A charming yet scathing portrait of young adulthood at the opening of the twenty-first century, All the Sad Young Literary Men charts the lives of Sam, Mark, and Keith as they overthink their college years, underthink their love lives, and struggle through the encouragement of the women who love and despise them to find a semblance of maturity, responsibility, and even literary fame.
Heartbroken in his university town, Mark tries to focus his attention on his graduate work concerning Russian revolt, only to be lured again and again to the free pornography on the library computers. Sam binds himself to the task of crafting “the first great Zionist epic” even though he speaks no Hebrew, has never visited Israel, and is not a practicing Jew. Keith, thwarted by inherited notions of greatness and memories of his broken family, finds solace in the arms of the selfless woman who most reminds him of his past.
At every turn, at each character’s misstep, All the Sad Young Literary Men radiates with comedic warmth and biting honesty and signals the arrival of a brave and trenchant new writer.
Gessen ties together three tangentially related stories of young men aspiring to write and leave an impact on their times in response to the political events of the recent decade, but none of them can get their act together long enough to actually produce something of meaning. Instead, they wallow in self-pity, self-aggrandizement, and self-mockery, destroying their abilities, connections, and opportunities. Scott Brick captures the vocal personas of the main characters while also delivering a solid narration that emphasizes moments of significance and irony. He maintains strong secondary characters throughout, and his pace holds listener attention through the less well-differentiated parts. L.E. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
Jonathan Franzen, author of The Discomfort Zone...
"Cruelty and affection and erudition and innocence are so perfectly balanced in these stories, they almost make me wish I were young again."
About the Author
KEITH GESSEN was born in Russia and raised in Massachusetts. A contributor to the New Yorker, New York Times Book Review, and New York magazine, he is also a founding editor of the literary magazine n + 1. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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