The Fuck-Up

by Arthur Nersesian

Book Overview

Arthur Nersesian's underground literary treasure is an unforgettable slice of gritty New York City life. This is the darkly hilarious odyssey of an anonymous slacker. He's a perennial couch-surfer, an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671027638
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: MTV/Pocket Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.9" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Great book, fun read, language is brilliant can’t wait to read more.

The language keeps you engaged and turning pages constantly. Makes you feel like you are in the streets of NYC. The character gets himself into all kinds of situations that are both sad and hilarious.

The Best!

Nersesian's first novel is still his best. This book is a raw, madcap, sometimes goofy -- but always fun -- story of a perpetual screw-up who can't catch a break to save his life. Sound familiar? This novel also offers the best tour of downtown New York City since Richard Perez's The Losers' Club. Of all of Nersesian's books, I prefer this one the best. It's a hilarious diamond in the rough. I guarantee you'll be entertained. Also recommended: Dogrun, The Losers' Club by Richard Perez, Post Office by Charles Bukowski

Holden Caulfield on crack

The brillance of "The Fuck-Up" is that it manages to squeeze more tragedies and failures into one novel than all of Shakespeare combined - and make it not only believable, but realistic. The anonymous main character is a simple Everyman who struggles daily to be saved from himself. His life is an endless miserable seige of trials and troubles, betrayals and near death experiences. However hopeless the situation may seem, however, the Fuck Up pushes onward with admirable determination, utterly convinced that eventually, everything will work itself out and his life will become easy. This is a book that is truly enjoyable, very funny, and even touching at times. Every reader will see a little bit of him/herself in the novel, and the book gently reminds us all of our own imperfections and human frailties. A Holden Caulfield on crack, the main character honestly tries to live a good life, but his weaknesses constantly beats him down. He doesn't give up however. From working at a gay porn theater, to beating up a girlfriend's son for a Porche, to posing as a gay punk rocker to score a place to live, the Fuck Up tackles each dilema with such reckless enthusiasm that it is impossible not to love him at the end. A memorable and original book, it should be read after a hard day to remind us that compared to this guy, our lives are a paradise.

Compelling: I read it twice

Brilliant, fun, disturbing, humorous, philosophical. I was captured after the first two sentences: "Perhaps the price of comfort is that life passes more rapidly. But for anyone who has lived in uneasiness, even for a short, memorable duration, it's a trade-off that will gladly be made."