Synopses & Reviews
"The immortal shadow of Elvis Presley gyrates wildly through this satiric exploration of America's fascination with tabloid journalism."
--Publishers Weekly"Thoroughly entertaining . . . A quirky, hard-edged, slightly absurdist thriller from a writer who definitely bears watching." --Booklist
In his paean to the perplexities of dislocation and discoveryboth in bohemian life and in life at largeNersesian makes us eager to see what happens when the curtain finally rises.”The New York Times Book Review, on Unlubricated
Things have not been going well for journalist Sandy Bloomgarten. Her job went down the drain and her marriage quickly followed. After a lengthy bender, she awakens one morning to the stark realization that she is flat broke. Nonetheless, she's still a crack reporter and when a tabloid offers her a freelance assignment in Memphisjust a stone's throw from her childhood home in Mesopotamia, Tennesseeshe takes it.
Though sent there for one story, she winds up tracking down another: someone is killing Elvis impersonators who perform at the annual Sing-the-King festival. The few clues lead her to several unlikely characters: a cheating local minister constantly on the make, a strange band of misfits who only cover Elvis tunes, and a small-town private eye who blew himself up along with his crystal meth lab. As Sandys investigation closes, she realizes that she is sitting on what could be the story of the century. The only problem is she can never reveal what she has found.
Arthur Nersesian's latest novel is a satiric thriller that takes an amusing view of America's predilection with the superficial over the relevant, and celebrity excitement over real news.
Arthur Nersesian is the author of nine novels, including the cult-classic The Fuck-Up (more than 100,000 copies sold), dogrun, and Suicide Casanova. He lives in New York City.
Review
"Thoroughly entertaining . . . A quirky, hard-edged, slightly absurdist thriller from a writer who definitely bears watching." Booklist
Review
"Arthur Nersesian is a New York writer. His debut novel The Fuck-Up remains one of the most notable depictions of the Lower East Side of the late 1980s. Follow-ups like Manhattan Loverboy, The Swing Voter of Staten Island, and The Sacrificial Circumcision of the Bronx stayed just as close to home -- which makes his new work, the satirical crime story Mesopotamia, a departure of sorts. Sure, its heroine, Cassandra Bloomgarten, lives in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen -- but she is a native of small-town Tennessee, and her adventures don't truly begin until she heads home." Guy Cunningham, Bookslut (read the entire Bookslut review)
Synopsis
Things have not been going well for journalist Sandy Bloomgarten. Her job went down the drain and her marriage quickly followed. After a lengthy bender, she awakens one morning to the stark realization that she is flat broke. Nonetheless, she's still a crack reporter and when a tabloid offers her a freelance assignment in Memphis — just a stone's throw from her childhood home in Mesopotamia, Tennessee — she takes it.
Though sent there for one story, she winds up tracking down another: someone is killing Elvis impersonators who perform at the annual Sing-the-King festival. The few clues lead her to several unlikely characters: a cheating local minister constantly on the make, a strange band of misfits who only cover Elvis tunes, and a small-town private eye who blew himself up along with his crystal meth lab. As Sandy's investigation closes, she realizes that she is sitting on what could be the story of the century. The only problem is she can never reveal what she has found.
Synopsis
"Nersesian easily captures the quirks of Tennessee, from sweet mom-and-pop storefronts to dingy, cluttered trailer parks; he sounds eager to stretch those regional muscles, after eight novels set in caustic New York . . . Mesopotamia is a solid, absurdist mystery. It's a vacation from the cosmopolitan, for both its heroine and its author--and, just like the tabloids it skewers, a sensationalist retreat for the reader." --Village Voice
"This wild and wildly entertaining novel is] a satirical thriller with a tabloid touch that revels in the low-rent colorfulness of its characters." --Library Journal
Things have not been going well for journalist Sandy Bloomgarten. Her job went down the drain and her marriage quickly followed. After a lengthy bender, she awakens one morning to the stark realization that she is flat broke. Nonetheless, she's still a crack reporter and when a tabloid offers her a freelance assignment in Memphis, just a stone's throw from her childhood home in Mesopotamia, Tennessee, she takes it.
Though sent there for one story, she winds up tracking down another: someone is killing Elvis impersonators who perform at the annual Sing-the-King festival. The few clues lead her to several unlikely characters: a cheating local minister constantly on the make; a strange band of misfits who only cover Elvis tunes; a small-town private eye who blew himself up along with his crystal meth lab. As Sandy's investigation closes, she realizes that she is sitting on what could be the story of the century. The only problem is she can never reveal what she has found.
Nersesian's latest novel, set largely in Tennessee, is a satiric thriller that takes an amusing view of America's predilection with the superficial over the relevant, and celebrity excitement over real news.
Synopsis
A stand-alone satiric thriller from New York City literary icon Arthur Nersesian.
About the Author
Arthur Nersesian's latest novel is a satiric thriller that takes an amusing view of America's predilection with the superficial over the relevant, and celebrity excitement over real news. He is the author of nine novels, including the cult-classic The Fuck-Up (more than 100,000 copies sold), dogrun, and Suicide Casanova. He lives in New York City.