All the Sad Young Literary Men

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.

ISBN 0099513196   Pages 256 ISBN13 9780099513193 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 212 Publisher Vintage   Published in London Imprint Vintage   Height (mm) 197 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 131 Publication date 02 Apr 2009   Spine width (mm) 16 DEWEY 813.6   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22

"Gessen proves himself not only a capable observer but a natural novelist with a warm gun . . . [and] a nice comic sureness. . . . Gessen's style is good-natured and ripe enough to allow a satisfying sweetness to exist in these characters." -"The New York Times Book Review" "Cruelty and affection and erudition and innocence are so perfectly balanced in these stories, they almost make me wish I were young again."-Jonathan Franzen, author of "The Corrections" and "The Discomfort Zone"

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