Miss Misery: A Novel [Hardcover]

Andy Greenwald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 27, 2005

Lonely Brooklyn twentysomething David Gould has problems: blown work deadlines, an obsession with an Internet temptress he's never met in the flesh, and, worst of all, a hedonistic double attempting to steal his identity. Full of gripping characters, mood-altering detail, and a killer virtual soundtrack, Miss Misery is a genre-defying exploration of growing up and going out in the new century. As he rockets the reader from cyberspace to nightclub bathrooms, from the heart of New York City to the suburbs of Utah, Andy Greenwald unspools a fast-moving, funny story about the timeless need to become the main character in your own life.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Spin writer and author of the "emo" history Nothing Feels Good aims for lighthearted social commentary amid a quasi-bildungsroman/ romance/mystery in his debut novel. Twenty-something Brooklyn-dweller David Gould is fixated on blogs, particularly one belonging to Cath Kennedy, the titular Miss Misery. David has a lost love and a book deadline to deal with, but instead he's reading strangers' misadventures and typing fictitious events into his own online diary. Then his alter ego takes human form and becomes king of the Lower East Side, claiming the real-life Cath, David's good reputation and several thousands of his dollars in the process. Snarky and decadent both online and off, Cath, Greenwald fitfully tries to persuade us, is really actually quite charming. The author does a better job of endearing us to Ashleigh, who reaches out to David from her cookie-cutter Utah suburb. While convincing characterization isn't Greenwald's strong suit, his prose is alive with description (though there are questionable moments: "The empty beer bottles and glasses that lined the tables... skipped and lurched with every downbeat, forcing them on a Bataan-style death march towards the floor"). David and Co.'s enthusiasm for New York is palpable and their knowledge of music extensive, which makes them good for a tour and a few chuckles. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Not surprisingly, this first novel by Spin magazine writer Greenwald is studded with song titles and band names and will likely appeal most to those familiar with groups such as Death Cab for Cutie and Jimmy Eat World. Narrator Dave Gould is a twentysomething writer living in Brooklyn and on deadline to turn in a book about online diaries. His longtime live-in girlfriend has left him to work in The Hague, and he spends a lot of time trying to avoid the implications of her decision. He becomes obsessed with the online diary of a teenager known as Miss Misery, who throws herself into Manhattan's club scene with abandon and inspires Dave to create his own false, amped-up, adventurous journal. When his site and, eventually, his fantasy life are taken over by a hacker, Dave must decide whether he wants to live his life as a participant or as a spectator. The alter-ego theme is lamely executed, but Greenwald's fluent, accessible prose and his immensely likable narrator make this title a good bet for emo music lovers. Joanne Wilkinson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment; 1ST edition (December 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416902406
• ISBN-13: 978-1416902409
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,055,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, better soundtrack, February 20, 2006

By 

Brandon Stilb (Buffalo, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miss Misery: A Novel (Hardcover)

Just as I said, good book, but better soundtrack. And these are just the songs that were referenced throughout the book (in order). This doesn't include all the other name-dropping of bands (I have a list of those as well). Only song that I left off was Tommy Tutone's "867-5309" because one, it didn't fit well between Buckingham's "Trouble" and "Miss Misery" and two, I could fit them all on to three CDs if I cut one song. Here they are:

Track Title Artist
1 A Lack Of Color Death Cab For Cutie
2 The Good That Won't Come Out Rilo Kiley
3 To Wish Impossible Things The Cure
4 A New Name For Everything The Weakerthans
5 The Swiss Army Romance Dashboard Confessional
6 Loss Leaders Spoon
7 On To You The Constantines
8 Banquet Bloc Party
9 Evil Interpol
10 Monday-Paracetamol Ulrich Schnauss
11 Gloriuos Adorable
12 Lips Like Sugar Echo & The Bunnymen
13 We Will Become Silhouettes The Postal Service
14 Perfect Skin Lloyd Cole
15 Bonus Mosh, pt. II Taking Back Sunday
16 You're So Last Summer Taking Back Sunday
17 The Metro Berlin
18 Carve Your Heart Out Yourself Dashboard Confessional
19 Still In Love Song The Stills
20 NYC Interpol
21 Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others The Smiths
22 Dream Police Cheap Trick
23 Not That Funny Fleetwood Mac
24 Charlotte Sometimes The Cure
25 Reptilia The Strokes
26 The 15th Wire
27 Miss Lucifer Primal Scream
28 Burning Photographs Ryan Adams
29 Coney Island Death Cab For Cutie
30 Tidal Wave Longwave
31 Victim Of The Crime Phoenix
32 Stephanie Says The Velvet Underground
33 Jacqueline Franz Ferdinand
34 Shattered The Rolling Stones
35 Beating Heart Baby Head Automatica
36 Temptation New Order
37 She's Hearing Voices Bloc Party
38 This Is Our Emergency Pretty Girls Make Graves
39 Mystery Achievement Pretenders
40 The Trial Of The Century The French Kicks
41 The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine Spoon
42 I Know I'm Not Wrong Fleetwood Mac
43 Cinnamon The Long Winters
44 Head Full Of Steam The Go-Betweens
45 If You Knew Her As I Know Her The Mendoza Line
46 July, July! The Decemberists
47 Fourth Of July Galaxie 500
48 There's A Glory In Your Story Idlewild
49 Sympathy The Get Up Kids
50 Y Control Yeah Yeah Yeahs
51 Ladyflash The Go! Team
52 Calm Before The Storm The Bats
53 Look Up The Stars
54 2 Far Dizzee Rascal (feat. Wiley)
55 This Bitter Pill Dashboard Confessional
56 Work Jimmy Eat World
57 Trouble Lindsey Buckingham
58 Miss Misery Elliott Smith

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, I'm just a little old, March 26, 2006

By 

DW (Tempe, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss Misery: A Novel (Hardcover)

I'll have to type this review fast because my kids need a bath and it's past their bedtime.... If you can relate to this sentence then this book is not for you. If you can't relate, and you're reading my review right before you're going out to hit the clubs then this book is for you.

I really liked the character in David Gould, and Cath Kennedy (online name is Miss Misery) was more than captivating and interesting. The several dozen band references, however, had me lost because I haven't been in that scene in 10+ years or so.

The plot was fast paced and kept me reading, and for that, I give the author credit. It's seems to me that he has a promising future. You also should visit his Web site at www.andygreenwald.com to get a better idea of how in-touch he his with his readers. He is very connected with modern day technology and has a great following, which is well deserved.

To enjoy this book you need to have the ability to "get lost" in it and go along with the premise that every other character is convinced of the authenticity of David Gould's look-alike, who is out to exploit his undecidedness and weaknesses. It also wouldn't hurt if you are a regular viewer of MTV or love reading books which incorporate a modern day musical theme into the story.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Miss Misery", February 22, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Miss Misery: A Novel (Hardcover)

Andy Greenwald's first book, "Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo," may have been a great work of non-fiction, but this ode to "emo" bands, such as Dashboard Confessional and The Promise Ring, does not compare to his first fiction novel, "Miss Misery." Previous to writing books, he wrote articles for "Spin" and still contributes to the magazine as a senior writer.

Greenwald's protagonist, David Gould, faces the problems most twentysomethings usually do, such as paying rent on his Brooklyn apartment and trying to get over his long term girlfriend, Amy, who recently moved to Europe for work. However, he soon realizes that his mundane problems are not as bad as they seem when a mysterious doppelganger succeeds in stealing his identity, a teenage girl from Salt Lake City flies to his New York City home to escape her Mormon parents, and Gould himself falls in love, or possibly lust, with Cath Kennedy (aka: Miss Misery).

It may seem like the typical story of two people meeting online, meeting in person, and falling in love, but "Miss Misery" is so much more. Cath is not actually sure whether she is in love with David. Being the only person who knows that Gould and his impersonator are two entirely different people, she cannot decide which one she likes more. Although the real Gould is a nice person, he's a bit too boring for Cath and she tends to favor the DJ-ing, coke-snorting, partying "David #2."

Just when Gould has had enough of his own problems, Ashleigh, a seventeen-year-old girl from Utah, drops in with her typical adolescent troubles. After she coerces David into flying into Sake Lake for a few hours to see her reputedly horrible surroundings, he realizes that she does have a few things to complain about, but not enough to run away from home. He then convinces her stay in Utah and deal with her overbearing parents until college.

Including a list for the perfect mix CD, as well as song titles name-dropped throughout the book; "Miss Misery" comes complete with a taxi cab chase to the airport, parties at underground clubs in Manhattan, and journal entries made by characters across the country and beyond.

(By the way, I'm not actually a "kid under 13 years old" & anyone under 13 should DEFINITELY NOT read this book.)