Avoiding Mortimer The New Bizarro Author J W Wargo 9781621050674 Books
Download As PDF : Avoiding Mortimer The New Bizarro Author J W Wargo 9781621050674 Books
Rest in Processing...
Mortimer has tried his whole life long to avoid everything. He's estranged from his undead family, stuck in a shitty job, and his only friends are ants. Mortimer decides to avoid the rest of living. But it turns out there is much more to avoid after suicide-Eternity in a body-making factory, a soul-hungry ant blob, God and his minions, the Afterlife, and even what lies beyond it. Aided by a sentient pile of dreadlocks, his acquired skills, and dumb luck, Mortimer attempts to avoid everything-and does a miserable job of it. A bizarro adventure story about life, the afterlife, the after-afterlife, and avoiding it all-especially the parts like working as an aglet-biter, or drinking shots of Holy Fuck.
Avoiding Mortimer The New Bizarro Author J W Wargo 9781621050674 Books
Avoiding Mortimer is a great example of philosophical Bizarro fiction that in due time could have its own little ranking, or footnote, near giants like Camus's The Stranger or Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra. There is also young, contemplative male angst all over the place that stands toe to toe with any Ishmael or Tyler Durden.Mortimer avoids everything, delaying the inevitable, and when he achieves the inevitable, death, it's more horrible than life ever promised, and he has to make it back through a surreal landscape of sentient dreadlocks with dead end jobs, and ant blobs--Ant Blob by the way was an ingeniously inventive character, made from a shot of Love and Mortimer's ant farm that he ingests before his suicide, and makes me rabid to read more from Mr. Wargo just see what else he comes up with--and a cruel god who hates being called god. I'm really trying not to give too much away. Avoiding Mortimer has so many mind-bending twists and turns, that all serve a purpose, and weave a beautiful story that leads the reader to a new appreciation of life or a new understanding, and above all like any good Bizarro story, thoroughly entertained.
J.W. Wargo is one of the best new Bizarro writers operating. If Avoiding Mortimer is any indication, J.W. Wargo will be a formative voice in Bizarro fiction for many years to come.
Great writer.
Great book.
BUY IT!
Product details
|
Tags : Avoiding Mortimer (The New Bizarro Author) [J. W. Wargo] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <html> Rest in Processing... Mortimer has tried his whole life long to avoid everything. He's estranged from his undead family,J. W. Wargo,Avoiding Mortimer (The New Bizarro Author),Eraserhead Press,162105067X,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction General,General,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
People also read other books :
- Adult Country Escapades Mini Series 1 R Lee J Lynn 9781481224369 Books
- The Beaufort Woman Book Two of The Beaufort Chronicles edition by Judith Arnopp Literature Fiction eBooks
- Pray Your Way into 2017 Dr D K Olukoya 9781945869020 Books
- Bangkok Exit Seized Stung and Stripped in Thailand eBook Ryan Humphreys
- The Believer How an Introvert with a Passion for Religion and Soccer Became Abu Bakr alBaghdadi Leader of the Islamic State edition by William McCants Politics Social Sciences eBooks
Avoiding Mortimer The New Bizarro Author J W Wargo 9781621050674 Books Reviews
I finished J. W. Wargo's delightful debut Avoiding Mortimer a few days ago, but I've been avoiding writing this review. I could have sat down immediately after finishing it, in one sitting, but I wasn't sure I'd be impartial, having just traversed Wargo's world, and maybe I'd be projecting. The next day, I almost wrote it, but then I worried that maybe I wouldn't be able to find the words, and then I'd get mad at myself, and maybe even become suicidal or something, because I'd feel like a failure as a reviewer. So I decided to continue avoiding the task before me, and yet, Avoiding Mortimer stayed bouncing around in my brain. Relentlessly. I realized I was doing the same thing Mortimer tried to do. I was avoiding life. So I sat down and let my experience pour out here on the page, and do I feel better? You bet. You will too when you crack the spine and dive into the pages of Avoiding Mortimer.
Poor Mortimer. Growing up in a household where his entire family was terrified of everything (until they decide to go undead to try to avoid death, at least) obviously had quite an impact on him. As an "adult," he tries his best to avoid everything doing things, feeling things, talking to people, being outside, living, dying. What's that? You can't avoid dying? Mortimer does. Sort of. And this kind of avoidance of everything not only provides wonderful comical and philosophical fodder for Wargo to explore, but also makes for a perfect bizarro premise due to its impossibility. How can one avoid everything when everything is something, even nothing?
I admit, I have a certain fondness for afterlife comedy, especially when its weird. Avoiding Mortimer joins such stories as Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens and Gina Ranalli's Suicide Girls in the Afterlife on the list of unique and fascinating treatments of what happens to us after we die. Being a bizarro book, of course there are strange flourishes here and there. Supporting characters such as a sentient wig made of dreadlocks and a soul-sucking blob of half-digested ants add to the chaos while giving Mortimer other beings to interact with - despite his avoidance issues. Even God makes an appearance, although he's certainly not what you might expect. Or maybe he is, if like myself, you're a fan of existentialist and absurdist lit. The combination of these elements is where Avoiding Mortimer truly thrives. Wargo has a talent for layering strange, wild and funny storytelling over top of a psychologically exploratory and philosophically deep treatise on how he sees the universe. Those readers who follow his blogs and online writing will be familiar with Wargo's fascination with the id, the ego and the super-ego, all of which are utilized to their utmost both as concepts and as quasi-characters. All of these elements together are entertaining and incredibly explosive. Don't avoid picking this one up, as its a rare combination of thoughtful and silly that will appeal to any and all fans of weird fiction.
If you like some social anxiety mixed in with your bizarro, this is the book for you.
Mortimer avoids everything. He avoids life. He avoids relationship. He avoids his family. Mortimer simply exists but does nothing with it. When he lets his guard down once and does something other than avoiding things, it ends in disaster and...well, so does Mortimer. But that's not the end of the story in "Avoiding Mortimer" by J.W. Wargo.
Actually, it's a very touching story. Mortimer is in a constant battle with the world, but in reality is in a constant battle with himself. Mortimer is a walking, talking anxiety disorder, and he has to overcome his reason for being (or not being as it were) to save himself, his friends, and the all of life, not mention the afterlife. There's more to that, but it would give too much away.
A common complaint that I have with bizarro books and independent writers is that the editing can leave a little to be desired. That is not the case with this book. The editing is sublime and clean, making it easy to read. I wish more independent writers and publishers would take a little more time to clean things up a bit, because it makes a huge difference. Kudos to the author and editor for this.
If I have a complaint about this book, it's that it beats you over the head with the theme a little bit. Yes, Mortimer has a generalized and social anxiety disorder (although come to think of it, that's never explicitly said in the book). And yes, I know it's the theme of the book, but sometimes I felt like I just wanted to move on to the next subject. Move the story forward. Keep the character development going. I'll point out that there is indeed character development and growth, and it feels kind of deep for a bizarro book. It's almost comes off like a modern bizarro fable.
Something to note about this book is that, for a bizarro book, it's actually relatively tame. While most bizarro books include lots of sex and violence, and while there is some in this book, it's very lightly done, and Wargo takes a much gentler hand with the reader, focusing more on great plot and character development over shock value. It's kind of refreshing.
"Avoiding Mortimer" is part of the 2012-2013 class of the New Bizarro Authors Series, which means that this is Wargo's first published novel. And it's an excellent start. I'll be looking forward to Wargo's future work.
"Avoiding Mortimer" by J.W. Wargo earns 4.5 shots of love out of 5. Since half star reviews aren't allowed, it gets the benefit of the doubt and is awarded a full 5.
Avoiding Mortimer is a great example of philosophical Bizarro fiction that in due time could have its own little ranking, or footnote, near giants like Camus's The Stranger or Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra. There is also young, contemplative male angst all over the place that stands toe to toe with any Ishmael or Tyler Durden.
Mortimer avoids everything, delaying the inevitable, and when he achieves the inevitable, death, it's more horrible than life ever promised, and he has to make it back through a surreal landscape of sentient dreadlocks with dead end jobs, and ant blobs--Ant Blob by the way was an ingeniously inventive character, made from a shot of Love and Mortimer's ant farm that he ingests before his suicide, and makes me rabid to read more from Mr. Wargo just see what else he comes up with--and a cruel god who hates being called god. I'm really trying not to give too much away. Avoiding Mortimer has so many mind-bending twists and turns, that all serve a purpose, and weave a beautiful story that leads the reader to a new appreciation of life or a new understanding, and above all like any good Bizarro story, thoroughly entertained.
J.W. Wargo is one of the best new Bizarro writers operating. If Avoiding Mortimer is any indication, J.W. Wargo will be a formative voice in Bizarro fiction for many years to come.
Great writer.
Great book.
BUY IT!
0 Response to "[LRC]∎ Read Free Avoiding Mortimer The New Bizarro Author J W Wargo 9781621050674 Books"
Post a Comment