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More copies of this ISBNThis title in other editionseBook editionsThe Askby Sam Lipsyte
AwardsStaff Pick
The Ask takes an unassuming (and seemingly unfunny) premise about a dude who wrangles large financial donations for a school and turns it into an outright laugh riot. Not only is this just as funny as his amazing Home Land, but it also showcases Lipsyte's amped-up ability to deliver killer sentence after killer sentence. This might turn out to be my favorite book of 2010. Yeah, I'm already saying it. Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Milo Burke, a development officer at a third-tier university, has "not been developing": after a run-in with a well-connected undergrad, he finds himself among the burgeoning class of the newly unemployed. Grasping after odd jobs to support his wife and child, Milo is offered one last chance by his former employer: he must reel in a potential donor — a major "ask" — who, mysteriously, has requested Milo's involvement. But it turns out that the ask is Milo's sinister college classmate Purdy Stuart. And the "give" won't come cheap. Probing many themes — or, perhaps, anxieties — including work, war, sex, class, child rearing, romantic comedies, Benjamin Franklin, cooking shows on death row, and the eroticization of chicken wire, The Ask is a burst of genius by a young American master who has already demonstrated that the truly provocative and important fictions are often the funniest ones. Review:"Lipsyte is a comedian with a rant for every facet of city life." Library Journal Review:"The author's most ambitious work yet — a brilliant and scabrously entertaining riff on contemporary America." Kirkus Reviews Review:"Seriously funny, Lipsyte sits alongside such illustrious Daves as Gates, Eggers, and Foster Wallace on the self-conscious shelf, but with a heartfelt brilliance all his own." Booklist Synopsis:Grasping after odd jobs to support his wife and child, university fundraiser Milo Burke is offered one last chance by his former employer: but he must reel in a potential donor — a major ask — who turns out to be Milo's sinister college classmate. And the give won't come cheap. Synopsis:A New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Book Review Editors Choice Milo Burke—husband, father, development officer at a third-tier university—has just joined the burgeoning class of the newly unemployed. Grasping after odd jobs to support his wife and child, Milo is relieved to get another chance from his former boss. All he has to do is reel in a potential donor who, mysteriously, has requested Milos involvement. Exploring such themes as work, war, sex, class, child rearing, romantic comedies, Benjamin Franklin, cooking shows on death row, and the eroticization of chicken wire, The Ask is a hilarious tour de force from a writer who has already shown that the deepest fictions are often the funniest. About the AuthorSam Lipsyte was born in 1968. He is the author of the story collection Venus Drive (named one of the top twenty-five books of its year by the Voice Literary Supplement) and two novels: The Subject Steve and Home Land, which was a New York Times Notable Book and received the first annual Believer Book Award. He lives in New York. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 7 comments: 
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