets it up beginning with the first line, and without it, reading Pink’s work would be disorienting. The reason why Pink’s sentences work so well is because he makes us laugh while we’re crying. The sentences in Fuccboi are void of this comic relief. When there isn’t humor or it’s done poorly, it deadpans, so we are only left with the sad, which is just unsettling.
THE BOOK/EDITORS
So, why did I rate this 2 stars? Because there is something in here that is truly Sean’s, and the editors failed him. The premise is great: a Kerouac lead character based in Philadelphia working shitty jobs trying to write about that one time he tried walking across the US, and trying to make it as a writer, in various polyamorous relationships while commenting on current trends such as masculinity, identity (specifically, as someone who was born in Japan and whose mother is Japanese), and US politics. There are diamonds here, but Sean was never willing to bare his soul, and instead hid behind drug references, style (SoundCloud speech mannerism), and form (which he borrowed from Sam Pink and failed to replicate in an impactful way). I didn’t get that kick in the gut that I’ve gotten from previous Tyrant books or Sam Pink books.
A good editor would recognize this and wouldn’t let Conroe get away with writing that lacks originality and follows an obvious plot, because it just ends up being boring. But maybe I’m wrong. Would I still have this opinion had I not read Pink’s work?
GIAN (THE EDITOR)
Every interaction I had with Gian was positive. Even though we didn’t see eye to eye on everything, and he told me when he thought I was being stupid, he was kind to me when he didn’t have to be.
Note:
Even if he had been rude to me (and many thought he was rude to people), I would still have to admit that he was a talented editor. To clear the air here, if an editor or publisher is nice to me, I’m still honest if I don’t like one of their books, because if one of us isn’t honest, that’s how all this buddy buddy stuff starts. And buddy buddy stuff is a slippery slope to doing things that go against your values. And when that happens, we open a can of worms where unqualified people become gatekeepers and things get published not on merit, but on friendship. When authors blurb books not because they think it’s a good book, but rather, because they want to give someone a boost who will do a favor for them in return. And that’s not right.
I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every Tyrant book I’ve read, even Cherry by Nico Walker (which Tyrant sold to Alfred A. Knopf).
So, why does this one miss the mark?
In Pink’s essay, he says Gian was familiar with his work, which is true, but I’m curious if he ever read one of his books. Giving a manuscript to someone doesn’t mean they read it all. There are a lot of reasons why editors pass on books, and sometimes it’s not about the manuscript. Sometimes the current workload is crushing or something happens in their personal life or their publishing schedule is full.
If every other Tyrant Book was really good, what did Gian see in this one that I can’t? Honestly, I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because I have a bias because I have read Pink’s work and know when the form and style aren’t forced and work well together. Someone who hasn’t read Pink’s work wouldn’t be entering Fuccboi from the same frame of reference. Which brings me to the next point: Did Gian read Pink’s work? According to Pink’s essay “Gian had asked for/read the garbage times and other work of mine, and was, no doubt, familiar with it.” (from FUCK BOY!)
I had a phone call with Gian at noon (Central Time) on September 24, 2020 and we talked for over an hour about publishing stuff, what we were working on, etc. I mentioned Pink’s Early Stuff we published in late February and we talked about the Pets anthology he published that was edited by Jordan Castro, why it was dropped from Soft Skull, and so on and so on.
Note: Pink writes “…the whole idea of the Pets Anthology was stolen from me…” (from FUCK BOY!)
During this conversation, he asked what Pink was like because he had never spoken to him and didn’t really know anything about him.
Was he fishing for info? Perhaps. Honestly, I didn’t know Gian very well and he came off as spacey at times. When he asked about Pink, it was confusing because Gian was friends with Pink’s friends (Blake Butler, Scott McClanahan, Tao Lin), so I assumed they were also in contact. Maybe Gian knew exactly what he was doing. He had a hot novel and he thought Conroe pulled off Pink’s style better than Pink? He wanted me to spill the beans about working with Pink so he knew what he was up against? I don’t know. It doesn’t add up. But I also know that Gian sits on manuscripts for a while and sometimes rejects them without reading much of them, so it is possible that he has never read a Pink novel. I haven’t asked Pink about his experience with Gian, nor does it seem relevant now.
CULTURAL IMPACT
Is Pink justified in being angry?
Absolutely.
Did Conroe steal his style?
He definitely drew heavily from it, but I’m not sure what constitutes stealing or plagiarism or trademarking one’s personality (or whatever celebrities do when they don’t want someone to act like them or a character they created).
The hardest part about reading Fuccboi is, it would have worked if it was in Conroe’s own style. There is the potential for something brilliant to be there. If the book wasn’t trying so hard to be the great novel for our generation, maybe it would be.
Is it possible that I’m missing something and Fuccboi is a standalone “good novel”?
I doubt it. The only people I see liking this are those who are just as out of touch with this generation of writers, and it makes sense that the New Yorker and Paris Review crowd, people who are also pretending to be something besides themselves, would think this is an accurate portrayal of millennial or Gen Z American life.
The only other people who are talking about this book are writers and publishers because of the cultural impact this has on the small press scene. The fact that a big publishing house is trying to manufacture their own voice for this generation is insane, but one wonders how many times this has been done in the past, and how much more we must endure. But there are dozens of small presses and hundreds of authors doing just that and doing it better!
So why are a bunch of famous people saying good things about Fuccboi? Two reasons. The first: they are old and famous and live outside the world of small press authors. The second: the publisher bought the publicity. Yes, if you have enough money, you can do that.
WHO IS THE SPEAKER OF OUR GENERATION?
I don’t like these kinds of questions and honestly don’t know how it helps anyone.
Tyrant Books published one of the best coming of age books I’ve read, Welfare by Steve Anwyll, and it deserves all the attention and praise Fuccboi is getting. I know Gian tried hard with this one, but the powers that be didn’t let it through. Sorry Steve, you wrote a truly heartfelt book.
If there is a writer for this generation, it’s one or all of these: Chelsea Hodson, Scott McClanahan, Sam Pink, Big Bruiser Dope Boy, Elle Nash, Lindsay Lerman, Troy James Weaver, Thomas Moore, and Grant Maierhofer.
Three books that came out in the last year that also blew me away: My Dead Book by Nate Lippens, Body High by Jon Lindsey, The Secret Diary of a SoundCloud Rapper by Young Stepdad.
SPEAK UP OR LEAVE QUIETLY
It sucks when you feel like you have to self-censor yourself. I know plenty of people with opinions about the publishing world who are too afraid to share them. In posting this, I’m putting myself at risk as a publisher, editor, and most critically, as an author.
In the publishing world, everyone either knows each other or they know of each other. That’s why people can be so guarded. I don’t blame them for being anxious. For most of us, writing is our life. I also believe in doing what’s right and I can’t be bullied into hiding in the dark. Likewise, none of you should feel bullied. Please, share your stories, share your reviews, share your opinions. Don’t let the fear of not being published keep you back. We are at a critical moment in publishing where the big publishers are falling apart. If you don’t like the current guards, don’t keep them in business. If you want new guards, support the authors and publishers you love.
One final note. Please do keep in mind to be sincere but don’t take yourself or others so seriously that you lose your identity. Because when you forget who you are, your values also go. It is possible to not like something or qualities about a person and still be kind. Most negativity comes from insecurity, and people feeling insecure is the cause of most problems in the world. If you’re confident in who you are, you will find the kindness to have a civil discussion with anyone about anything.
<3
August 22, 2021
the next American Dirt. bet it makes Oprah's book club, that'd be fun.
in all seriousness, an F grade ripoff, another example of dead-eyed ivy league kids who think life experience amounts to doing expensive drugs and having a service job once to prove to daddy they can make it on their own leeching off underground working class literature but missing the point of it all. soulless trash. unbearable and unrealistic slang.
in all seriousness, an F grade ripoff, another example of dead-eyed ivy league kids who think life experience amounts to doing expensive drugs and having a service job once to prove to daddy they can make it on their own leeching off underground working class literature but missing the point of it all. soulless trash. unbearable and unrealistic slang.
August 17, 2022
Conroe is praised by the likes of Sheila Heti, Tommy Orange, and Scott McClanahan, and compared to Bret Easton Ellis and Michel Houellebecq - but the $200k advance he collected for his debut has also made some alt-lit hipsters whine loudly in the bleachers. Currently, the text is overshadowed by accusations against the author. So let's clear that up: First of all, it is utterly ridiculous to say that Conroe can't choose a semi-fictional self framed as Philly tough guy as his protagonist, because he himself is allegedly not tough enough (for the record: I don't know the guy, and I'm unsure who operates the official Philly tough-o-meter). This is fiction, and if you want to have a Beatnik authenticity debate because Conroe attended Ivy League schools, maybe google the biographies of those rich Columbia boys William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg.
More serious though are the claims that Conroe stole from Sam Pink, an accusation made by...*checks notes*...oh well: Sam Pink, here. He also pulls the "you're not street enough" BS ("A kid who went to Swarthmore and Columbia using this kind of language as though it’s who he is, is just hilarious." - please someone explain the concept of fiction to these people!), then states that "Fuccboi" is a rip-off of his work. That might all be, but then sue, don't just aim for the guy's reputation by furiously rambling on the web. If there is meat on that bone, sue for plagiarism, there is a lot of money at stake.
Maybe we can now look at the actual text, for a change, please? The narrator, Sean, is Japanese-American, and that's only one parallel to the author (though they are not identical). This fictional Sean is adrift, is mourning his past relationship, jobs at Postmates (gig economy / The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power), tries to make it as a writer for average people who usually don't read, constantly stressing that he does not aim to reach the intellectual classes, and he also once tried to walk across country, and a friend attends Naropa - obvious conclusion: Beat lit references en masse. This character is a failed Jack Kerouac. There are Tao Lin-like references to mood altering substances, plus when Sean catches a skin disease that gets so bad at his feet and ankles that he can hardly walk anymore (metaphors!! metaphors!!), he is prescribed steroids (more metaphors, here: fragile masculinity!!).
The book is infused with the sound of soundcloud rap, slang terms evoke secondary orality, pretentious ramblings that stem from real disorientation add some cringey James Franco vibes, but the whole schtick is so (intentionally) overdone that it is both comical and rooted in reality. With all the "angry young man living through digital hypercapitalism"-desperation, there is humor lurking in the background, and of course it's meme humor - sometimes, the book made me think of Japanese-Australian comic Filthy Frank and his bit about wannabe rappers (fun fact: Papa Franku is now himself a successful musician working under the name "Joji").
The novel also works with tons of literary references: Sheila Heti (for fictional Sean, she is Jesus), Eileen Myles, Karl Ove Knausgård, Michel Houellebecq etc. And you know what: I actually enjoyed what Conroe is trying to do here. Sure, the meandering text can be exasperating at times, but the wicked sound and the recognizable type of person shown here are clearly zeitgeisty, and the way masculinity is talked about - mainly as a charade - is certainly not politically correct, but opens a window to the question: How should a man be? (See what I did there? How Should a Person Be?) The same goes for Sean's thoughts on his bicultural identity, which is frequently pondered in the text.
I listened to the audiobook, which, due to the writing style, is probably the best option, especially because the author reads it himself. This is some interesting stuff, and I'm curious what Conroe will do next.
More serious though are the claims that Conroe stole from Sam Pink, an accusation made by...*checks notes*...oh well: Sam Pink, here. He also pulls the "you're not street enough" BS ("A kid who went to Swarthmore and Columbia using this kind of language as though it’s who he is, is just hilarious." - please someone explain the concept of fiction to these people!), then states that "Fuccboi" is a rip-off of his work. That might all be, but then sue, don't just aim for the guy's reputation by furiously rambling on the web. If there is meat on that bone, sue for plagiarism, there is a lot of money at stake.
Maybe we can now look at the actual text, for a change, please? The narrator, Sean, is Japanese-American, and that's only one parallel to the author (though they are not identical). This fictional Sean is adrift, is mourning his past relationship, jobs at Postmates (gig economy / The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power), tries to make it as a writer for average people who usually don't read, constantly stressing that he does not aim to reach the intellectual classes, and he also once tried to walk across country, and a friend attends Naropa - obvious conclusion: Beat lit references en masse. This character is a failed Jack Kerouac. There are Tao Lin-like references to mood altering substances, plus when Sean catches a skin disease that gets so bad at his feet and ankles that he can hardly walk anymore (metaphors!! metaphors!!), he is prescribed steroids (more metaphors, here: fragile masculinity!!).
The book is infused with the sound of soundcloud rap, slang terms evoke secondary orality, pretentious ramblings that stem from real disorientation add some cringey James Franco vibes, but the whole schtick is so (intentionally) overdone that it is both comical and rooted in reality. With all the "angry young man living through digital hypercapitalism"-desperation, there is humor lurking in the background, and of course it's meme humor - sometimes, the book made me think of Japanese-Australian comic Filthy Frank and his bit about wannabe rappers (fun fact: Papa Franku is now himself a successful musician working under the name "Joji").
The novel also works with tons of literary references: Sheila Heti (for fictional Sean, she is Jesus), Eileen Myles, Karl Ove Knausgård, Michel Houellebecq etc. And you know what: I actually enjoyed what Conroe is trying to do here. Sure, the meandering text can be exasperating at times, but the wicked sound and the recognizable type of person shown here are clearly zeitgeisty, and the way masculinity is talked about - mainly as a charade - is certainly not politically correct, but opens a window to the question: How should a man be? (See what I did there? How Should a Person Be?) The same goes for Sean's thoughts on his bicultural identity, which is frequently pondered in the text.
I listened to the audiobook, which, due to the writing style, is probably the best option, especially because the author reads it himself. This is some interesting stuff, and I'm curious what Conroe will do next.
August 20, 2021
https://neutralspaces.co/blog/post.ph...
read sam pink instead. don't read insufferable imitation. don't read hooked-up rich grifter kids taking advantage of the economically disadvantaged.
read sam pink instead. don't read insufferable imitation. don't read hooked-up rich grifter kids taking advantage of the economically disadvantaged.
January 9, 2022
i think it's great and that's all that matters
February 5, 2022
I’ve had diarrhoea that was more enjoyable
Read
July 8, 2022Fuccboi is like watching someone tilt their chair so it's just two legs on the floor and it's not a stable situation and you keep waiting for them to fall over. It's not their fault.
February 3, 2022
The controversy around this book is fucking stupid - you can't plagiarise a writing style. End of.
The book itself is a strange mix of utterly fresh and ultimately pointless. For the first 150 pages I was so excited by the style, so intrigued by Sean's character and felt he was building up to saying something really profound about modern masculinity. I love books that feel raw and gritty and examine fringe or working class living. Take Gabriel Krauze's fucking masterpiece, Who They Was, as an example. That's where I thought Fuccboi was heading.
But Conroe, for all this promise, doesn't ever get to the point. He has nothing much to say. Who They Was never once comes across as self indulgent. Fuccboi only ever does.
There's a whole genre built around (largely male, largely American) writers detailing their lives through thinly veiled protagonists and the project building to something so much bigger than themselves - Bret Easton Ellis, Bukowski, Fante et al. Conroe's debut doesn't achieve that.
But make no mistake - the kid has got skills. He just needs to harness them better. I feel like he needs someone to help him hone his style and refine his storytelling so he can maintain that early brilliance across a whole book. I know he recently lost his trusted editor, Giancarlo DiTrapano, who passed away last year. I hope he finds someone to take up the mantle. Because he's got something.
The book itself is a strange mix of utterly fresh and ultimately pointless. For the first 150 pages I was so excited by the style, so intrigued by Sean's character and felt he was building up to saying something really profound about modern masculinity. I love books that feel raw and gritty and examine fringe or working class living. Take Gabriel Krauze's fucking masterpiece, Who They Was, as an example. That's where I thought Fuccboi was heading.
But Conroe, for all this promise, doesn't ever get to the point. He has nothing much to say. Who They Was never once comes across as self indulgent. Fuccboi only ever does.
There's a whole genre built around (largely male, largely American) writers detailing their lives through thinly veiled protagonists and the project building to something so much bigger than themselves - Bret Easton Ellis, Bukowski, Fante et al. Conroe's debut doesn't achieve that.
But make no mistake - the kid has got skills. He just needs to harness them better. I feel like he needs someone to help him hone his style and refine his storytelling so he can maintain that early brilliance across a whole book. I know he recently lost his trusted editor, Giancarlo DiTrapano, who passed away last year. I hope he finds someone to take up the mantle. Because he's got something.
January 9, 2022
I mean people can write what they want, who cares about the authenticity or lack of it, but $200k? for that? that's depressing.....
The excessive use of AAVE is embarrassing at best and racist at worst.
Long story short, Sean is a massive fraud with ivy league connections, talking about being a tough philly scumbag when he literally went to SWARTHMORE? that's literally the suburbs bro lol.
The excessive use of AAVE is embarrassing at best and racist at worst.
Long story short, Sean is a massive fraud with ivy league connections, talking about being a tough philly scumbag when he literally went to SWARTHMORE? that's literally the suburbs bro lol.
February 9, 2022
I have only decided to piece together some thoughts about this book because it may be the only objective review this book has.
I really enjoyed this book. It is audacious. I liked being in this character's head. I liked that actions didn't not always match up with his ideologies. I loved the ranting and stream of consciousness. I liked the notes on masculinity, art, the body, and well...women during this time.
The writing style and use of millenial slang will certainly not age well. I think a reviewer said that it was cultural appropriation due to the use of AAVE. THIS IS NOT AAVE (and maybe it's hard to distinquish Black venacular in our time because America as a whole are vultures).
I really enjoyed this book. It is audacious. I liked being in this character's head. I liked that actions didn't not always match up with his ideologies. I loved the ranting and stream of consciousness. I liked the notes on masculinity, art, the body, and well...women during this time.
The writing style and use of millenial slang will certainly not age well. I think a reviewer said that it was cultural appropriation due to the use of AAVE. THIS IS NOT AAVE (and maybe it's hard to distinquish Black venacular in our time because America as a whole are vultures).
December 15, 2021
Author has nothing to say but wants to say it in the most annoying way possible.
It's hard to pick a worst part but I think it's going to be the reviewers who will be afraid to trash it honestly because they're afraid of not looking hip.
It's hard to pick a worst part but I think it's going to be the reviewers who will be afraid to trash it honestly because they're afraid of not looking hip.
January 15, 2024
Well that was fkn terrible.
At first the writing style was fun but the longer it went on for the more forced it came across as and by the end I really didn't care and just wanted it to be over. Even when it made some good points or had a scene that would have been solid the style got in the way because it felt so overdone.
I was not aware of the "controversy" around the book or of the author prior to finishing my reading of the book (which I picked up from the library solely based on the title) and reading the reviews here so my review is based on my rather miserable experience with the book and not any kind of pre-existing negative sentiment toward the author or the book.
1.5 rounded up.
At first the writing style was fun but the longer it went on for the more forced it came across as and by the end I really didn't care and just wanted it to be over. Even when it made some good points or had a scene that would have been solid the style got in the way because it felt so overdone.
I was not aware of the "controversy" around the book or of the author prior to finishing my reading of the book (which I picked up from the library solely based on the title) and reading the reviews here so my review is based on my rather miserable experience with the book and not any kind of pre-existing negative sentiment toward the author or the book.
1.5 rounded up.
January 25, 2022
If you want to see the tragic state of modern literature, look no further.
February 9, 2022
Ignoring the discourse around Conroe and Pink (I don’t think one can plagiarize a style), and whether or not this novel speaks for a generation (impossible to answer in the moment), you’re left with one question:
Does the book entertain and provoke thought?
Fuccboi succeeds on both counts.
Does the book entertain and provoke thought?
Fuccboi succeeds on both counts.
April 15, 2024
Horrible guy, horrible writing, horrible book. I vomit all over all three.
(Read this review by Sam Pink instead: https://neutralspaces.co/blog/post.ph... )
(Read this review by Sam Pink instead: https://neutralspaces.co/blog/post.ph... )
March 4, 2022
Is this satire? Regardless of whether it is or isn't, it's still bad. Feels like using auto fiction as an excuse for misogyny.
January 11, 2023
I might do a full more "formal" review of this soon, but I don't even know if I should bother.
This is a truly, bafflingly awful book.
My complaints about the slang in the updates make it seem like I'm too hung up on it. Maybe I am, but I read and enjoy authors who write in slang all the time. The problem is here, it is entirely affected in an entirely unconvincing way. I referred to it as "Zoomer speak" even though the author is a Millennial (only three years younger than me). This isn't to shit on Gen Z, and much of the slang (the constant use of 'bae') reads as already out of date anyway, rather that this is clearly trying VERY hard to be "hip" and comes across as a thirty-something wanting to appeal to "the TikTok generation" or whatever else a marketing hack would say. Not to mention it completely steps on the tone when the book tries to be serious about something. Also, with one or two exceptions, the attempts at humor are abysmal.
Beyond that, the book wouldn't have been completely worthless. Without the terrible, terrible writing style, things like Sean's battle with a skin disease and his descriptions of working gig economy jobs would have been interesting and worthwhile. It still wouldn't have been good though.
Despite the title, implying it will either be about a guy who sleeps around a lot or who treats his partners badly, this book has very little to say about relationships, gender politics, or sex. It comes across like it's trying to walk a line of offending no one by being centrist about it, yet wanting a reputation of being "controversial" by bringing up things like online "red pill" content, abortion, and a brief scene of domestic abuse at the end.
I'll often read reviews of books when I'm reading them or when I finish them to get a feel for how others see it. I'm genuinely confused that every single lit site and critic seems to love this thing. Even City Journal (!?) spoke well of the book (mostly to complain about "woke" people who don't like it, despite the fact I haven't been able to find one critique of this book that fits that description). I have no idea what they see in it and reading those reviews makes me feel like we read completely different books.
I'll update if I do end up doing a full review. Until then, I need to go read Irvine Welsh or some other author who can write slang/dialect in a way that doesn't give me a headache.
This is a truly, bafflingly awful book.
My complaints about the slang in the updates make it seem like I'm too hung up on it. Maybe I am, but I read and enjoy authors who write in slang all the time. The problem is here, it is entirely affected in an entirely unconvincing way. I referred to it as "Zoomer speak" even though the author is a Millennial (only three years younger than me). This isn't to shit on Gen Z, and much of the slang (the constant use of 'bae') reads as already out of date anyway, rather that this is clearly trying VERY hard to be "hip" and comes across as a thirty-something wanting to appeal to "the TikTok generation" or whatever else a marketing hack would say. Not to mention it completely steps on the tone when the book tries to be serious about something. Also, with one or two exceptions, the attempts at humor are abysmal.
Beyond that, the book wouldn't have been completely worthless. Without the terrible, terrible writing style, things like Sean's battle with a skin disease and his descriptions of working gig economy jobs would have been interesting and worthwhile. It still wouldn't have been good though.
Despite the title, implying it will either be about a guy who sleeps around a lot or who treats his partners badly, this book has very little to say about relationships, gender politics, or sex. It comes across like it's trying to walk a line of offending no one by being centrist about it, yet wanting a reputation of being "controversial" by bringing up things like online "red pill" content, abortion, and a brief scene of domestic abuse at the end.
I'll often read reviews of books when I'm reading them or when I finish them to get a feel for how others see it. I'm genuinely confused that every single lit site and critic seems to love this thing. Even City Journal (!?) spoke well of the book (mostly to complain about "woke" people who don't like it, despite the fact I haven't been able to find one critique of this book that fits that description). I have no idea what they see in it and reading those reviews makes me feel like we read completely different books.
I'll update if I do end up doing a full review. Until then, I need to go read Irvine Welsh or some other author who can write slang/dialect in a way that doesn't give me a headache.
November 19, 2021
I’ve read some of the other reviews and followed the links so I’m aware of the drama. I haven’t read any of the other author’s writing, but if it’s anything like this book I probably don’t want to. I could not stand it. This book is terrible. The writing is noxious and the attempts to be edgy just make me tired and sad. I’m actually a little surprised at the authors age as this feels like something that would come out of a man 10 years younger, possibly in an undergraduate writing seminar.
January 29, 2022
First off, I wrote about the Sam Pink controversy here:
http://www.edrants.com/on-literary-in...
Conroe was influenced by Sam Pink, but he offered enough deviation from Pink's style to not be an outright thief. (And besides all artists pluck stylistic tricks from other artists) Having said that, Sean Thor Conroe doesn't really offer anything new to the table. He is an inferior writer to Pink. Pink's prose is full of life. Conroe is just, well, whatever. Postmates delivery biker. Crashing around in a van.
Make me care. You didn't.
Not really.
See, I can pull off the short paragraph style too.
Where's my $200,000 advance?
Personally, I think it's pretty fucking hilarious how this guy tried to name-drop Sam Pink, Tao Lin, and Sheila Heti in his novel (even including a fictitious version of himself for full narcissistic effect) for alt-lit streetcard and the whole thing spectacularly backfired on him. There are people out there who have told me that they would punch this guy in the face. Which is actually quite impressive. I've had people declare that they would punch me in the face. So I know what that's like.
Having said that, I didn't hate the novel. I also didn't love the novel. It's not "fearless" as the publishing publicists made it out to be. It's actually fairly pedestrian. You'd be better off reading Raven LeIlani's LUSTER, to tell you the truth. Which covers this territory far better and with more human insight.
But it's not as awful as the n+1 literary debuts from ten years ago. I mean, this guy isn't as awful as Keith Gessen or Benjamin Kunkel: two fools who actually believe they are serious intellectuals and who can't write fiction to save their lives.
Conroe is better than Gessen or Kunkel.
But this may very well be damning with faint praise.
Conroe does achieve a certain effect in his prose -- and Pink doesn't quite get here -- of burying his protagonist's narcissism in false humility and poverty cosplay. And I liked that element of the book. Even though it will be lost on the bourgie readers who actually consider this "fearless" or "dangerous" (a firm no on both counts) and have never known a day without a hot meal.
I don't know if I'll ever read anything by Conroe again. He didn't say anything all that remarkable here. But he didn't plagiarize Sam Pink. He tried to find his own voice through an amalgam of numerous other writers and it didn't quite work.
http://www.edrants.com/on-literary-in...
Conroe was influenced by Sam Pink, but he offered enough deviation from Pink's style to not be an outright thief. (And besides all artists pluck stylistic tricks from other artists) Having said that, Sean Thor Conroe doesn't really offer anything new to the table. He is an inferior writer to Pink. Pink's prose is full of life. Conroe is just, well, whatever. Postmates delivery biker. Crashing around in a van.
Make me care. You didn't.
Not really.
See, I can pull off the short paragraph style too.
Where's my $200,000 advance?
Personally, I think it's pretty fucking hilarious how this guy tried to name-drop Sam Pink, Tao Lin, and Sheila Heti in his novel (even including a fictitious version of himself for full narcissistic effect) for alt-lit streetcard and the whole thing spectacularly backfired on him. There are people out there who have told me that they would punch this guy in the face. Which is actually quite impressive. I've had people declare that they would punch me in the face. So I know what that's like.
Having said that, I didn't hate the novel. I also didn't love the novel. It's not "fearless" as the publishing publicists made it out to be. It's actually fairly pedestrian. You'd be better off reading Raven LeIlani's LUSTER, to tell you the truth. Which covers this territory far better and with more human insight.
But it's not as awful as the n+1 literary debuts from ten years ago. I mean, this guy isn't as awful as Keith Gessen or Benjamin Kunkel: two fools who actually believe they are serious intellectuals and who can't write fiction to save their lives.
Conroe is better than Gessen or Kunkel.
But this may very well be damning with faint praise.
Conroe does achieve a certain effect in his prose -- and Pink doesn't quite get here -- of burying his protagonist's narcissism in false humility and poverty cosplay. And I liked that element of the book. Even though it will be lost on the bourgie readers who actually consider this "fearless" or "dangerous" (a firm no on both counts) and have never known a day without a hot meal.
I don't know if I'll ever read anything by Conroe again. He didn't say anything all that remarkable here. But he didn't plagiarize Sam Pink. He tried to find his own voice through an amalgam of numerous other writers and it didn't quite work.
February 18, 2022
If I hadn't read about the controversy that this book ripped off Sam Pink pretty blatantly, I don't think Pink would've come to mind at all while reading. Pink's characters come off likable, and the writing almost wholesome at times (though the subject matter may not be wholesome.) The "fuccboi" in this book...well he sure as hell ain't likable. I can see the influence of Pink's stuff here and there, but if ya told me that Conroe was ripping off someone's style w/o telling me who, I probably would've guessed Tao Lin based on the writing style.
So while I don't see any blatant plagiarism here, I get why people are annoyed with this book. The author's first book and it was put out by a major publisher and he got 200K!? There's so much better stuff in a similar vein, that it's tough to see why THIS was the book to get a deal. Maybe because the author goes on about trying to be woke, or criticizing wokeness, just on and on, totally pretentious. Combined with the utterly annoying hip-hop slang, I could see someone totally out of touch thinking they found the author giving voice to a new generation.
I'm GenX, maybe I'm outta touch, but I don't think many younger people talk or think like this...I sure hope not. This started out as kind of an enjoyable read despite hating the character, but by the half-way point was a total slog and I'd grown very sick of this guy and his "baes", "bros", "mishes", and most of all how he's "livin' that art life". Ugh.
PS - why is this guy always talking about "railing" things? First comes up in a drug context (ie MDMA - I assumed he was snorting it), but then he mentions railing Advil (odd thing to snort) and then food items (don't think he meant he snorted a bunch of bananas). Does that word just mean "consume" now?
So while I don't see any blatant plagiarism here, I get why people are annoyed with this book. The author's first book and it was put out by a major publisher and he got 200K!? There's so much better stuff in a similar vein, that it's tough to see why THIS was the book to get a deal. Maybe because the author goes on about trying to be woke, or criticizing wokeness, just on and on, totally pretentious. Combined with the utterly annoying hip-hop slang, I could see someone totally out of touch thinking they found the author giving voice to a new generation.
I'm GenX, maybe I'm outta touch, but I don't think many younger people talk or think like this...I sure hope not. This started out as kind of an enjoyable read despite hating the character, but by the half-way point was a total slog and I'd grown very sick of this guy and his "baes", "bros", "mishes", and most of all how he's "livin' that art life". Ugh.
PS - why is this guy always talking about "railing" things? First comes up in a drug context (ie MDMA - I assumed he was snorting it), but then he mentions railing Advil (odd thing to snort) and then food items (don't think he meant he snorted a bunch of bananas). Does that word just mean "consume" now?
February 24, 2022
I started this book without any knowledge of the controversy surrounding it. I liked the cover art and was intrigued by title, so I dove in. When I updated Goodreads and saw the low reviews, I was surprised. The prose, at least in the beginning, is sharp, fresh, entertaining. The writing is energetic and immersive. At first, I was entertained.
Sean Thor Conroe’s protagonist, Sean, is self-centered and insufferable, milking his drug habit and mooching off others while looking down on everyone and everything around him. He sees himself as above the drunken partygoers of the city, above the successful writers of the past and current, above his friends, his "baes", his family, all in this drug-induced cloud. This would all be well and good if Conroe didn’t blur the lines between commenting on (and thereby criticizing) the fuccboi-isms and also indulging in Romantic notions of his character's own fuckery. I’m not sure if he is actually criticizing this way of life, or celebrating it.
For instance, see how he describes delivering Postmates and having multiple girlfriends:
“I was one of the chosen ones doing that difficult work, of applying the integrity of the old, matriarchal ways with the savage, patriarchal new world. I was a modern-day hunter, riding my horse-bike around, delivering food to these basic fucks unable not only to make it themselves but even pick it up. Hunting for food, foraging for nuts, at night, when safe from emotional predators, loving all my baes equally, according to the non-ownership-based polyamory of matriarchal yore.”
I laughed, but I didn’t feel as if I was laughing with Sean. I was laughing at him.
Do we really need a novel about a fuccboi who believes he is a God? I thought at first, maybe we did, or maybe not need, but could be entertained by, him. But when I felt like I was hanging out with an annoying friend with fluctuating self-awareness, I decided, eh, maybe not.
Sean Thor Conroe’s protagonist, Sean, is self-centered and insufferable, milking his drug habit and mooching off others while looking down on everyone and everything around him. He sees himself as above the drunken partygoers of the city, above the successful writers of the past and current, above his friends, his "baes", his family, all in this drug-induced cloud. This would all be well and good if Conroe didn’t blur the lines between commenting on (and thereby criticizing) the fuccboi-isms and also indulging in Romantic notions of his character's own fuckery. I’m not sure if he is actually criticizing this way of life, or celebrating it.
For instance, see how he describes delivering Postmates and having multiple girlfriends:
“I was one of the chosen ones doing that difficult work, of applying the integrity of the old, matriarchal ways with the savage, patriarchal new world. I was a modern-day hunter, riding my horse-bike around, delivering food to these basic fucks unable not only to make it themselves but even pick it up. Hunting for food, foraging for nuts, at night, when safe from emotional predators, loving all my baes equally, according to the non-ownership-based polyamory of matriarchal yore.”
I laughed, but I didn’t feel as if I was laughing with Sean. I was laughing at him.
Do we really need a novel about a fuccboi who believes he is a God? I thought at first, maybe we did, or maybe not need, but could be entertained by, him. But when I felt like I was hanging out with an annoying friend with fluctuating self-awareness, I decided, eh, maybe not.
November 17, 2021
Honestly… WTF was that? I couldn’t even make it 5% into the book. Not for me.
February 6, 2022
Jay McInerney's review titled "'Fuccboi' Is Its Generation's Coming-of-Age Novel" introduced me to this book. With a title like that, from a writer I admire, the book shot to the top of my ever-growing stack of books to read. Though the excerpts from the book were less than captivating, I decided to take the book for a spin anyways because of the glowing review. In my mind, it would either be an entirely over-hyped work churned out by the publishing industry or entirely worth my time and deserving of the praise it's received in the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and The Irish Times.
'Fuccboi' by Sean Thor Conroe falls firmly into the former; over-hyped and not particularly moving or thought-provoking. The ostensible project of the author/character -- to "write for people who don't read" -- is intriguing in principle, but the attempted execution of this plan produces work that is neither creative nor noteworthy. It builds to nothing, captures very little of the "generation" McInerney seems to think it represents and the author certainly does not "[land] on an undeniably rich mix of ingredients for autofiction." In the acknowledgements, Conroe begins by thanking "Giancarlo Ditrapino for not only letting me write how I talk, but encouraging me too." Well, kudos to Conroe for finding something that might possibly sorta maybe resemble a literary voice, but the fact that it's one few people will want to listen to should be the bigger lesson here.
The constant "baes", "hellas', "bro's" illustrate perfectly a total lack of depth in thought and emotion. And it's not clear to me that this is supposed to illuminate modern masculinity in any way. The book skirts the surface of anything meaningful, producing nothing more than repetitive gimmicks, superficial understandings of ideas and humans, and reads more like a book that is written by someone who doesn't read. Yeah, there's a ton of references to great philosophy, fiction, memoir, music and art but the proximity to worthwhile artistic endeavours is not enough propel this book into the conversation of "must read fiction". It's failed pastiche, the only merit being that it at least references more thought-provoking works.
And this is before ever mentioning the pseudo-controversy surrounding Sam Pinker and the theft of style. Even if one were to bracket that off and look at the book as a standalone work, the content of 'Fuccboi' continually fails to live up to any of the hype. If you liked it, that's great that you were entertained for a couple hundred pages but ask yourself if there is anything within this novel that you will want to revisit in 5, 10 or 15 years? If you can manage to make to the end, it's a one-and-done read, at best. There are no layers of complexity. There is no depth. And if you truly believe this is representative of masculinity in the late stages of capitalism then you need your head checked. It's so simplistic it's almost insulting to the males of all stripes, even honest-to-goodness fuckboys.
If you are looking for something to speak of -- or even to -- a generation, look elsewhere. The lack of anything genuine in here should, indeed, leave you "shook". To sum it all up, yo, let's check in with my boy Big Willy Shakes, yo, who has hella hot bars, bc he was legit literate and, Man, I'm tryna summarize this in a way y'all peeps who don't read can pick up what I'm spitting:
['Fuccboi'] is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth, 5.5. 25 - 27
'Fuccboi' by Sean Thor Conroe falls firmly into the former; over-hyped and not particularly moving or thought-provoking. The ostensible project of the author/character -- to "write for people who don't read" -- is intriguing in principle, but the attempted execution of this plan produces work that is neither creative nor noteworthy. It builds to nothing, captures very little of the "generation" McInerney seems to think it represents and the author certainly does not "[land] on an undeniably rich mix of ingredients for autofiction." In the acknowledgements, Conroe begins by thanking "Giancarlo Ditrapino for not only letting me write how I talk, but encouraging me too." Well, kudos to Conroe for finding something that might possibly sorta maybe resemble a literary voice, but the fact that it's one few people will want to listen to should be the bigger lesson here.
The constant "baes", "hellas', "bro's" illustrate perfectly a total lack of depth in thought and emotion. And it's not clear to me that this is supposed to illuminate modern masculinity in any way. The book skirts the surface of anything meaningful, producing nothing more than repetitive gimmicks, superficial understandings of ideas and humans, and reads more like a book that is written by someone who doesn't read. Yeah, there's a ton of references to great philosophy, fiction, memoir, music and art but the proximity to worthwhile artistic endeavours is not enough propel this book into the conversation of "must read fiction". It's failed pastiche, the only merit being that it at least references more thought-provoking works.
And this is before ever mentioning the pseudo-controversy surrounding Sam Pinker and the theft of style. Even if one were to bracket that off and look at the book as a standalone work, the content of 'Fuccboi' continually fails to live up to any of the hype. If you liked it, that's great that you were entertained for a couple hundred pages but ask yourself if there is anything within this novel that you will want to revisit in 5, 10 or 15 years? If you can manage to make to the end, it's a one-and-done read, at best. There are no layers of complexity. There is no depth. And if you truly believe this is representative of masculinity in the late stages of capitalism then you need your head checked. It's so simplistic it's almost insulting to the males of all stripes, even honest-to-goodness fuckboys.
If you are looking for something to speak of -- or even to -- a generation, look elsewhere. The lack of anything genuine in here should, indeed, leave you "shook". To sum it all up, yo, let's check in with my boy Big Willy Shakes, yo, who has hella hot bars, bc he was legit literate and, Man, I'm tryna summarize this in a way y'all peeps who don't read can pick up what I'm spitting:
['Fuccboi'] is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth, 5.5. 25 - 27
January 25, 2022
Woof. I mean, the whole plagiarism aspect of this book is one thing, but I just finished reading and it's so, so cringeworthy. I felt second-hand embarrassment just reading this, thank god my friends didn't see me toting around a copy of fuccboi lol. Did someone think this is what "the youths" are into these days? I guess anything is a “fresh voice” if it’s new…
December 16, 2021
I find it weird that so many people are rating it so low given it isn't out yet. Oh, wait, they haven't read the book. I guess I'll rate it five stars, then, because they are being complete fucking babies.
February 28, 2023
Imma be honest.
First time I heard about F boi by Sean Thor, I was ready to clown on it.
Wanted to violate.
But maybe that's just cuz I was jealous.
"This guy got a book deal? Just for writing like this? Wild."
Not even on some woke "he be culturally appropriating" tip.
Y'all know I'm not woke.
Ain't never been woke like that.
Just thinking that it wasn't finna be good or have any literary value.
But then I met the homie, seemed chill.
Few months later, cracked the book open.
Thing had me laughing, can't lie.
Dude's funny! He be writing straight from the heart, and the voice works, don't ask me why.
Puts you in his mindset, feel me?
And by the time the second half pulls up on you, and you see the way his body is getting torn up, a whole ass vibe is being created.
Book's lowkey fire.
First time I heard about F boi by Sean Thor, I was ready to clown on it.
Wanted to violate.
But maybe that's just cuz I was jealous.
"This guy got a book deal? Just for writing like this? Wild."
Not even on some woke "he be culturally appropriating" tip.
Y'all know I'm not woke.
Ain't never been woke like that.
Just thinking that it wasn't finna be good or have any literary value.
But then I met the homie, seemed chill.
Few months later, cracked the book open.
Thing had me laughing, can't lie.
Dude's funny! He be writing straight from the heart, and the voice works, don't ask me why.
Puts you in his mindset, feel me?
And by the time the second half pulls up on you, and you see the way his body is getting torn up, a whole ass vibe is being created.
Book's lowkey fire.
February 10, 2022
Wigga, pleez!
If this is what's considered transgressive fiction for Gen Z, it's like a kindergartener's finger painting compared to Dennis Cooper, Kathy Acker, A.M. Homes, even Bret Easton Ellis. The book is insipidly sentimental and corny in a childishly schmaltzy way. Every page shouts "phony."
If this is what's considered transgressive fiction for Gen Z, it's like a kindergartener's finger painting compared to Dennis Cooper, Kathy Acker, A.M. Homes, even Bret Easton Ellis. The book is insipidly sentimental and corny in a childishly schmaltzy way. Every page shouts "phony."
February 27, 2022
Unable to be as interested in his eczema as I needed to be and no idea how to pronounce ‘bae’ in my head as I read.
Started well, then meandered with not a great deal of point.
Found some new music to listen to and not like…
Started well, then meandered with not a great deal of point.
Found some new music to listen to and not like…
January 31, 2022
Okay this has been a fun exercise but I’m DNF’ing at 15%, what a uselessly bad book; no discernible plot, barely any characters, truly abysmal writing masquerading as style. Eek.
February 15, 2022
I am embarrassed that I purchased and read this book
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