Indecision: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: New York, South America, New England (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dwight Wilmerding, the vacillating, down-market prepster protagonist of Kunkel's debut novel, gets fired from his low-level job at Pfizer and, with the lease running out on his hive-like Chambers Street boys-club apartment, lights out for Quito, Ecuador, where high school flame Natasha is holed up. Before this momentous undertaking, Dwight has been afflicted with chronic postcollegiate indecision, particularly in relationships: should he pursue a life with his quasi-girlfriend, Vaneetha? Start up again with Natasha? And what about his weird thing for his sister, Alice? As luck would have it, one of his roommates is a med student who turns Dwight on to Abulinix, an experimental new treatment for chronic indecision, which makes his South American jaunt very eventful indeed. A subtheme on the post-politicality of post-9/11 20-somethings gives the book some bite and surfaces most conspicuously in the form of Brigid, the Euroactivist who, along with the drug, brings Dwight clarity, and even hope. Annoying but accomplished, this entertaining book has screenplay written all over it, from the hot Dutch Natasha to the shambling cute Dwight—not to mention Harvard-educated, New York– literati Kunkel himself. (Sept. 6)
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From The New Yorker

Twenty years ago, Don DeLillo, in "White Noise," created a character so beset by morbid anxiety that she begins taking pills that obliterate the fear of death. In our era of precision-targeted psychotropics, this scenario no longer shocks; it's drearily plausible. For similar reasons, the satirical springboard of Kunkel's first novel—a neurotically aimless New Yorker takes medication that he believes will instill in him the ability to make commitments—is rather creaky. Moreover, the Big Pharma plot only partially masks the fact that this is yet another novel in which a charming, Nick Hornby-style layabout is mechanically cajoled into semi-maturity. Kunkel's narrator has an appealingly rascally voice, and the author is expert at depicting highbrow buffoonery—at an all-night Ecstasy party, flesh and philosophy commingle to hilarious effect—but the book, for all its crisp prose, can't escape the staleness of its conceit.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Random House (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400063450
• ISBN-13: 978-1400063451
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #671,295 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Patchy, but entertaining at times, September 20, 2005

By	Edmund Mcguigan "Ed McGuigan" (Boynton Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was struck by how wildly the reactions to this book vary. The women seemed to like it more than the men. I don't regret reading it but could not recommend it to others. I used to live in Quito and so had my interest piqued by the setting. I think I might have been less pleased by the book without this association.

On occasions Kunkel is funny, on others he is off the mark and needed to be taken to task by an editor. I imagine that a writer may have an approach where he gets "stuff" on the page that needs to be ferociously edited and honed, either by the writer alone or in conjunction with an editor. This didn't happen with Indecision.

There are some genuinely thought provoking musings but there is also a bit too much musing of lesser quality. Since a lot of the prose was the random inner musings of the main character, I think Kunkel felt entitled to leave them "in the rough". I would have preferred more cut and polish. I thought that the writer totally failed to give life to the Brigid character and the latter part of the book lacked believability.

He falls into "democratic socialism" in a way that does not jive with his subsequent commitment to the cause. I have often marvelled at how the mainstream media covers the anti-globalization protests of major economic summits without ever allowing the views of the protesters to be heard, leaving one to believe that they are simply a contrary rabble with no clear idea of what they are against. It was disappointing that Kunkel failed to properly develop some kind of expression of this anti-globalization / anti-neo-liberal viewpoint.

He is a young man and I hope he goes on to produce better quality work.

58 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars very disappointing book, October 3, 2005

By	Richard Kurtz (NYC<P>NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have to say, as I often say, that I agree with many of the reviews that have been posted here. I approached this book with great anticipation -- very good reviews, potentially interesting story line but, aas it turned out, I was really disappointed and borderline annoyed that this book had received the hype that it did. I was about 2/3 's of the way through and struggling to finish it and mentioned it to a friend of mine who is a published author, whose opinions I respect ,and asked him about this book and he said "he just gave up" about 1/2 way through --however, I did persist and with some judicious scanning did finish it. I did, however, like the beginning, thought it was funny and clever and really enjoyed Kunkel's capturing of some of the "voices" in a very humourouis way, (e.g. his father and mother) but once he goes off to Ecuador the book really sinks and goes absolutely nowhere as far as I am concerned. But, as they say, you don't know what something tastes like unless you try it ...and this one just didn't do it for me.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked it...I've decided, November 1, 2005

By	M. G. Jamison (Fairlawn, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I think the good reviews for this novel in the "literary press" can be explained by the fact that this book is more of a writer's book than a reader's book, but that could probably be said of a lot of good books (MOBY DICK and THE SOUND AND THE FURY come to mind.) As a reader who fancies himself something of a writer, I found quite a lot to admire. Some of the sentences were striking and memorable (and convoluted). I think Kunkel's second novel, assuming there will be one, will cause critics and readers to look back at this one and declare him a marvelous ventriloquist. I think a lot of the frustration in the readers' reviews is a frustration with the very specific voice of the narrator rather than a frustration with the writer. Kunkel is a damned good writer of individual SCENES; several are unforgettable: Dwight gets drunk with his father, Dwight gets caught masturbating in the tent, Dwight does ecstacy with his roommates, Dwight sees the second plane. I can't say it was an absolute pleasure to read this novel, but I don't just read for pleasure. I recommend it.