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Overly suspicious second novel from Arthur Nersesian, author of The Fuck-Up. Nersesian's brilliant follow-up to his underground classic, The Fuck-Up , Manhattan Loverboy is paranoid delusion and fantastic comedy in the service of social realism. Updating the picaresque chronicles in L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz and Kafka's The Trial , MLB is the tale of an orphan whose only known background is that of the city itself, a scaffold-covered grid sewn together with ''Do Not Cross'' tape. In this overly suspicious masterpiece, love is expressed through corrective surgery, and families meet across boardroom tables. Arthur Nersesian was managing editor of the literary magazine, the Portable Lower East Side . He was born and raised in New York City. A novel of a young man's adventures in New York City by an author who is “part Lewis Carroll, part Franz Kafka” (Library Journal). This tale introduces us to Joey, a New York City graduate student. Brought up by emotionally—and physically—distant adoptive parents, he has no idea what his heritage really is, though he did decide to try being Jewish after being dragged into a mitzvah tank by a Hasid. Now he has worked his way through most of a graduate history program at Columbia University—but when his academic fellowship from a mysterious benefactor is suddenly rescinded, he will be led into a furious and bizarre quest—in a novel from an acclaimed author praised for his ability to blend dark, fantastic satire with genuine human feeling. “Paranoid fantasy and fantastic comedy in the service of social realism... At its best, [Manhattan Loverboy] assays the grittiest, funkiest urban-magic-realism yet, creating a satirical fiction avidly in search of the truth it's all too aware is even stranger than itself.” —Downtown “Nersesian renders Gotham's unique cocktail of wealth, poverty, crime, glamour, and brutality spectacularly... But in the end, it is Joey's search for his own identity that makes this book a winner.” —Rain Taxi Review of Books on East Village Tetralogy

Overly suspicious second novel from Arthur Nersesian, author of The Fuck-Up.

Library Journal

It's bad enough that when Mr. and Mrs. Ngm adopt Joey they tell him that he has no heritage and is only a substitute for the child they couldn't have, but losing an unsolicited graduate fellowship at Columbia a semester before graduation sends him over the edge. Joey's confrontation with Whitlock, the man responsible for yanking his fellowship, leads to a series of events, from a new job to infatuation with Amy, who mysteriously asks to share his apartment, to his finally learning something about his real relationship with Whitlock. Part Lewis Carroll, part Franz Kafka, Nersesian (The Fuck-Up) leads us down a maze of false leads and dead ends, while Joey pursues Amy, battles Whitlock, and investigates his heritage. Joey's dilemmas are told with wit and compassion, drawing the reader into a world of paranoia and coincidence while illuminating questions of free will and destiny. Highly recommended.--Joshua Cohen, Mid-Hudson Lib. Syst., Poughkeepsie, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Joseph Ngm searches New York City for clues to find his true identity