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My Fake War
The absurd tale of an unlikely soldier forced to fight a war that, quite possibly, does not exist. Saul Dressing is a flabby middle-aged librarian who just wants to be left alone to listen to jazz, watch porn, and cultivate his toenails. All of this changes when a soldier in a camouflage sweat suit shows up to draft him into the army of the United States of Everything. His mission is go to a foreign country no one has ever heard of and incite the opposition to strike first. All alone in the middle of a desert with no enemy in sight, Saul must come to terms with the absurdity of his situation. Thus begins a surreal journey into the politics of war, consumerism, and giant robots. It's Rambo meets Waiting for Godot in this subversive satire of American values and the scope of the human imagination.
127 pages, Paperback
First published May 13, 2010
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317 people want to read
About the author
Andersen Prunty
51 books670 followersAndersen Prunty lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He writes novels and short stories. Visit him at notandersenprunty.com, where he posts a free story every Friday.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
February 7, 2017
I began writing My Fake War in 1978 at the suggestion of Kurt Vonnegut (RIP). We were in the library of Truman Capote’s New York apartment comparing tweed blazers. His had buttons. Mine had duct tape. Vonnegut kept making me smoke unfiltered Pall Malls and I tried to tell him that I had TB so he would stop. He didn’t. I told him he looked like he should be in porn and he told me I looked like a paper bag. I don’t remember much of what else happened that night but I awoke the next morning with the desire to write my magnum opus. Actually, it would be my first book. Or my fifth or something. Things were hazy then. I imagined it to be 1,503 pages long. I decided to take three years off for research and preparation. I divided those three years between Los Angeles, Tijuana, and Tibet. I decided to get busy writing and then realized my lease had expired and I no longer had a home. I called my agent and harangued her until she gave me the number of J.D. Salinger’s agent. I called J.D. Salinger’s agent and harangued him until he put me in touch with J.D. Salinger. I told the agent I was a very powerful man. I told him I was the King of Datsuns. J.D. (or “Jerry”, as I called him) allowed me to stay in the basement of his New Hampshire home provided I didn’t “talk too much.” I spent a week in Jerry’s basement, writing, drinking Miller High Life, and punching myself in the mouth every time I spoke out loud. At the end of the week I had finished five pages. By this time I was feeling burned out and fatigued. It was 1981. I decided to take the next twenty-eight years off. I explored the Great Ohio Desert. I was nearly consumed by an airborne toxic event. I was told this was not an exit. I moved to a modest house in posh Dayton, Ohio, and picked up where I had left off. I decided I was too lazy to write and decided to amass a sweatshop of unemployed elderly from around the neighborhood. They were non-threatening but cranky. I put them in my basement, gave them old typewriters and told them to get to work. Most of them had arthritis. A couple of them had no hands. I was a bad recruiter. Their work ethic was poor, their ingenuity non-existent. I told them I would do it myself. They made coffee for me while I worked for the next six months. The coffee they made was sub-par. I suspect it was instant. By the time I was finished I had my 1,503 pages. I submitted it to my editor and she suggested I “whittle it down.” She also pointed out the fact that there was no evident research and suggested I had come unhinged from reality. I laughed but was quickly consumed by a black wave of depression. I told my sweatshop to get to whittling. They were finished sometime later and I was able to submit it to my editor under the original title: A Treatise on Porn Enthusiasm. She made me change the title and a month later it was on the New York Times Bestseller List. Success, Mr. Prunty! Raging success!
July 2, 2011
I do a fair amount of reading and, given how much time I spend eye-banging the printed page throughout the day, originality in both plot and style are attributes that I prize highly because they help keep the reading experience fresh spicy. Genre-wise, I read SF, fantasy, mystery, horror, crime, historical fiction…you name it. I ask only that the story produce sufficient jaw-droppings or cause a throbbing eye-bulge with the concomitant shout of OMG or WTF.
Funny or scary are both fine so long as it provokes an emotional response, with or without bladder failure.
Now My Fake War certainly qualifies as well-written. But is it original? Well, that's the rub...you see, I'm ot sure.
I mean it has your standard pacifist, porno loving, middle-aged librarian with giant, talon toenails...who works in a library containing only 17 books (the rest having been checked out and never returned)... who gets “drafted” at his house in true Kafkaesque fashion by a fat army dude wearing a skin tight camouflage sweat suit... and is told he’s being sent to war with the country of Grisnos (who no one has ever heard of before).
I agree...pretty stock stuff that we have all see before.
AND…
It also has the all too familiar plot device of oddball hero being commanded by the Gung Hoest of “drill me” Sergeants since Clint in Heartbreak Ridge and sent to made up African country where the “enemy” turns out to be a warm, polite lizard man who stargazes and reads imaginary books to his imaginary family.
That is....
until our hero shows up with no instructions from Sergeant “Duke Nukem All” (other than to provoke the enemy into starting a war) and no equipment except a gun that can literally provide almost anything (e.g., food, water, housing, a bidet (yep) and a parachute).
Again...not too many risks being taken by the author with this narrative set up.
HOWEVER…
Despite the “been there, done that, play it safe” nature of the plot, I was enamored and impressed by Mr. Prunty’s ability to make this tired story “feel” daisy fresh and unique. My happy units were at full going through the motions of this simple, straight-forward tale and even though it remained predictable throughout (I mean, c’mon, the bidet function of the gun has been done to death by Dickens, Hemingway and Tolstoy), I still had my smile on throughout most of the story. Even better, those fond feelings have persisted in the 48 hours since I have finished it which means it has some legs to it.
I guess what I am saying, is that this is a very engaging novella/short novel. Smart, well-written (if a bit conventional) and darkly funny. A definite keeper and one that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. 4.0 Stars.
P.S. I would point out that Mr. Prunty has continued his love affair with convention by giving his own book a 2 star rating. Eminently predicable.
May 27, 2011
My Fake Review
I found this book in the bargain bin at a Yonder Readin' House in Pensacola, Fla. It was written in 1937 by a gypsy woman named Andersen Prunty, which was the most common name in that time for vagabonds and gypsies, according to Wikipedia. Miss Prunty was a poor girl suffering under the yoke of Communist aggression, forced daily to author tomes of propagandist literature for meager scraps. Hers was a life of toil and inhuman hardship. My Fake War was one of her many works.
Andersen Prunty
It tells the story of a beautician and wolfhound breeder named Saul Dressing, who refuses to fight in Lenin’s ‘Great Salt War’ of 1899. Dressing is whipped daily and forced to spread himself across beds of lettuce and vegetables, which seed within the grooves of his marred flesh and grow, rendering him a grotesque plant man. Dressing’s only respite from his tortured existence is through song – Dressing is also a world renowned accordion player. But soon this no longer offers solace, as his leafy arms snap under the weight of his instrument.
Dressing finally decides he can take no more of this torture and launches a one-man war (a FAKE WAR, dare I mention?) against his Communist captors, but he is thoroughly crushed by Lenin’s army of fork-wielding troops. He is served prior to the platoon’s meal that evening with a light vinaigrette.
Miss Prunty’s book contains a very important message, which is this …
SPOILER ALERT!!! STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON”T WANT THE STORY RUINED FOR YOU!!!
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I have never been to Pensacola, Fla.
I found this book in the bargain bin at a Yonder Readin' House in Pensacola, Fla. It was written in 1937 by a gypsy woman named Andersen Prunty, which was the most common name in that time for vagabonds and gypsies, according to Wikipedia. Miss Prunty was a poor girl suffering under the yoke of Communist aggression, forced daily to author tomes of propagandist literature for meager scraps. Hers was a life of toil and inhuman hardship. My Fake War was one of her many works.
Andersen Prunty
It tells the story of a beautician and wolfhound breeder named Saul Dressing, who refuses to fight in Lenin’s ‘Great Salt War’ of 1899. Dressing is whipped daily and forced to spread himself across beds of lettuce and vegetables, which seed within the grooves of his marred flesh and grow, rendering him a grotesque plant man. Dressing’s only respite from his tortured existence is through song – Dressing is also a world renowned accordion player. But soon this no longer offers solace, as his leafy arms snap under the weight of his instrument.
Dressing finally decides he can take no more of this torture and launches a one-man war (a FAKE WAR, dare I mention?) against his Communist captors, but he is thoroughly crushed by Lenin’s army of fork-wielding troops. He is served prior to the platoon’s meal that evening with a light vinaigrette.
Miss Prunty’s book contains a very important message, which is this …
SPOILER ALERT!!! STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON”T WANT THE STORY RUINED FOR YOU!!!
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I have never been to Pensacola, Fla.
January 22, 2012
If you like Andersen Prunty's writing, "My Fake War" will not disappoint. Andersen has a knack for making realistic, believably-flawed characters, who start off in an wild mundane setting, and then it all just goes weird and bizarro. My Fake War makes some strong social commentary statements, but there's no preaching. As with Zerostrata, My Fake War would make an excellent starting point for Bizarro fiction. There's plenty of weird, but the writing is extremely understandable, and the focus is always on what's happening to the characters, no tangents (not that there is anything wrong with that).
The plot was surprisingly straight-forward. We're presented with a man (Saul Dressing), a robot wished into existence, and a mysterious war, glued together by the Everything nation and its massive displays of power. The United States of Everything is striving for world domination, declaring war on everybody, and this simpleton Saul gets drafted and thrown in the thick of it. In the midst of his mission, that goes awry, Saul discovers the truth behind the wars, albeit by accident; however, he comes out smarter, stronger and wiser. The novella is very simple, as is the main character, and like any war satire, there are some tough down in the dumps devastation moments, Prunty reveals to us just how real the behind the scenes of war can be, in simple, heartbreaking terms.
The plot was surprisingly straight-forward. We're presented with a man (Saul Dressing), a robot wished into existence, and a mysterious war, glued together by the Everything nation and its massive displays of power. The United States of Everything is striving for world domination, declaring war on everybody, and this simpleton Saul gets drafted and thrown in the thick of it. In the midst of his mission, that goes awry, Saul discovers the truth behind the wars, albeit by accident; however, he comes out smarter, stronger and wiser. The novella is very simple, as is the main character, and like any war satire, there are some tough down in the dumps devastation moments, Prunty reveals to us just how real the behind the scenes of war can be, in simple, heartbreaking terms.
October 8, 2010
If you love freedom and hate Andersen Prunty, you might not like this book.
I remember a time where "hey! stop fighting! war is bad" seemed like a pointless, worn-out message, too stupidly obvious to be worth saying. But these days, it bears repeating: war is really, really bad.
This book is a simple anti-war fable, set in the same surreal, degrading, comical landscape as many other Prunty stories. The messages here are not hard messages to get. They're not that "deep." But they are sure worth repeating, these days especially.
I remember a time where "hey! stop fighting! war is bad" seemed like a pointless, worn-out message, too stupidly obvious to be worth saying. But these days, it bears repeating: war is really, really bad.
This book is a simple anti-war fable, set in the same surreal, degrading, comical landscape as many other Prunty stories. The messages here are not hard messages to get. They're not that "deep." But they are sure worth repeating, these days especially.
July 25, 2010
Andersen Prunty is a friend of mine. I guess more of a "colleague" if you want to get pretentious considering we are both involved in the bizarro fiction scene and only see each other once a year (although we speak on the phone once or twice a month, maybe.) Andy, as he is known by people who speak on the phone with him once or twice a month, sent me this book for free, likely because he is familiar with my status as a dirt poor graduate student. So I was talking on the phone with him tonight and asked him if he wanted me to write a review, considering receiving free books makes me feel obligated to reciprocate with a review. And he said, "Ok."
I would like to add here that I strongly dislike writing reviews. I find them difficult to do well and they usually take me longer to write than ANYTHING else, so I recently vowed to never write a review again. But I asked Andy if he was ok with a review that I put absolutely no effort into, and he was, so here is a review that I am putting no effort into. Perhaps what I write below this will be helpful to the potential reader. Perhaps it will not.
Anyway, I see a lot of reviews of bizarro books by bizarro authors, and I think a potential buyer may think they lack some degree of validity, and this may be the case. But they would be less necessary if more readers were writing more reviews (the small press needs your help!).
So as a preface, I think I'm more critical of bizarro books than most of the authors who are involved in the scene (although I usually keep my mouth shut in public forums). This makes me feel like a jerk sometimes.
So let's get to My Fake War, but not just yet. First I want to mention Andy's other books: I love love love love his novella, Zerostrata. His others are decent, but do not excite me like Zerostrata.
I have also published a few of his stories in my literary journal, and one of them excited me, but not nearly on the same level as Zerostrata.
Ok, so it's time to talk about My Fake War. I usually do not like "war books." There is something about them that turns me off. I do not know what this is. But the first half of My Fake War excited me. Probably because it is a fake war book rather than a war book. The first half excited me as much as my Zerostrata reading experience. Silently in my head, I was screaming, "Andy Prunty is back! He is back!" And considering the protagonist is alone with no one to talk to throughout much of this section, this is quite an achievement. It is difficult to engage the reader with a protagonist who is mostly spending his time alone.
But then the second half comes along, and my excitement dwindled. It was too action-y for me. Like zombies, I think action is better translated in the medium of film. It usually gets boring for me, although there are the occasional exceptions, often dealing with zaniness and unreality. There was a little of this, but not enough.
So if you like action in your lit, this is a freakin' awesome book. Buy it if you're looking for a good introduction to Andy. If you're more like me, get Zerostrata, which is a surreal/absurd romance that will, pardon my cliché, blow your mind.
I would like to add here that I strongly dislike writing reviews. I find them difficult to do well and they usually take me longer to write than ANYTHING else, so I recently vowed to never write a review again. But I asked Andy if he was ok with a review that I put absolutely no effort into, and he was, so here is a review that I am putting no effort into. Perhaps what I write below this will be helpful to the potential reader. Perhaps it will not.
Anyway, I see a lot of reviews of bizarro books by bizarro authors, and I think a potential buyer may think they lack some degree of validity, and this may be the case. But they would be less necessary if more readers were writing more reviews (the small press needs your help!).
So as a preface, I think I'm more critical of bizarro books than most of the authors who are involved in the scene (although I usually keep my mouth shut in public forums). This makes me feel like a jerk sometimes.
So let's get to My Fake War, but not just yet. First I want to mention Andy's other books: I love love love love his novella, Zerostrata. His others are decent, but do not excite me like Zerostrata.
I have also published a few of his stories in my literary journal, and one of them excited me, but not nearly on the same level as Zerostrata.
Ok, so it's time to talk about My Fake War. I usually do not like "war books." There is something about them that turns me off. I do not know what this is. But the first half of My Fake War excited me. Probably because it is a fake war book rather than a war book. The first half excited me as much as my Zerostrata reading experience. Silently in my head, I was screaming, "Andy Prunty is back! He is back!" And considering the protagonist is alone with no one to talk to throughout much of this section, this is quite an achievement. It is difficult to engage the reader with a protagonist who is mostly spending his time alone.
But then the second half comes along, and my excitement dwindled. It was too action-y for me. Like zombies, I think action is better translated in the medium of film. It usually gets boring for me, although there are the occasional exceptions, often dealing with zaniness and unreality. There was a little of this, but not enough.
So if you like action in your lit, this is a freakin' awesome book. Buy it if you're looking for a good introduction to Andy. If you're more like me, get Zerostrata, which is a surreal/absurd romance that will, pardon my cliché, blow your mind.
May 21, 2013
"Saul Dressing, you've been drafted."
Why?
Why would the army send an out-of-shape, middle-aged librarian to a seemingly insignificant country to start a war?
There's got to be oil involved, right?
Or at least some sort of nation-building contract for Halliburton...
Right?
“Sometimes it’s not good enough to defend freedom at home. Sometimes you have to promote freedom throughout the world.”
Ah. The old promoting freedom ploy...
I fell completely in love with this book during the second half, where Saul struggles to find out just who is really the enemy The whole story was completely unpredictable, and the ending...dare I say...almost...hopeful?
Vonnegut and Heller are the only other authors I've read who so deftly used humor to matter-of-factly point out the absurdities of war.
Why?
Why would the army send an out-of-shape, middle-aged librarian to a seemingly insignificant country to start a war?
There's got to be oil involved, right?
Or at least some sort of nation-building contract for Halliburton...
Right?
“Sometimes it’s not good enough to defend freedom at home. Sometimes you have to promote freedom throughout the world.”
Ah. The old promoting freedom ploy...
I fell completely in love with this book during the second half, where Saul struggles to find out just who is really the enemy The whole story was completely unpredictable, and the ending...dare I say...almost...hopeful?
Vonnegut and Heller are the only other authors I've read who so deftly used humor to matter-of-factly point out the absurdities of war.
June 13, 2011
One of the things I like about the writings of Andersen Prunty is that each book is different. Some are bizarro fantasy, some border on horror and My Fake War is political satire. This novel is satire in the most absurd sense. Hints of Beckett and Vonnegut abound and if Prunty doesn't quite reach those hallowed heights it isn't because he's not trying. My Fake War is deliciously funny but uncomfortably serious at the same time. It is difficult not to compare our real time war with Prunty's fake one especially when our own enemies are as ill-defined as the ones in his novel. But I wonder if the author may be trying a little too hard. At times, the bizarreness feels a little too much like Sartre meets the Three Stooges. Perhaps that is what it is supposed to be. Andersen may not have written the equal to 1984 or The Sirens of Titan but give him time. Right now he is simply tapping on the shoulders of the literature gods and letting them know he's coming. four and a half stars.
December 11, 2012
Book Info: Genre: Bizarro
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Those looking for a book that will make them think
Trigger Warnings: Violence
Disclosure: I picked up this book from Amazon while it was on free promotion, inspired by a review I had read. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: The absurd tale of an unlikely soldier forced to fight a war that, quite possibly, does not exist. Saul Dressing is a flabby, middle-aged librarian who just wants to be left alone to listen to jazz, watch porn, and cultivate his toenails. All of this changes when a soldier in a camouflage sweat suit shows up to draft him into the army of the United States of Everything. His mission is simple: go to a foreign country no one has ever heard of and incite the opposition to strike first. All alone in the middle of a desert with no enemy in sight, Saul must come to terms with the absurdity of his situation. Thus begins a surreal journey into the politics of war, consumerism, and giant robots.
It's Rambo meets Waiting for Godot in this subversive satire of American values and the scope of the human imagination.
My Thoughts: While perusing random reviews by a few different people, I stumbled upon the author’s own review – Andersen Prunty gave this book a two-star review. Intrigued, I read farther. I read other reviews. I read the synopsis. I thought: “This book sounds just like the sort of thing I’d enjoy!” And I had liked The Sorrow King, the first book by Prunty I read. So, when I saw this was on a promotion through KDP on Amazon and I could thus pick up a free copy, I jumped all over that.
Now, keep in mind I have never interacted with Prunty outside a single comment on his review of this book, to which he never responded. He certainly has never asked me for a review, nor had any of his friends do so. Bizarro is a strange blend of dark fantasy and horror and comedy, and it’s a sort of thing that really appeals to the more twisted and dark roots on my nature. This is a book I sought out and picked up on my own and am reviewing for my own, personal amusement.
I would love to have a gun like the one that is provided to Dressing. Push a button – instant food, water, tent... bidet? Very handy! The book, while it has its amusing moments, however, has a deadly serious message about the nature of war and greed. This quote, I think, pretty well expresses the point of the whole book:
This is a very thought-provoking book, and one I think many people should read. It expresses the subversive nature of our modern political system, the sorts of excuses that are given to assuage the guilt of the people over the wars being waged, and generally pushing people into the direction the government wants them to go rather than following their own consciences. Check this one out – it’s very worth reading.
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Those looking for a book that will make them think
Trigger Warnings: Violence
Disclosure: I picked up this book from Amazon while it was on free promotion, inspired by a review I had read. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: The absurd tale of an unlikely soldier forced to fight a war that, quite possibly, does not exist. Saul Dressing is a flabby, middle-aged librarian who just wants to be left alone to listen to jazz, watch porn, and cultivate his toenails. All of this changes when a soldier in a camouflage sweat suit shows up to draft him into the army of the United States of Everything. His mission is simple: go to a foreign country no one has ever heard of and incite the opposition to strike first. All alone in the middle of a desert with no enemy in sight, Saul must come to terms with the absurdity of his situation. Thus begins a surreal journey into the politics of war, consumerism, and giant robots.
It's Rambo meets Waiting for Godot in this subversive satire of American values and the scope of the human imagination.
My Thoughts: While perusing random reviews by a few different people, I stumbled upon the author’s own review – Andersen Prunty gave this book a two-star review. Intrigued, I read farther. I read other reviews. I read the synopsis. I thought: “This book sounds just like the sort of thing I’d enjoy!” And I had liked The Sorrow King, the first book by Prunty I read. So, when I saw this was on a promotion through KDP on Amazon and I could thus pick up a free copy, I jumped all over that.
Now, keep in mind I have never interacted with Prunty outside a single comment on his review of this book, to which he never responded. He certainly has never asked me for a review, nor had any of his friends do so. Bizarro is a strange blend of dark fantasy and horror and comedy, and it’s a sort of thing that really appeals to the more twisted and dark roots on my nature. This is a book I sought out and picked up on my own and am reviewing for my own, personal amusement.
I would love to have a gun like the one that is provided to Dressing. Push a button – instant food, water, tent... bidet? Very handy! The book, while it has its amusing moments, however, has a deadly serious message about the nature of war and greed. This quote, I think, pretty well expresses the point of the whole book:
“...that, I figured, was how this new army was recruited. If you have anything, someone will take it. And they will keep taking until you have absolutely nothing left. They will reduce you to the point where you can’t do anything but fight. And if it’s a choice between fighting or going to a prison then, well, isn’t that fighting for freedom?”
This is a very thought-provoking book, and one I think many people should read. It expresses the subversive nature of our modern political system, the sorts of excuses that are given to assuage the guilt of the people over the wars being waged, and generally pushing people into the direction the government wants them to go rather than following their own consciences. Check this one out – it’s very worth reading.
March 7, 2012
Prunty delivers again with another great book. In this one he strays from the horror he writes about a lot and goes for more of a surreal and comical story. He still puts his main character through the wringer in typical Prunty fashion.
Saul Dressing has been drafted by the army of everything. He’s being sent to a country that threatens their freedom, his job is to observe and declare war on any hostiles. He’s the right man for the job, or is he? And are there even any hostiles to declare war on? You really feel sorry for Ol Saul, thrust into a situation that doesn’t make sense and forced to do things he doesn’t understand. But they give Saul a rockin gun, one that with a push of a button can dispense food, pop out a tent, or act as a bidet. They may send him off well equipped but that’s nothing compared to what he ends up finding.
I’ve read quite a bit of his work and to be honest this was my least favorite so far. I’m not saying that in a bad way, every book can’t be a master piece. If someone had never read an Andersen Prunty book there are others I would recommend first, but this is still a very good read. Like most of his work there are twists and turns you won’t see coming. My Fake War is weird, funny, very entertaining and worth a read for any fan of Bizarro fiction.
Saul Dressing has been drafted by the army of everything. He’s being sent to a country that threatens their freedom, his job is to observe and declare war on any hostiles. He’s the right man for the job, or is he? And are there even any hostiles to declare war on? You really feel sorry for Ol Saul, thrust into a situation that doesn’t make sense and forced to do things he doesn’t understand. But they give Saul a rockin gun, one that with a push of a button can dispense food, pop out a tent, or act as a bidet. They may send him off well equipped but that’s nothing compared to what he ends up finding.
I’ve read quite a bit of his work and to be honest this was my least favorite so far. I’m not saying that in a bad way, every book can’t be a master piece. If someone had never read an Andersen Prunty book there are others I would recommend first, but this is still a very good read. Like most of his work there are twists and turns you won’t see coming. My Fake War is weird, funny, very entertaining and worth a read for any fan of Bizarro fiction.
March 24, 2014
Andersen Prunty does here with the military what Kafka did with the justice system, which is to take a milquetoast plebeian with no insight or cares beyond his own front door and have an overwhelming political spectre assume control of that individual's existence.
Saul is plucked from his enjoyably mediocre existence to take part in a war with the imaginary country of Grisnos populated by, as far as he can see, one lone individual with the traits of a humanoid reptilian.
It's a very nuts and bolts story with simple things happening and then the characters reacting, but then Prunty throws a device into the mix to elevate the plot to a more suitably grandiose scale. That device is Climax and Anti Climax by Heinrich Bombast, which states that:
"...a climax can only occur on an internal level when something we do not expect to happen happens . On an external level— he calls it a diagrammatic level— any reader can find the climax in the action of a book. However , if this climax does not engage the reader on an internal— a felt level— then it is, in fact, an anti-climax. He also describes a diagrammatic plot and an internal plot.”
Prunty, Andersen (2010-05-13). My Fake War (Kindle Locations 615-619). Eraserhead Press. Kindle Edition.
I advise you to pay attention because this will matter very much in the conclusion of My Fake War.
Aside from a well told yarn, My Fake War also goes to show that maybe we shouldn't go to war if our reasons for going in the first place are constantly evolving and based on resources that aren't ours to try and plunder or lay claim to. Just a thought.
Saul is plucked from his enjoyably mediocre existence to take part in a war with the imaginary country of Grisnos populated by, as far as he can see, one lone individual with the traits of a humanoid reptilian.
It's a very nuts and bolts story with simple things happening and then the characters reacting, but then Prunty throws a device into the mix to elevate the plot to a more suitably grandiose scale. That device is Climax and Anti Climax by Heinrich Bombast, which states that:
"...a climax can only occur on an internal level when something we do not expect to happen happens . On an external level— he calls it a diagrammatic level— any reader can find the climax in the action of a book. However , if this climax does not engage the reader on an internal— a felt level— then it is, in fact, an anti-climax. He also describes a diagrammatic plot and an internal plot.”
Prunty, Andersen (2010-05-13). My Fake War (Kindle Locations 615-619). Eraserhead Press. Kindle Edition.
I advise you to pay attention because this will matter very much in the conclusion of My Fake War.
Aside from a well told yarn, My Fake War also goes to show that maybe we shouldn't go to war if our reasons for going in the first place are constantly evolving and based on resources that aren't ours to try and plunder or lay claim to. Just a thought.
July 2, 2010
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
What's the first thing that springs to mind about this book - bizarre! That sums the whole book up. An overweight man who delights in his ever lengthening toe-nails is drafted by the United States of Everything (which was the USA) to start a war in a country that he (or most people for that matter) has heard of.
The completely over the top satirical USA of the future is hilarious but also sobering at the same time. The author uses it and the events in the book to make points about recent US foreign policy to police the world and their apparent selections on where to intervene based on oil. In this future the people who are fighting do not know what they are fighting for, just that it would be unpatriotic and treasoness not to do as they are told. I am concerned that some of the points made by the author are too heavy handed and this might put people off or they will loose their impact.
Let's be honest, this book is no 1984 or Animal Farm but it is a pleasant diversion for a few hours with some interesting ideas and a few new twists. If you have a journey that needs to be filled or a couple of hours to spare then take a look.
What's the first thing that springs to mind about this book - bizarre! That sums the whole book up. An overweight man who delights in his ever lengthening toe-nails is drafted by the United States of Everything (which was the USA) to start a war in a country that he (or most people for that matter) has heard of.
The completely over the top satirical USA of the future is hilarious but also sobering at the same time. The author uses it and the events in the book to make points about recent US foreign policy to police the world and their apparent selections on where to intervene based on oil. In this future the people who are fighting do not know what they are fighting for, just that it would be unpatriotic and treasoness not to do as they are told. I am concerned that some of the points made by the author are too heavy handed and this might put people off or they will loose their impact.
Let's be honest, this book is no 1984 or Animal Farm but it is a pleasant diversion for a few hours with some interesting ideas and a few new twists. If you have a journey that needs to be filled or a couple of hours to spare then take a look.
December 10, 2010
"My Fake War" follows its protagonist, Saul Dressing, an average, middle-aged library worker with huge, taloned feet as he is drafted by the military, abducted from his home and sent on a pointless and frustrating mission in the mysterious country of Grisnos.
My first introduction to the Bizarro genre was Prunty's spectacularly surreal love/adventure story, "Zerostrata." I was instantly a fan of the book, the author, and the genre. Since reading "Zerostrata" I have read a lot of Bizarro and "My Fake War," my most recent read, was my first return to the wonderlands of Andersen Prunty. Some of the best characteristics of Bizarro fiction are exemplified in Prunty's work, and in "My Fake War" especially: a skewed, but strangely familiar universe, simple, artful prose, and an engaging and exciting story.
I strongly believe that through the surreal and the weird, authors can present the most meaningful and accurate visions of the human condition. Prunty most definitely accomplishes this in "My Fake War."
My first introduction to the Bizarro genre was Prunty's spectacularly surreal love/adventure story, "Zerostrata." I was instantly a fan of the book, the author, and the genre. Since reading "Zerostrata" I have read a lot of Bizarro and "My Fake War," my most recent read, was my first return to the wonderlands of Andersen Prunty. Some of the best characteristics of Bizarro fiction are exemplified in Prunty's work, and in "My Fake War" especially: a skewed, but strangely familiar universe, simple, artful prose, and an engaging and exciting story.
I strongly believe that through the surreal and the weird, authors can present the most meaningful and accurate visions of the human condition. Prunty most definitely accomplishes this in "My Fake War."
July 5, 2010
OK I have read it and yes it is bizarre… It is short. It is odd. And it is just what it says on the label.
If you like: strange, odd, absurd, bizarre and strange, (ok I said strange twice but it is strange). If you like that sort of book then you will love this one.
It is easy to read
It is short
It flows
Did I say strange?
Suspense? Yes you will never guess the ending, which is good in a book or in fact the middle, you will never ever guess the middle, the middle, yes I am still working on the middle, perhaps I should just say the middle is also strange, so that is good as it matches the ending, well no perhaps not as I think I do understand the ending, well the chapter was called conclusion so that was a very helpful hint.
Should you go out and buy this book, yes why not and if you are feeling brave read it.
If you like: strange, odd, absurd, bizarre and strange, (ok I said strange twice but it is strange). If you like that sort of book then you will love this one.
It is easy to read
It is short
It flows
Did I say strange?
Suspense? Yes you will never guess the ending, which is good in a book or in fact the middle, you will never ever guess the middle, the middle, yes I am still working on the middle, perhaps I should just say the middle is also strange, so that is good as it matches the ending, well no perhaps not as I think I do understand the ending, well the chapter was called conclusion so that was a very helpful hint.
Should you go out and buy this book, yes why not and if you are feeling brave read it.
May 16, 2011
"Andersen Prunty Can't Lose" was my favorite TV show in the early nineties. His adventures continue nowadays, and he chronicles them in his books. One of which is this one.
A strange, hilarious story about a man (Saul Dressing) who is forced to fly to a country he has never heard of to start a war with a race of people who may or may not exsist. You really don't need to know much more than that.
Pick up a copy, open it, and read what is written on the pages.
You will be glad you did.
A strange, hilarious story about a man (Saul Dressing) who is forced to fly to a country he has never heard of to start a war with a race of people who may or may not exsist. You really don't need to know much more than that.
Pick up a copy, open it, and read what is written on the pages.
You will be glad you did.
December 14, 2010
The best bizarro book EVER. The best book of any genre this year. Read this NOW.
October 22, 2019
Bizarro Rambo that takes place in a magical desert with lizard men and thinking flying robots
Well narrated by the man himself highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
Well narrated by the man himself highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
June 3, 2020
Weird, weird novella but straight enough of a story to follow with ease. I really enjoyed Prunty’s dark humor and critique of war in general. That’s all I can really say. If you want a better review with some mild spoilers read this one.
April 12, 2023
Awesome, As Always
Anderson Prunty is by far my favorite author in the bizarro-ish genre. I have read and re-read The Beard, Morning is Dead, and Sociopaths in love many times. Will most certainly add this one to the rotation!
Anderson Prunty is by far my favorite author in the bizarro-ish genre. I have read and re-read The Beard, Morning is Dead, and Sociopaths in love many times. Will most certainly add this one to the rotation!
September 1, 2017
Good
Certainly F*cked up but deep sh*t. Good read. Definitely recommended. One of my favorite authors. Glad its on kindle unlimited.
Certainly F*cked up but deep sh*t. Good read. Definitely recommended. One of my favorite authors. Glad its on kindle unlimited.
July 26, 2019
I liked it! I could relate to much of the writing angst and decisions about stepping away from the novel writing. Not sure I’d recommend it for non-writers though.
May 18, 2020
This is another very strange one that I wasn't able to put down.
It says a lot about human nature on both the small and large scale, while also being filled to the brim with the strange sort of logic that only Prunty seems capable of.
It says a lot about human nature on both the small and large scale, while also being filled to the brim with the strange sort of logic that only Prunty seems capable of.
March 8, 2017
Smart and sadly accurate
What does a government do when it doesn't understand something or own? It declares war.
This book was intelligent and thoughtful also funny and hilarious.
What does a government do when it doesn't understand something or own? It declares war.
This book was intelligent and thoughtful also funny and hilarious.
July 19, 2010
Hoooooly crap, that was not what I expected.
I'm a big fan of the absurd, and 'My Fake War' fed my hunger to satiation. It's satirical, I get it, but who can be bothered reading into the deeper meaning with a narrative as strange and fascinating as this. The whole time I was reading I was engrossed completely by the bizarre characters, the bizarre events, and the bizarre logical flow that underpins the whole shebang; the plot progresses logically, sure, but it's in such a crazy direction!
To say that 'My Fake War' is dreamlike, while true, would only sell it short. I'd kill to have dreams like this. It is short, succinct, and fun as all hell. If the rest of the 'Bizarro' genre is anything like this, you can bet that 'My Fake War' will be joined on my bookshelf by more of its brethren very soon indeed.
I'm a big fan of the absurd, and 'My Fake War' fed my hunger to satiation. It's satirical, I get it, but who can be bothered reading into the deeper meaning with a narrative as strange and fascinating as this. The whole time I was reading I was engrossed completely by the bizarre characters, the bizarre events, and the bizarre logical flow that underpins the whole shebang; the plot progresses logically, sure, but it's in such a crazy direction!
To say that 'My Fake War' is dreamlike, while true, would only sell it short. I'd kill to have dreams like this. It is short, succinct, and fun as all hell. If the rest of the 'Bizarro' genre is anything like this, you can bet that 'My Fake War' will be joined on my bookshelf by more of its brethren very soon indeed.
January 8, 2012
After my first exposure to Andersen Prunty (with Jack and Mr. Grin), I braced myself for the bizarre, psychotic horrors I’d find within this next book. I was actually fortunate enough to get this book as a bonus with my signed preorder of the Sorrow King (listed below). This book was one of the first bizarro novels one of my friends bought and read right when we came across the genre and were picking out a few titles to entertain us. I remember him telling me a bit about it and being really into it. It’s not as disturbed as Jack and Mr. Grin. It’s more bizarro, less horror, and all-out crazy about a war that doesn’t exist.
March 8, 2012
What I like about this book is that it unfolds with understated grace. It is dark, it is bleak, but a beautiful light shines through all of that. Human compassion breaks the barriers of a tyrannical world, ruled by warmongers and greed. The sheer power of giving a shit and trying to imagine the unimaginable saves the characters from a world consumed by vicious blackness and despair. The atmosphere reminded me of Saint Exhupery's The Little Prince. The sweetness and the loneliness are palatable and the magic is inspiring. I was very moved by the ending. It was hopeful and truly inspired.
November 10, 2015
Quick and enjoyable...The experiences of the characters are the focus and they are told vividly. Bob's world is fascinating once you get all of the details. I really think that there is more going on in the book than what's on the surface. I interpreted some of this as a statement of the absurdity of some post 9/11 tactics by the U.S. and war in general. I am not sure if this is what the author was after, but it got me thinking, while leaving the interpretation entirely up to the reader. Very cool.
April 28, 2011
From the way it started out, I was expecting a satire of the current U.S. geopolitical situation. However, the book went nowhere quickly and resulted in a completely anticlimactic dud of an ending.
This is a trend I'm seeing in the four bizarro novellas I read: The author comes up with a unique weird idea, expands on these a bit, but then has no idea what to do with the plot, so s/he just rushes out an ending to finish the tale.
This is a trend I'm seeing in the four bizarro novellas I read: The author comes up with a unique weird idea, expands on these a bit, but then has no idea what to do with the plot, so s/he just rushes out an ending to finish the tale.
June 20, 2012
This book is entertaining, but not as compelling as Morning is Dead.
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