The Ask

Still looking for that searing modern novel that tackles corporate, white collar 9-5 without veering into broad parody. This isn't it.

I prefer my “comic novels” to be slightly less depressing, and have slightly more plot; the humor in the book is meant to spring from the caustic, cynical riffs on various subjects Lipsyte puts in the mouths of both his narrator and various characters, but I'm somewhat sick of that style and found his prose over the top. I was able to finish it, and it went faster in a few bursts, but there were definitely a few times I thought about putting it down for good.

Any novel that opens with references to demented pimps, whoremasters, and dick-smacking the Soviets is fine by me.