Customer Reviews

The Cry of the Sloth

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Sam Savage's new book is a masterpiece in its observation of one man's descent from being a mere misanthrope to being a lunatic misanthrope. Although the book is dark it is also very funny, and I found the main character nowhere near as objectionable as he was perhaps intended to be. In his pathetic attempts to be liked and respected, the 'hero' of the book is at times even sympathetic. Written in the form of short pieces, letters, shopping lists and notes, The Cry of the Sloth is a fantastically entertaining journey into one man's tortured soul.

Sam Savage gained fame for Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife, which was an endearingly sad tale about a rat born in a bookstore that is intelligent beyond his meager stature. Savage again takes up the reins of blending a love for the written word with a sad and lamentable character, but in the case of The Cry of the Sloth he has also created an ill-mannered logophile. Told through four months worth of letters written by the main character Andrew Whittaker, a small-time literary magazine Publisher and landlord of dilapidated apartments is a supreme ne'er-do-well. If Whittaker gets involved in anything it is sure to crumble to pieces.

Whittaker is on a downward spiral into loneliness and madness as he laments where his life is while being chased by his tenants who are tired of apartments infested with rats and roofs caving in. It takes a few chapters/letters to get into the style of The Cry of the Sloth, as the tone and often the truthfulness of the letters is seemingly rambling or unrelated. Yet that is often the point and once you get into the meat all the pieces start falling together with cringing laughter. There is a surprising amount of action given the style, but Whittaker's run-in with the local literary community and his attempts at organizing a literary festival more than keep things going. His letters to the local paper were my favorite sections, especially the pseudonyms he created.

Often sad, yet humorous The Cry of the Sloth is one to pass on to friends. I give The Cry of the Sloth 9 out of 10 Hats. Savage has established himself an original niche of short but deep books for lovers of the written word that stay with you. Do yourself a favor and check out his Firmin or Sloth. In the end I did like Firmin more, but that mostly had to do with the character Firmin being so charming and it being set in a bookstore.

So the main character dude is a landlord for some rather choice rentals. In one instance he writes a letter to a tenant that basically says your wife is so large that when she soaks in the tub, the overflow of water finds its way into the floorboards and rots the ceiling underneath causing it to cave in. (How can you not love that??)

I loved Firmin...I loved this. Basically a slew of letters to a selected bunch that showcase what remains of his life. Too bad the author, Sam Savage is already seventy. Hopefully he's got a few more books in him.

If you are a close reader and really enjoy carefully crafted sentences with witty turns, you will love this book. It is reminiscent of the great Don B or DeLillo in his funnier moments. I laughed out loud on almost every page.

This is one of the best, most amazing books I've ever read. I've read a lot of books. I loved it. I can't believe how good it is. I don't want to talk about the specifics too much, because I don't want to give away what happens. It's an epistolary novel (a story told through letters and other documents). The protagonist, Andrew Whittaker is talented, but he has terrible flaws. He runs a literary magazine. He also owns some decaying rental properties. The story is told through the letters he writes to friends, tenants, his ex-wife, colleagues, and so on. You learn about his struggles and trials. Outrageous and pathetic incidents occur. The letters range from hilarious to tragic. The thing about this book that's so amazing is the degree of subtle reality in the character of Andrew Whittaker. As you read it he just somehow turns into a real person.

I had never heard of Sam Savage's work before. I was just walking around in a bookstore picking up books and reading the first few sentences. The Cry of the Sloth looked pretty good. I liked the title. It has turned out to be one of the moving literary experiences of my life. Honestly, I've never read anything like it. I know I sound like a dork. I just loved this book so much.

This is a Good Book and I would recommend it, though maybe it's better to read on a lazy, sunny summer day than during a cold, damp and stressful autumn week. Once it became clear that things were getting worse without any hope for the sloth-like protagonist, I started feeling pretty down about the whole thing.

The book is a series of letters written from Andrew Whittaker's overwhelmingly depressed and depressing perspective. There's a lot to feel good about -- great writing, an unusual structure, a very believable main character and that we, the reader, are not Andrew.

Savage's development of his main character was impeccable and of the quality of Salinger's protagonist in Catcher in the Rye. If you want stellar writing, Savage is definitely it.

Hey, I like a little melancholia because life has quite a bit of that. This book is kind of sad but I enjoyed the depth and main characters drift from reality into
illusions brought on by loneliness. Sadly this book is about someone out there.

I never imagined that a book written with a copyright 2009 would become my favorite book. How is that even possible? All of the books I've read across a lifetime, and this book, written in the last year, becomes the favored. I spent a few nights mulling it over. I even slept with the book on my pillowcase.

It was difficult watching Andy Whittaker unravel. Reading it made me feel like I was watching myself unravel.

"The Cry of the Sloth" is Sam Savage's second book. It's set in the 1970s, with America struggling under Nixon's presidency and covers a four month period in Andy Whittaker's life.

Things haven't been going terribly well for Andy when we first meet him. He allegedly earns his living as a landlord, though many of his apartments appear to be lying empty. (Those that are occupied aren't doing him much good : they're in such a bad state, his tenants aren't keen to pay their rent and Andy can't afford to make the repairs). Divorced and without any apparent social life, he lives alone. His phone's been cut off, he's in trouble with the bank and he regularly falls short on his alimony payments. His ex-wife, Jolie, moved to Brooklyn a couple of years previously : she's proven to be a very a bad loss to him, both professionally and personally.

Andy' seems to be a very lonely character, with Soap - the literary review he founded seven years previously - his whole reason for living. The magazine is widely mocked by the local arts community and, now that Jolie has left, the sniggering has been getting louder and louder. (Having said that, he does have some very loyal contributors. Some even continue to submit their work after Andy has begged then to stop). Unfortunately, Andy can't afford to bankroll it any longer and he's hoping to raise some funds by launching a literary festival.

"The Cry of the Sloth" actually reminded me a little of Adrian Mole books. Both Andy and Adrian wrongly believed themselves to be intellectuals, and both told their own stories. The Mole books are published as diaries, while this is a collection of Andy's writings - mostly his letters and his attempts at a novel. A lot of Andy's letters are very funny and, at times, he can be sneaky, devious and underhand. However, as the book progresses and Andy's world collapses around him, it's hard not to feel sorry for him too. Absolutely recommended.