Rated 5 out of 5
So, I think I have to write about Fuccboi. Partially because it's fun but also because everyone is talking about it. My friends who don’t read are reading it, and talking about it: a book! I couldn’t be happier. For once, a book has bridged the gap between literary circles and everything else. Why didn’t books by other authors get this kind of deal, or kind of attention? It would have had buzz with or without the controversy, and I hardly want to call it that.<br/><br/>My friend spurred the review because she asked why is it written like this after reading 10 free pages online. The language and style has been mostly criticized. I explained that it was “how he talks” and he writes how he talks, in a natural voice for the non-reader. I tried to accept it at face value so I could see what was going on with the text. I didn’t want to be distracted by a stylistic choice that cannot be separated from the novel. If you don’t like his use of language, or hang out with anyone who talks remotely like that in real life, or talk that way yourself, you might not like the book. Ultimately, I found it refreshing. The reading was easy without sacrificing depth.<br/><br/>First and foremost, I like that this autobiographical novel features a writer with a shitty job. Postmates delivery is a precarious, physically demanding, low wage job. Brooklyn baristas and gallery sitters have nothing on Postmates delivery workers. Tweet me a river, Autumn. Most autofiction I’ve read features characters floating through school, recovering from a high profile media job, or seemingly comfortably unemployed. I want more books that look like real life. I like that this book takes place in Philadelphia. I like the privacy and sensitivity to character names. <br/><br/>Christian Lorentzen said that it’s about "young people of different classes with clashing politics trying to get along with one another", and I think that sums it up nicely. <br/>