Synopses & Reviews
Wildly original novelist, essayist, and performance artist Jonathan Aames delivers his best collection yet—a hilarious, risqué, and loveable selection of articles, essays, and fiction, including several previously unpublished pieces.With an HBO pilot based on this collection’s centerpiece (“Bored to Death”), his two hilarious novels, The Extra Man and Wake Up, Sir!, in development as films (with screenplays by Mr. Ames), a critically acclaimed graphic novel, The Alcoholic, under his belt, and an ongoing series of literary and not-so-literary stunts, Jonathan Ames has proven himself to be a writer of diverse and stunning talents.
In The Double Life Is Twice as Good, fans will be treated to a deft and charming compilation of Ames’s journalism, personal essays, and short fiction. Featuring illuminating profiles of Marilyn Manson and Lenny Kravitz, his adventures at a goth festival in the Midwest, a story written for Esquire on a napkin, as well as a comic strip collaboration with graphic artist Nick Bertozzi, Ames’s unique style and personality-driven humor shines throughout this wickedly funny collection. Also included is the aforementioned short story, “Bored to Death,” a Raymond Chandler–esque tale about a struggling writer-turned-detective who becomes quickly embroiled in the search for a missing college co-ed. Described by The Portland Oregonian as “an edgier David Sedaris,” it’s no wonder that this comic mastermind’s already fervent and dedicated fanbase is continually growing.
Review
"Bizarrely disparate: The topics range from prostitution to goth to tennis, but in Ames's capable hands the disparity works." -- Penthouse
Review
"This hilarious, often harrowing compendium of articles and essays find [Ames] immersed in demented endeavors...certain to make his many fans snicker and squirm." -- Booklist
Review
"Filled with its share of Ames classics." -- Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Wildly original novelist, essayist, and performance artist Jonathan Ames delivers a hilarious, risqu , and loveable selection of articles, essays, and fiction, including several previously unpublished pieces.In The Double Life Is Twice as Good, fans will be treated to a deft and charming compilation of Ames's journalism, personal essays, and short fiction. Featuring illuminating profiles of Marilyn Manson and Lenny Kravitz, his adventures at a goth festival in the Midwest, a story written for Esquire on a napkin, as well as a comic strip collaboration with graphic artist Nick Bertozzi, Ames's unique style and personality-driven humor shines throughout this wickedly funny collection. Also included is the short story, "Bored to Death," a Raymond Chandler-esque tale about a struggling writer-turned-detective who becomes quickly embroiled in the search for a missing college co-ed, which inspired the HBO series of the same name. Described by The Portland Oregonian as "an edgier David Sedaris," Ames will have you hooked with this brilliant collection.
Synopsis
Described by "The Portland Oregonian" as an edgier David Sedaris, writer and performance artist Ames delivers a hilarious and sometimes risqu collection of articles, essays, and fiction.
Synopsis
JONATHAN AMES'S LATEST BOOK, his eighth, is a hilarious, erotically charged, and insightful collection of articles, essays, cartoons, and short stories. With an HBO series based on this collection's centerpiece, Bored to Death; a beloved novel, The Extra Man, soon to be released as a movie; a critically acclaimed graphic novel, The Alcoholic; and an ongoing series of strange literary and not-so-literary performance events, Ames has proven himself to be a writer of diverse and unusual talents.
In The Double Life Is Twice as Good, Ames's odd, Zelig-like life as a writer is on full display, as he covers the U.S. Open and a Goth music festival, profiles Marilyn Manson and Lenny Kravitz, gives a speech at an annual gathering of passionate corduroy lovers, and attends a class on how to better pleasure women. On the fiction side, the short stories feature plenty of eros, heartbreak, and sexualities of all stripes and inclinations.
Ames's unique style and humor shines throughout this new volume, reminding us yet again why The Portland Oregonian dubbed him an edgier David Sedaris.
About the Author
Jonathan Ames is the author of the novels Wake Up, Sir!, The Extra Man, and I Pass Like Night; a graphic novel, The Alcoholic (with artwork by Dean Haspiel), and the essay collections I Love You More Than You Know, My Less Than Secret Life, and What's Not to Love? He is the winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship and is a former columnist for New York Press. Ames performs frequently as a storyteller and has been a recurring guest on David Letterman. He has fought in two amateur boxing matches as "The Herring Wonder," and he has peformed in a number of shows. Ames had the lead role in the IFC film "The Girl Under the Waves," was a porn-extra in the porn film "C-Men," and played himself in a pilot episode for the Showtime network. At the time, he said, "It's the role I've been waiting for!" He lives in Brooklyn, New York.