64 BOOKLIFE, MARCH 8, 2021
GENERAL FICTION
99 Erics: A Kat
Cataclysm Faux Novel
Julia Serano | Switch Hitter Press
278p, trade paper, $16.99, ISBN 978-0-
996-88104-3
Serano (Whipping Girl)
drenches readers in satire and
absurdity in this “faux novel”
written from the perspective of
Kat Cataclysm, a wannabe
author who decides to jumpstart
her career by introducing more
conflict into her life -- in the form
of dating 99 men named Eric and
novelizing the experience. With light chapters that recount Kat’s
dates and failed relationships, the tone akin to conversational
journal entries or letters to friends, Serano delves into issues of
city life and contemporary romance, such as how money
destroyed San Francisco or an analysis of Kat’s annoyance when
straight men assume bi women will want a threesome
The fourth wall is not so much broken as dispensed with alto-
gether, with the various vignettes presented as if the narrator has
stepped outside the story to present to readers a slideshow on
particular incidents, down to dialog presented in a script format
and dry run downs of quirky dates: “He immediately started
complaining about how the place was a bit too ‘divey’ for his
tastes, even though there was no piss all over the bathroom
floors.” This clinical approach, while comic, creates distance not
only between Kat and the events she’s recounting, but between
readers and the story’s
emotional elements, as do
Serrano’s leaps into metafic-
tional comedy— Kat describes a
room full of child actors stabbing
her date to death to prove that
she’s the all-powerful narrator.
The appeal, here, is in Kat’s
noxious encounters with Erics
and how she heroically mines
them for witty considerations
of the absurdities women face
when dating -- and even occa-
sional catharsis. Still, readers
looking for more traditional
emotional release, though, will
face frustration. Even Kat’s
breakup with her longtime non-
monogamous partner, which
she describes as causing “all
the feelings,” is related in
dispassionate and jokey tones.
In the end, 99 Erics fully
embraces the ludicrous and
rides it into the sunset.GENERAL FICTION
No Birds Sing Here
Daniel V. Meier, Jr. | Boutique of
Quality Books
250p, ebook, $8.99, ISBN 978-1-945-
44895-9
In this humorous rebuke of faux
intellectualism, two misguided
individuals set out on a journey to
discover what it means to be an
artist. Beckman is a wannabe
author and psychokinetic who
spends his time re-reading his
own work, dreaming about the
future, and causing trouble.
Malany is a poet with manufactured success who maintains a
devoted asceticism, abstaining from all forms of excess. Both are
fleeing their former lives: Beckman refuses to follow in his lawyer
father’s footsteps, while Malany avoids her doting, wealthy
husband. The two embark on a transcontinental odyssey,
pretending to be established writers in small towns across the U.S.
From disapproving rednecks to shallow and hedonistic academics,
the couple encounter a cast of characters as lost as they are,
unhappy with their circumstances but unable to transcend them.
Meier (The Dung Beetles of Liberia) has written a scathing satire,
a critique of empty artistry. Through Beckman and Malany, he
explores the identities of two annoyingly inauthentic people.
Although a self-professed writer, Beckman never produces
anything throughout the story, waiting for the “right” experience
to spark his inspiration. Malany, though devoted to her work, is not
the radical she appears to be, hiding her true origins to maintain a
façade of independence. Because the two main characters are so
self-serious, the book is often funny. Even more minor characters
put on airs to an amusing extent:
A pool shark’s crafted machismo
hides the secret of his sexuality,
while a professor’s wife playacts
as various literary figures. No
one is likeable, which limits the
novel’s audience but also seems
to be the point.
The prose can be flowery
(“He sat on the edge, shivering
for a long time, steeped in
wordless disgust at his
present condition in life”), but
with Beckman as the protago-
nist, the oft-pretentious
descriptions play as comic.
However, less successful
sentences can be choppy and
difficult to read. For the most
part, however, the satire
lands, and the story is fast-
paced and thought-provoking.This meta-fictional
satire in which a
woman dates 99
Erics will please
readers who favor
pointed absurdity
over emotion.Production grades
Cover: A
Design & typography: A
Illustrations: –
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A-Production grades
Cover: C
Design & typography: A
Illustrations: –
Editing: B
Marketing copy: BThis satirical novel’s
social critique
swipes amusingly at
writerly pretensions
and small towns full
of secrets.PAID REVIEWSGreat for fans of
Virginie Despentes’s
Vernon Subutex, Paul
Beatty’s The Sellout.Great for fans of
Daniel M. Lavery’s
Something That May
Shock And Discredit
You, Spike Milligan’s
Puckoon.