The Sum of His Syndromes

2008 Oregon Book Award Finalist

"This uninspired short novel presents itself as a collection of notes scrawled in an office men's room. 'Is art a business? If so, how much is it a business like any other?' Another: 'One thing I can tell you for sure: I'm nobody's first choice.' As thought-provoking as these might be, the reader is rarely allowed time for contemplation. The narrator is a man weighed down by a vague sense that he was meant for better things ('The real trouble begins when you can't, in your own mind, turn your suffering into something heroic-when it is simply suffering and not the price you have to pay for some plucky act of witness.') He shares concerns about his shrink, his girlfriend and the possibility of a new job, but any fruitful development is sidetracked by one-liners about office life and co-workers that zing only occasionally. It seems the narrator's focus on such distractions is to demonstrate just how alienated he is from his own existence, but the point becomes belabored after nine chapters and hundreds of subsections." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

“…a strangely enigmatic novel which is kind of addictive…With passages that are so well turned they can be called lyrical — and others that are laugh out loud funny. This is the kind of book where we see a bit of ourselves and grimace — but keep reading.” A.M. Homes

“it’s funny; it’s insightful; it’s gonzo.” Willamette Week

“ ..original…unusual…full of pithy observations.” Jeff Baker, The Oregonian

“The notes range from hysterical, to insightful, to the common, but are never banal. The Sum of His Syndromes is literary poetry on the page.” Metro Reader

“Dixon effortlessly captures what it’s like to be human in a relatively uncaring world, but the beauty of the book is in the fact that he makes you laugh while doing so. Don’t look for the answers in The Sum of His Syndromes; look for humanity. You’ll find it.” Katherine Weikert, The Lit Mob

The Sum of His Syndromes is a wry, odd, idiosyncratic book. A collage of notes written in a sixth-floor men’s room, it is the story of a dissatisfied, slightly disturbed young man named David who has found himself at a personal and professional crossroads. He has a job he hates but cannot leave, and a girl he loves but cannot fully understand. With help from his friend Peter and his therapist, the irrepressible Dr. Costa, he struggles to make sense of his complicated young life.

A fractured, fragmented, unconventional narrative, Syndromes offers a comic look at office angst, contemporary psychiatric practice, and romantic uncertainty. A conglomeration of thoughts, observations, commentary, overheard conversations, and cameo appearances, its story--David and Kate’s story--emerges surreptitiously from this innovative presentation of a confused and chaotic time.

K. B. Dixon’s work has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, and journals. The recipient of an OAC Individual Artist Fellowship Award, he is the author of three novels, The Sum of His Syndromes, Andrew (A to Z), and A Painter’s Life; as well as the short story collection, My Desk and I.