Staff Pick
Raymond Champs is on a quest to gather data to support his theory that there is an epidemic of clinical depression. His survey tool, he thinks, will deliver the answer. Why Are You So Sad? is a dark, witty book that gives us an uncomfortable yet hilarious view of human behavior and the senselessness we encounter every day. When was the last time you felt happy (survey question #4)? When I was reading Jason Porter's debut novel. Recommended By Kim S., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Have we all sunken into a species-wide bout of clinical depression? Porter's uproarious, intelligent debut centers on Raymond Champs, an illustrator of assembly manuals for a home furnishings corporation, who is charged with a huge task: To determine whether or not the world needs saving. It comes to him in the midst of a losing battle with insomnia everybody he knows, and maybe everybody on the planet, is suffering from severe clinical depression. Hes nearly certain something has gone wrong. A virus perhaps. Its in the water, or its in the mosquitoes, or maybe in the ranch flavored snack foods. And what if we are all too sad and dispirited to do anything about it? Obsessed as he becomes, Raymond composes an anonymous survey to submit to his unsuspecting coworkers Are you who you want to be?”, Do you believe in life after death?”, Is today better than yesterday?” because what Raymond needs is data. He needs to know if it can be proven. Its a big responsibility. People might not believe him. People, like his wife and his boss, might think he is losing his mind. But only because they are also losing their minds. Or are they?
Reminiscent of Gary Shteyngart, George Saunders, Douglas Coupland and Jennifer Egan, Porter's debut is an acutely perceptive and sharply funny meditation on what makes people tick.
Review
"Jason Porter could find a place on the shelf beside Richard Brautigan, George Saunders, and David Sedaris. This is a quick, odd, wonderful book, one that pinned me back on my heels and made me laugh."
Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin and TransAtlantic
Review
"Like a well-stocked IKEA, Why Are You So Sad? has everything you need for your home and your heart. Jason Porter has written an astute, intelligent and hilarious book."
Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story
Review
"A terrific and moving new voice. If you haven't yet made your peace with the bleaker inevitabilities of life, Jason Porter's fearless debut will get you there, one howl of laughter at a time."
Téa Obreht, author of The Tiger's Wife
Review
"Why Are You So Sad? is a precisely calibrated comedy pitched halfway between a laugh and a sob. Beautifully written, philosophically unsound, and funny."
Sara Levine, author of Treasure Island!!!
Synopsis
Have we all sunken into a species-wide bout of clinical depression?
In Jason Porters hilarious and poignant debut novel, Why Are You So Sad?, readers are introduced to Ray, a senior pictographer at LokiLoki. Ray feels disengaged from life, and comes to believe that the people around him are products of a grieving planet. He composes a survey, asking his motley assortment of colleagues questions like: Are you who you want to be?”, If you were a day of the week, would you be Monday or Wednesday?”, and Do you believe in life after God?”
Reminiscent of both Gary Shteyngart and George Saunders, Porter's debut is an acutely perceptive and sharply funny meditation on what makes people tick.
About the Author
Jason Porter was born and raised in southeastern Michigan. He is, or has been, an English teacher, customer support representative, landlord, traveling musician, and the overnight editor for Yahoo! News and The New York Times. Currently, he writes fiction. Why Are You So Sad? is his first novel.