A GENUINE MONSTER [Paperback]

David Zielinski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 2003

Set in a present-day version of a San Diego that is troubled by earthquakes and the imminent arrival of space aliens, A Genuine Monster is a darkly comical novel that recounts the tumultuous and apocalyptic last day in the life of a disturbed veteran, Nick Ames. The novel follows the course of Nick's last day, as he attempts to rejuvenate himself by connecting with his bizarre friends (a hack writer and a twisted waitress). At the same time, he suffers the traumatic consequences of searching for meaning in an America gone mad.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nick Ames, narrator of this promising debut novel, is a disturbed Vietnam veteran clinging to reality in San Diego. In his free-floating memories, several planes of existence fitfully interpenetrate: his boyhood molded by a moody, beer-swilling father; his stint as a minor-league baseball player; sexual fantasies involving nympho waitress LaWanda Hernandez, at whom he beams thought waves; flashbacks of battles and bootcamp, of Saigon girlfriend Miki who seems to have been his closest human contact. Ames's landlady, who's in a UFO cult, begs him to join a vigil waiting for the aliens. His best friend Argo is a drunk who writes pulp spy thrillers. In a fragmentary style that reflects the protagonist's confused mental state, this jagged lyric tale charts the course of Ames's last day, setting his failure to connect against the trash heap of popular culture.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Zielinski's first novel chronicles the final day in the life of disturbed Vietnam veteran Nick Ames. Unable to differentiate between Godzilla movies and reality, Nick makes a last-ditch effort to define himself, but the result is apocalyptic violence when his small circle of bizarre yet ultimately shallow "friends" fails to rejuvenate his degenerating psyche. The story is told in beautifully subdued prose which softly reverberates the violence that exists at the novel's core. This work gracefully defines the human condition through Nick's childlike mind as alternately tragic, ironic, and absurd. Zielinski has written an exceptional first novel that is recommended for contemporary literature collections.-- "Mark Annichiarico," Library Journal correction: We have just been informed that the price for Gayle Rivers's Hunter's Run , reviewed in LJ 11/15/89, has been changed from $18.95 to $21.95.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (June 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595282814
• ISBN-13: 978-0595282814
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,359,648 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Profound author. Pulitzer prize nominee book !!, June 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Genuine Monster (Hardcover)

Author was reviewed during his college years as an "upcoming Hemmingway". Unfortunate Zielinski has not written any other novels....yet !! A must read for the intellectual reader !!