Synopses & Reviews
Very loosely based on
The Odyssey,
The Suitors is a wildly inventive, skillfully crafted little novel. Focusing less on the Odysseus character (herein named Payne) than on the Penelope character (now Penny), it follows the eyebrow-raising exploits of Penny's much-maligned, ill-fated suitors.
While Payne gallivants around, waging war and otherwise taking his time on the voyage home, Penny finds herself surrounded by a motley crew of ne'er-dowells eager for nothing but her attention. She, however, cannot be bothered with anything but her memories of Payne. That is, until the mysterious arrival of a man whose origins no one on the scene can quite divine. When Penny starts taking a shine to him, the tenuous calm on the home front quickly starts to unravel. Full of ideas but with never a dull moment, The Suitors heralds the debut of an exciting new literary voice.
Review
"Innovatively structured...layfully filled with 'mathematical testimony' and subtle metaphors...Recommended." Library Journal
Review
"[R]ichly imagined...a dazzling display of verbal gifts....[A] writer to watch." Booklist
Review
"Ehrenreich blends Tom Robbins' sly humor with Steve Erickson's bubbling sense of the subconscious and Voltaire's irreverent twists of plot." Los Angeles Times
Synopsis
Very loosely based on The Odyssey, this wildly inventive, skillfully crafted novel follows the eyebrow-raising exploits of one woman's much-maligned, ill-fated suitors. While the Odysseus character (herein named Payne) gallivants around, waging war and otherwise taking his time on the voyage home, the Penelope character (now Penny) finds herself surrounded by a motley crew of ne'er-dowells eager for nothing but her attention. She, however, cannot be bothered with anything but her memories of Payne. That is, until the mysterious arrival of a man whose origins no one on the scene can quite divine. When Penny starts taking a shine to him, the tenuous calm on the home front quickly starts to unravel. Full of ideas but with never a dull moment, The Suitors heralds the debut of an exciting new literary voice.
About the Author
Ben Ehrenreich is currently a regular writer for L.A. Weekly, and his articles and essays have been published in the New York Times, the Village Voice, the Believer, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications. His fiction has appeared in McSweeney's, Bomb magazine, and other journals. He lives in Los Angeles.