THE ASK

One must have both a love of black comedy and patience for a mediocre reading to enjoy Sam Lipsyte's third book. In some respects it's truly hilarious, but one has to pay attention every moment. Milo, a fund-raiser at a minor university, is fired for underachievement. He’s given a last chance to find a major contributor, but that leads him to a tangle of intrigue. The story touches on war, sex, class distinction, family relationships, humiliation, and numerous other topics. Milo is repulsive and hilarious at the same time. The book is almost brilliant, but the writer should have left the narration to someone else. His voice is humdrum, weak, and monotonous to the extent that one begins to lose track of the plot and then has to go back to re-listen. This is a great book for cynics, but Lypsyte the reader doesn’t do justice to Lypsyte the writer. A.L.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2010]