Description: This debut novel follows When Thinfinger--skateboarder, kitchen worker extraordinaire, and ne'er-do-well with a slightly tarnished heart of gold--and the trail of Post-It notes he relies on to make sense of his world. When a robbery occurs at his beloved pizza parlor, things begin to heat up for Ovenman.
Brief description: Sam Lipsyte is the author of the story collections Venus Drive (named one of the top twenty-five books of its year by the Voice Literary Supplement) and The Fun Parts and three novels: The Ask, The Subject Steve, and Home Land, which was a New York Times Notable Book and received the first annual Believer Book Award. He is also the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship. He lives in New York City and teaches at Columbia University.
Review Quotes: "One of the most raucous and fun books I've read in ages..."Ovenman" is a
frenetic blast of pleasure: a depiction of America at its skankiest,
populated with unlikely heroes and told with a reckless glee that commands
serious attention." --Chas Bowie, The Portland Mercury
"Equal parts sleazy and frenetic, Parker's debut is a chortle-out-loud story
about the sweaty, battle-scarred struggle between creating self-monuments
and throwing hand grenades." --Annie Bethancourt, Williamette Week
"While the plot is certifiably hilarious, it's really When's voice that's in
the driver's seat. Dazed, confused, and occasionally caring, he carries all
250 pages of this terrifically entertaining novel." --Toby Warner, Boldtype
""Ovenman" reads like a high calibre graphic novel, minus the graphics.
Cluttered, uncomfortable, compulsively crafted, unashamed of occasional
farce or relentless surreal quirky distortion, this is writing you might
imagine coming out of the brain of Julie Doucet, if she were a guy who lived
in Florida." --Juliet Waters, Montreal Mirror
"Jeff Parker is a writer who understands that voice is the doorway to all true beauty in fiction. Tight, wry, dark, and deeply funny--he is a master of the hyper-compressed sentence that explodes with more meaning and nuance than should be possible. "Ovenman" is a welcome addition to the literature of the lovably hapless by a young writer with talent to burn."
-- George Saunders, author of Pastoralia and In Persuasion Nation
"Funny, soulful, and energetic, "Ovenman" is wonderful."
--Mary Gaitskill, author of Veronica
"Rarely are mopping and pizza dough so pleasinglyrendered. Even inside When's world of chaos, Parker's novel pushes forward with grace. This is a delight of a debut."
--Aimee Bender, author of Willful Creatures
"Mr. Parker has written a weirdly attractive life of people one thought had no life, the pierced and tatted Xtremes. Creepy, convincing, hooty, and fun. The movie will be scary."
--Padgett Powell, author of Edisto
"In his utterly original "Ovenman," Parker has created a time capsule of the nineties in Central Florida and an ode to the mysteries and hopes and acrobatics of youth. When Thinfinger, the skateboarding philosopher at the heart of this terrific novel, is brilliantly acerbic and uncommonly insightful. And awfully, awfully funny. Here's a brief note of which I hope he'd approve: This novel really cooks. Read it tonight."
--Bret Anthony Johnston, Director of Creative Writing, Harvard University