Though we’re sure he’s no slouch himself, Adam Wilson sure knows a thing or two about the intricacies of slackerdom. His debut novel Flatscreen, which hit shelves this week, is the hilarious story of professional slacker Eli Schwartz — perpetually stoned, uncomfortably doughy, cheerfully lewd — who is forced to face up to certain facts of life (and required to put on pants) when his (parents’) home is purchased by an aging, sex-addicted ex-TV star in a wheelchair. As you might imagine, hijinks ensue, most of which are relatively unflattering to our friend Eli, but he manages to slouch and whine his way towards a satisfying conclusion. Since he’s the expert, we asked Wilson to tell us about his all-time favorite literary slacker novels — click through to check out his (also very funny) list, and then be sure to tell us about your own preferred misanthropic reads in the comments!
Wilson says: “I’ve always thought of Jesus Christ — the New Testament’s long-haired itinerant carpenter and struggling magician — as the first literary slacker He drank a lot of wine and never wore pants; he was into holistic healing; he could be preachy and moralistic, but was a good guy deep down. And to think they strung him up for it. Society’s attitude toward slackers hasn’t softened much.”
Comments (9)
Wow. These ppl actually got book deals – who reads this kind of crap?
+ Indecision Best slacker novel I have read in years.
http://www.amazon.com/Indecision-A-Novel-ebook/dp/B000FCKC10/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1329933691&sr=8-2
The New Testament and Hamlet? Seriously? I could have done without a single lame joke entry on this list, let alone two.
But the rest is aces.
Excellent list. Several of Philip Roth’s characters fit, but maybe the lead character in Portnoy’s Complaint is best. Pynchon loves slackers or, as he sometimes calls them, schlemihls. Tyrone Slothrop in Gravity’s Rainbow, Pig Bodine and Benny Profane and the Whole Sick Crew in V., possibly Jeremiah Dixon in Mason & Dixon. Captain John Yossarian in Heller’s Catch 22, of course. The narrator in Richard Farina’s Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me.
“Oh, my god!” said Ignatius Reilly in response to flavorwire’s indictment of slackers in novels. “How could they be expected to function within a society in which they loathe?! Who produced this perverse abortion of a list?!”
You should check out David Whitehouse’s novel Bed – about a slacker who just got fatter and fatter cause he couldn’t be bothered to leave his bed. Really funny first novel by this British author.
At Swim-two-birds!
No Holden Caulfield? Tsk tsk tsk.
gRAB ON tO mE tIGHTLY is ‘ing horrible and the author is even more horrible.
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