Customer Reviews

Bottomfeeder

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bottomfeeder is a great novel, exploring in a very realistic way what it might actually be like to be a vampire. You've got to cut your connections to your old life--friends, relatives, etc. You've got to change jobs every few years. If you've got any sense of self-preservation, you will probably target the homeless, the crazy, the dregs of society least likely to be missed. It's a very lonely existence and it's one that Phil Merman has been living for the last 27 years as the novel opens. He's lost his wife, his parents have both died, bouncers and bartenders look at the date on his passport and wonder how he can possibly look so young, and he's got a soul-killing job as a photo archivist that he can work nights. The one tie to his old life is the pathetic Shelley, an alcoholic who lost his entire family in a mysterious fire many years before, and a man who seems to turn up every time Phil turns around. Then Phil meets Eddie, another of his kind, and his world unexpectedly opens up...

This is an excellent novel, by turns funny, heartbreaking, horrifying, and very touching. Fingerman's take on vampirisim is very reminiscent of what Charlie Huston is doing in his Joe Pitt series, and it also reminded me of Andrew Fox's Fat White Vampire series. What this is not is Anne Rice, "woe is me" vampirism. In fact, that whole genre comes under frequent satiric attack in Fingerman's novel, which is often a very, very funny book. If anything, I would have liked the book to be longer. I fell completely under the spell of Phil and his nocturnal adventures and would love to read more. Very highly recommended!

Most vampire novels, quite frankly, suck -- what with their Victorian imagery, lacy frills, angst and mopery they tend to push the limits of pretentiousness and become tiresome in short order. I've had several of these atrocities passed to me with glowing recommendations, and could't finish a single one. Bottomfeeder is nothing like these.

Dark, urban, gritty, and foul -- yet full of humor -- plus, it was very well written. The only complaint I have was that the scene with the vampiric retards was unnecessary to the plot, distracting, and unfunny -- a competant editor would've excised those pages from an otherwise perfect book. 4.5 stars.

This book has it all and it is freakin hilarious! I loved every page and didn't want to leave phils world. I hope there's a sequel. B.H fingerman must read my mind, his writing is fast, smart, and he always had me wanting more!!! I hope fingerman is in for the long haul, he just needs to eat, sleap, and write!!!!!

You couldn't have gotten me to read a vampire novel if you bribed me. The beauty of this book is that it's a hip, literate, New York urban-smartass black comedy written in the first person by a guy that probably sounds like one of your friends, only he happens to be a vampire, and his waking hours ain't much fun. He does a lot of kvetching about the logistics of this life (well, undeath might be a better word) he has to live in order to survive. Having to feed on other people isn't something he's exactly proud of. In fact, he feels so guilty about it that the only acceptable way he can do it is to pray on homeless derelicts who wouldn't be missed anyway. But it's still not without guilt. Especially for an average Jewish guy from Queens with an average apartment, who doesn't have much of a social life anymore since he can't be out in the daytime. He pays the rent by working the night-shift scanning and archiving slides at a stock photography house.

The fun begins when, after 27 years of this lonely and boring existence, (in which he hasn't visibly aged a bit, even though he's in his mid-50s) he encounters by chance another one of his own kind. A mischievous, thrill-seeker with a good heart, who takes him under his wing and insists on getting him a badly-needed social life by introducing him to a diverse underworld of other bizarre characters who are willing to accept our guy as "one of us" but he isn't so sure he wants to be accepted...

It's a smart and funny read.

B. H. Fingerman's novel "Bottomfeeder" is many things: a rebuke to those who like their vampires mopey and sad; a snapshot of New York City during its transitional phase from the sleazy 70s to the post-9/11 tourist mecca; and an entertaining pulp/horror novel.

And funny. "Bottomfeeder" is also very funny. Stuck with eternal life, the main character Philip Merman has plenty of time to muse on the things that amuse him or piss him off. The voice recalls a detective novel tough guy, but without being a tired pastiche or worn-out parody. The narrative is fresh and Merman's adventures consistently inventive, including scenes unlike those in other horror novels.

In a genre that sometimes feels as played out as horror, it's a pleasure to read something this entertaining. I'm sorry the story isn't longer.

This is the best vampire story I've ever read...and I've read a lot of them. B.H. Fingerman offers a fresh take on the old tale of the "life" of a vampire. I thought Anne Rice had cornered the market on "it's-kind-of-a-drag-to-be-a-vampire" books, but Fingerman goes her one better, with both humor and pathos. Plenty of scenes will have you saying "yeah, I never thought of that."

The descriptions of people and places in this novel are detailed and graphic, without ever slowing down the pace of the narrative. The characters are vividly and economically drawn. New York comes alive. If prose can be hip, gross, and lyrical at the same time, Fingerman's nailed it. You can expect a laugh and a cringe on every page.

Fingerman is a very gifted writer, and this is an impressive debut novel. At the end of the "acknowledgements" section of the book Fingerman writes, "stay tuned," and I will. Looking forward to the next one!

In Bottomfeeder, the debut novel by B.H. Fingerman, we meet Phil Merman, a vampire living in New York City. He doesn't know how he became a vampire or why. He just knows that he hasn't aged a day since it happened, can't survive exposure to sunlight, and needs to feed regularly, which means killing an awful lot of people.

Bottomfeeder is sort of like Interview with the Vampire, only the vampire in question is an otherwise unremarkable, white-collar Jewish guy with a lousy job, lousy wardrobe, and a positively depressing social life. Like Rice's protagonist, Phil doesn't know much about how vampires came to be or what their limitations are, is conflicted when he finally encounters more of his kind, and struggles with the morality of what he has to do in order to stay alive. Unlike Rice, however, Fingerman explores these concepts with wry, self-deprecating humor, sarcasm and razor-sharp dialogue instead of brooding and melancholia. Bottomfeeder is not as over the top funny as Christopher Moore's vampire novels, but has a similar feel.

I loved the pace, tone and language in this book. It was a quick read, made me laugh out loud at times, and when it ended I simultaneously wanted more and knew it was the perfect place to say goodbye. Fingerman knocked it out of the park on his first at-bat. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

I don't do fantasy, and I definitely don't do vampire novels--but this book is SO cool! It's smart, funny, disgusting, and very addicting. I absolutely cannot put it down, and I don't want it to end. The story is so original; I am a reading teacher (I read a lot), and I have NEVER read anything like it. It is definitely now in my top 5 of all time. It takes a lot for me to laugh outloud when reading, but I do so often in this novel. I also cringe at times--but I guess when you are dealing with vampires, that is to be expected.
GREAT READ!

I happened to pick this book up at a used bookstore dirt cheap. I'm quite into the whole vampire genre, but had never heard of it. I am SO glad I purchased it. I didn't want to put this book down. There are parts that had me laughing outloud. It's graphic, gritty, funny, and totally unexpected. It's a wonderful character study told in the first person point of view of Phil, who was made a vampire by an unknown attacker at age 27. He wakes up with no knowledge of what happened or what he's become - and doesn't even realize there are other's like him. There's no adventurous plot in this novel - only Phil's day to day trials and tribulations in coming to terms with what he now is, and what he now needs to do in order to survive. I can only hope that Fingerman has plans for a sequel.

If your tired of all the romance/soft-core porn and pre-pubescent teen drivel that this genre is flooded with, then you NEED to buy this book.

Holy. Cow.

Up until a year or so ago, I wouldn't have even responded if you had asked me if I like vampire fiction. Let's be honest, it has a bad wrap by most of society. The main of vampire fiction is, frankly, dorky. Overly dark, gaggingly brooding, melodramatic, cheesily gothic - archaic. I've tried to read Bram Stoker about four times and failed every time. When I think of a reader of vampire novels, I somehow think of techno music, big black pants with chains, and a love for watching, reading, and making anime music videos to put on youtube.

But there have been a few recent vamp reads I could sink my teeth into (bad pun which i didn't notice until i started typing it). Bottomfeeder by B. H. Fingerman is certainly one of them. (also see author Charlie Huston)

It's not a dramatic tale of woe and darkness, it's a memoir of a fairly regular seeming jewish guy with a somewhat regular night-job and even a regular apartment. Oh, and he happens to be an immortal bloodsucker. Phil Merman is fifty-something years old, but he still looks 30ish. He's pretty much completely alone in his New York City life and doesn't know of a single other vampire. He has a code of ethics for his prey. He only feasts on drugged up vagrants that seem like they won't be missed and then he stashes the bodies away and no one is the wiser. He feels pretty bad about what he has to do, but you gotta do, ya know? Despite some flaws, you have to like and emphathize with Phil. You root for him and hope everything works out.

The plot isn't very deep and the climax really isn't that high(not in a dramatic sense. it's certainly high in an emotional sense), but Phil's dark humor, and Fingerman's skillful writing kept me glued to it at every free moment I had. I repeat - Fingerman writes amazingly well. It sounds like Phil is just talking to you over dinner. Just reminiscing. Some of the stuff in here, I don't know how Fingerman came up with. The guy is witty as hell.

This book, overall, is shocking and darkly funny. I rarely smile for everyone to see when i'm reading a funny novel, but this one got me multiple times. It also gets very serious and very desparate. My only problem is that by the end there are a few questions left unanswered.

I didn't really appreciate the book until the end when I was left dumbfounded, amazed, and wanting more. This is the vampire fiction that needs to hit mainstream. The genre needs a makeover and authors like Charlie Huston and B. H. Fingerman should be in charge of the rennovation.