Skateboarder, punk rocker, kitchen slave, and general ne’er-do-well with a slightly tarnished heart of gold, When Thinfinger tries mightily to survive a seemingly endless round of troubles in small-town Florida. After getting fired from his job at the Barbie-Q, he lands a gig at the hippest pizza joint in town, where he soon becomes the leader of a disheveled crew. He’s the singer for a mediocre rock band, but his bandmates only let him sing their name, Wormdevil, to all the songs. His girlfriend dreams that he murders her and decorates their apartment with the skulls of small animals. And his best friend enlists him in his plan to land his photo in Thrasher by skating a bowl of poisonous snakes. Navigating a life littered with freaks and miscreants, When crosses a line, and things suddenly become hotter than his pizza oven. Jeff Parker’s laugh-out-loud funny first novel follows a contemporary Everyguy through the strange twists of a woefully complicated life.
Ovenman: A Novel (Tin House New Voice)
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Parker's hilarious debut introduces to the world pizza-slinging, skateboarding, tattooed anti-hero When Thinfinger. Drinking and stealing his way through a series of dead-end restaurant jobs, When lands a gig at Piecemeal Pizza by the Slice, the best pizza joint in his Florida town. As Ovenman-a much-coveted position compared to Dish Dog or Front Girl-When spends his days and nights perfecting the art of slicing pies and belting out nonsense lyrics as a singer in the band Wormdevil. His girlfriend, Marigold, sleeps on his couch, convinced that her dreams of When murdering her will come true. After Piecemeal is robbed and When wakes up from a drinking binge in possession of a pizza box full of cash, he must figure out what happened, and more importantly, who else knows the truth. Though When's ne'er-do-well brooding can slow the pace, the narrative is full of surprises, dark humor and a cast of nutty eccentrics vast enough to staff a vulgar circus.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Parker's hilarious debut introduces to the world pizza-slinging, skateboarding, tattooed anti-hero When Thinfinger.... the narrative is full of surprises, dark humor and a cast of nutty eccentrics vast enough to staff a vulgar circus." -Publishers Weekly
"Ovenman by Jeff Parker is a brilliant addition to the growing genre of serious slacker literature. Parker's When Thinfinger is a direct descendant of Ignatius J. Reilly, Frank Portman's King Dork, Arthur Nersesian's F*ckup, and Sam Lipsyte's Teabag. It's a joy to ride along on the back of his Haro with the kinky triangular frame or non-motorized longboard; as he careens from hardcore shows to the kitchen of Piecemeal Pizza (where he finally finds a form of, well, peace), through nights of not-quite-satisfying debauchery and into painful mornings and the inevitable discovery of the cryptic post-it notes written from his blackout drunk self to his hungover self. Ovenman is a great exercise in storytelling and voice, and it was the most entertaining (and underappreciated) book I read in 2007." -Dave Housley, E!Online Books You Must Read: Picks for 2007
"One of the most raucous and fun books I've read in ages...Ovenman is a frenetic blast of pleasure: a depiction of America at its skankiest, populated with unlikely heroes and told with a reckless glee that commands serious attention." -Chas Bowie, The Portland Mercury
"Ovenman's considerable charm and clout lie in this combination of the specific absurdities of Thinfinger's day-to-day and his often thwarted search for meaning." -Heather Birrell, The Believer
"Ovenman reads like a high calibre graphic novel, minus the graphics. Cluttered, uncomfortable, compulsively crafted, unashamed of occasional farce or relentless surreal quirky distortion, this is writing you might imagine coming out of the brain of Julie Doucet, if she were a guy who lived in Florida." -Juliet Waters, Montreal Mirror
"While the plot is certifiably hilarious, it's really When's voice that's in the driver's seat. Dazed, confused, and occasionally caring, he carries all 250 pages of this terrifically entertaining novel." -Toby Warner, Boldtype
"Equal parts sleazy and frenetic, Parker's debut is a chortle-out-loud story about the sweaty, battle-scarred struggle between creating self-monuments and throwing hand grenades." -Annie Bethancourt, Williamette Week
"Ovenman may leave some readers puzzling over how When can be such a dope in some ways and still such a fun narrator. Parker rides that thin line of narrative balance and manages to make When a triumphant antihero." - Kevin Sampsell, The Oregonian
"Rarely are mopping and pizza dough so pleasingly rendered. Even inside When's world of chaos, Parker's novel pushes forward with grace. This is a delight of a debut." -Aimee Bender, author of Willful Creatures and An Invisible Sign of My Own
"Funny, soulful, and energetic, Ovenman is wonderful." -Mary Gaitskill, author of Veronica
"Jeff Parker is a writer who understands that voice is the doorway to all true beauty in fiction. Tight, wry, dark, and deeply funny - he is a master of the hyper-compressed sentence that explodes with more meaning and nuance than should be possible. Ovenman is a welcome addition to the literature of the lovably hapless by a young writer with talent to burn." -George Saunders, author of Pastoralia and In Persuasion Nation
"In his utterly original Ovenman, Parker has created a time capsule of the nineties in Central Florida and an ode to the mysteries and hopes and acrobatics of youth. When Thinfinger, the skateboarding philosopher at the heart of this terrific novel, is brilliantly acerbic and uncommonly insightful. And awfully, awfully funny. Here's a brief note of which I hope he'd approve: This novel really cooks. Read it tonight." -Bret Anthony Johnston, author of Corpus Christi: Stories
"Mr. Parker has written a weirdly attractive life of people one thought had no life, the pierced and tatted xtremes. Creepy, convincing, hooty, and fun. The movie will be scary." -Padgett Powell, author of Mrs. Hollingsworth's Men
"Ovenman should end up being taught in MFA programs as an incredible example of a novel centered around voice. That's not to say that all Jeff Parker has done is come up with a great voice, the characters and plot of Ovenman are fantastic as well." - Dan Wickett, Emerging Writers Network
"Parker riffs on the brilliant, bombastic language of one When Thinfinger, pizza cook and then night manager at Gainesville, FL's Piecemeal Pizza by the Slice. When is a skater, which is a milieu Parker describes with effortless authority, but even that underground community, surfing's runty cousin, can't fully account for the novel imagery Parker invests Thinfinger's language with." -Matt Dube, Diagram
"Vivid and honest...Ovenman is propelled by tight and precise sentences that fall from one into the other as Thinfinger's life falls apart. The writing is wonderfully specific, creating a vibrant image of the setting, both physical and temporal. Above all, the pleasure one takes in the writing and the story is emboldened by the dark and twisted humour. Ovenman is at once funny, sad, disturbing and insightful, and a promising debut from a talented author." —Mike Spry, Matrix Magazine
"Ovenman by Jeff Parker is a brilliant addition to the growing genre of serious slacker literature. Parker's When Thinfinger is a direct descendant of Ignatius J. Reilly, Frank Portman's King Dork, Arthur Nersesian's F*ckup, and Sam Lipsyte's Teabag. It's a joy to ride along on the back of his Haro with the kinky triangular frame or non-motorized longboard; as he careens from hardcore shows to the kitchen of Piecemeal Pizza (where he finally finds a form of, well, peace), through nights of not-quite-satisfying debauchery and into painful mornings and the inevitable discovery of the cryptic post-it notes written from his blackout drunk self to his hungover self. Ovenman is a great exercise in storytelling and voice, and it was the most entertaining (and underappreciated) book I read in 2007." -Dave Housley, E!Online Books You Must Read: Picks for 2007
"One of the most raucous and fun books I've read in ages...Ovenman is a frenetic blast of pleasure: a depiction of America at its skankiest, populated with unlikely heroes and told with a reckless glee that commands serious attention." -Chas Bowie, The Portland Mercury
"Ovenman's considerable charm and clout lie in this combination of the specific absurdities of Thinfinger's day-to-day and his often thwarted search for meaning." -Heather Birrell, The Believer
"Ovenman reads like a high calibre graphic novel, minus the graphics. Cluttered, uncomfortable, compulsively crafted, unashamed of occasional farce or relentless surreal quirky distortion, this is writing you might imagine coming out of the brain of Julie Doucet, if she were a guy who lived in Florida." -Juliet Waters, Montreal Mirror
"While the plot is certifiably hilarious, it's really When's voice that's in the driver's seat. Dazed, confused, and occasionally caring, he carries all 250 pages of this terrifically entertaining novel." -Toby Warner, Boldtype
"Equal parts sleazy and frenetic, Parker's debut is a chortle-out-loud story about the sweaty, battle-scarred struggle between creating self-monuments and throwing hand grenades." -Annie Bethancourt, Williamette Week
"Ovenman may leave some readers puzzling over how When can be such a dope in some ways and still such a fun narrator. Parker rides that thin line of narrative balance and manages to make When a triumphant antihero." - Kevin Sampsell, The Oregonian
"Rarely are mopping and pizza dough so pleasingly rendered. Even inside When's world of chaos, Parker's novel pushes forward with grace. This is a delight of a debut." -Aimee Bender, author of Willful Creatures and An Invisible Sign of My Own
"Funny, soulful, and energetic, Ovenman is wonderful." -Mary Gaitskill, author of Veronica
"Jeff Parker is a writer who understands that voice is the doorway to all true beauty in fiction. Tight, wry, dark, and deeply funny - he is a master of the hyper-compressed sentence that explodes with more meaning and nuance than should be possible. Ovenman is a welcome addition to the literature of the lovably hapless by a young writer with talent to burn." -George Saunders, author of Pastoralia and In Persuasion Nation
"In his utterly original Ovenman, Parker has created a time capsule of the nineties in Central Florida and an ode to the mysteries and hopes and acrobatics of youth. When Thinfinger, the skateboarding philosopher at the heart of this terrific novel, is brilliantly acerbic and uncommonly insightful. And awfully, awfully funny. Here's a brief note of which I hope he'd approve: This novel really cooks. Read it tonight." -Bret Anthony Johnston, author of Corpus Christi: Stories
"Mr. Parker has written a weirdly attractive life of people one thought had no life, the pierced and tatted xtremes. Creepy, convincing, hooty, and fun. The movie will be scary." -Padgett Powell, author of Mrs. Hollingsworth's Men
"Ovenman should end up being taught in MFA programs as an incredible example of a novel centered around voice. That's not to say that all Jeff Parker has done is come up with a great voice, the characters and plot of Ovenman are fantastic as well." - Dan Wickett, Emerging Writers Network
"Parker riffs on the brilliant, bombastic language of one When Thinfinger, pizza cook and then night manager at Gainesville, FL's Piecemeal Pizza by the Slice. When is a skater, which is a milieu Parker describes with effortless authority, but even that underground community, surfing's runty cousin, can't fully account for the novel imagery Parker invests Thinfinger's language with." -Matt Dube, Diagram
"Vivid and honest...Ovenman is propelled by tight and precise sentences that fall from one into the other as Thinfinger's life falls apart. The writing is wonderfully specific, creating a vibrant image of the setting, both physical and temporal. Above all, the pleasure one takes in the writing and the story is emboldened by the dark and twisted humour. Ovenman is at once funny, sad, disturbing and insightful, and a promising debut from a talented author." —Mike Spry, Matrix Magazine
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More About the Author
Jeff Parker, former skateboarder, former kitchen worker (primarily pizza, Tex-Mex, bar-b-q), former resident of Florida's Redneck Riviera, frequent traveler to Russia, admirer of beer and walking and the woods, author of the novel Ovenman (Tin House) and the story collection The Taste of Penny (Dzanc).
His short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in American Short Fiction, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Indiana Review, Ploughshares, Tin House, The Walrus, and others. With artist William Powhida he collaborated on the collection of stories and images The Back of the Line. He co-edited the anthologies Rasskazy: New Fiction from a New Russia (Tin House) and Amerika: Russian Writers View the United States (Dalkey Archive). He teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto.
His short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in American Short Fiction, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Indiana Review, Ploughshares, Tin House, The Walrus, and others. With artist William Powhida he collaborated on the collection of stories and images The Back of the Line. He co-edited the anthologies Rasskazy: New Fiction from a New Russia (Tin House) and Amerika: Russian Writers View the United States (Dalkey Archive). He teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Diabolically funny,
This review is from: Ovenman: A Novel (Tin House New Voice) (Paperback)
Jeff Parker's debut novel is a kick in the teeth. Bold and ballsy, it's also very, very funny. Laugh out loud funny. Chortle and choke on water kind of funny.Protagonist When Thinfinger, the kind of oddly named anti-hero every teenager wants to be and every parent has nightmares about, is a slacker everyman adorned in hideous tattoos (splotches that run the length of his arms and might be bushes) going where life takes him. Mostly life takes him to parties and mostly it makes him drunk. He wakes up nearly every morning having no idea what he did the night before. It's an amusing beer-induced fugue state. And in true Memento fashion, When covers himself in hastily scrawled (and poorly spelled) Post It notes detailing his night before antics. The one thing When is good at, besides screwing up and getting wrecked, is working the oven at Piecemeal pizzeria. When is a professional, expert at cutting slices and intimate with the layout of the oven. And he takes his job seriously. So seriously, he thinks it's entirely reasonable for him to skim money off the top any chance he gets. Maybe even rob the place. Surrounding When are a bevy of oddly appealing misfits: his best friend who sells him back his stuff and might just be responsible for When's terrible tattoos, his girlfriend who hides knifes around the apartment 'cause she dreams that he tries to stab her, and Skinhead Rick who carries a live grenade around. Not to mention hippie freaks, skater bums, a guy who scars himself and restaurateurs who make the Sopranos seem quaint. This motley cast inhabits a down and out 1990's Florida college town and Parker's prose is so fierce you can practically smell the rot. Risky, acerbic and delirious, Ovenman is a triumph of style and wit. Call it coming-of-age if you will but Parker's novel is less about finding one's self than it is about milieu and attitude. It's about busting up the alphabet and kicking tail. There is no easy box to check here, no simple turn of phrase to summarize. Ovenman is a rare chimera - both revolting odd and yet oddly familiar. Read this and weep, suckers.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Boring yet unstoppable read,
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This review is from: Ovenman: A Novel (Tin House New Voice) (Paperback)
I bought this book after it was compared to "The Ask" which is a story with a hero character that really does nothing and has nothing happen to him yet engrosses the reader with the writer's style and intellect (humor) that book parts in it that you will steal and insert into your own conversation. After 30 pages of "Ovenman" thats really the book. And I found myself hoping he gets kidnapped, or runs someone over and needs to flee the country, I was hoping for something big and was certainly let down when none of it happens. It again is a book that follows an anti-hero that works in the foods industry and does nothing really. And while I wanted to rant about it, I read this book in 4 days, meanwhile books like Ishmeal in weeks. It then occured to me that this is very absorbing, often times very funny, and a great departure from books of supposedly huge importance. While I can't say it's perfect, I can say it's perfect at what it is. And I can say if you've ever worked in the foods industry you will love it, and most likely suggest it to at least 3 co-workers who resemble the characters. And yes, it has a few parts that I will use in conversation so that I appear wittier than I truly am.
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent!,
By
This review is from: Ovenman: A Novel (Tin House New Voice) (Paperback)
Outstanding first novel from a writer with a great eye for detail. I can't say that I've ever read anything quite like it...Jeff Parker really nails his characters and sense of place from the first page. The writing is tight, dark, propulsive and very funny...I finished this in one sitting. Can't wait for the next one.
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