Mesopotamia

(Paperback)

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Description

Things have not been going well for journalist Sandy Bloomgarten: her job went down the drain and her marriage quickly followed. So when a tabloid offers her a freelance assignment in Memphis, she takes it. She ends up tracking down another story from the one she was sent to cover: someone is killing Elvis impersonators who perform at the annual Sing-the-King festival. As Sandy's investigation closes, she realises that she is sitting on what could be the story of the century. The only problem is that she can never reveal what she has found.

Reviews

[Mesopotamia] is a wildly entertaining novel by Nersesian
--Library Journal

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.
--The Village Voice

"'Predictable' would never be a word used to describe an Arthur Nersesian novel. In his eight previous novels (among them The Fuck-Up, Suicide Casanova, and Unlubricated), outrageous situations and sudden turns of events seem to be everyday situations for his characters. These unexpected twists and turns of the plot mix with the charismatic voices of his leading characters, leaving readers clutching their books tightly, madly turning pages in anticipation of what will happen next. His latest novel, Mesopotamia, is no exception....It easily ranks as one of his best works, and serves as a great introduction to an often offbeat but always entertaining author.
--Verbicide Magazine

This is satire, of course, and it's supposed to be over the top. By design, the book often edges into shaggy-dog territory. But the craziness only serves to let Nersesian take aim at his true target -- the national media. Allusions to the original Mesopotamia (i.e., Iraq) and the subprime mortgage crisis drift just below the surface, giving bite to the book's comedy. Very sneakily, Nersesian has managed to write a book of ideas (albeit a very funny one).
--Bookslut

[Mesopotamia] is a wildly entertaining novel by Nersesian
--Library Journal

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.
--The Village Voice

"'Predictable' would never be a word used to describe an Arthur Nersesian novel. In his eight previous novels (among them The Fuck-Up, Suicide Casanova, and Unlubricated), outrageous situations and sudden turns of events seem to be everyday situations for his characters. These unexpected twists and turns of the plot mix with the charismatic voices of his leading characters, leaving readers clutching their books tightly, madly turning pages in anticipation of what will happen next. His latest novel, Mesopotamia, is no exception....It easily ranks as one of his best works, and serves as a great introduction to an often offbeat but always entertaining author.
--Verbicide Magazine

This is satire, of course, and it's supposed to be over the top. By design, the book often edges into shaggy-dog territory. But the craziness only serves to let Nersesian take aim at his true target -- the national media. Allusions to the original Mesopotamia (i.e., Iraq) and the subprime mortgage crisis drift just below the surface, giving bite to the book's comedy. Very sneakily, Nersesian has managed to write a book of ideas (albeit a very funny one).
--Bookslut

Author Bio

Arthur Nersesian is the author of eight novels, including the smash hit The Fuck-Up (more than 100,000 copies sold), Dogrun, Suicide Casanova (Akashic), and, most recently, The Swing Voter of Staten Island, which is the first volume in a series, The Five Books of Moses. He lives in New York City.