An Underachiever's Diary: A Novel [Paperback]

Benjamin Anastas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2009

Meet William, a devout underachiever. He enters life as the firstborn of identical twin boys. It is the last time he will beat his overachieving brother Clive, or anyone else for that matter, at anything.

This is William’s manifesto for the underachiever. It is the chronicle of a lifetime of failure–part diary and part handbook for self-defeat. At once corrosively funny and surprisingly tender, An Underachiever’s Diary is a classic tale of perverse perseverance.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Recalls Frederick Exley’s masterpiece of the genre, A Fan’s Notes.” —New York Times Book Review

“I would be proud of myself if I ever underachieved so brilliantly.” —Ann Beattie

"The book's veils of irony are light enough to charm even the coolest reader, and its emotional details, particularly those of William's bond with his faultless brother, ring true."—The New Yorker

"Fantastic...A fun, funny book."—Detroit Free Press

“Very funny . . . A masterpiece of controlled failure in which the narrator fails to deliver on every front.” —New York Post

“From the first paragraph, Benjamin Anastas has got you.” —Thomas Mallon

About the Author

Benjamin Anastas is the author of The Faithful Narrative of a Pastor's Disappearance. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, Men's Vogue, and GQ.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback; Reprint edition (July 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385343043
• ISBN-13: 978-0385343046
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,426,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Benjamin Anastas's first novel, "An Underachiever's Diary," has been called the "funniest, most underappreciated book of the 1990s." His second novel, "The Faithful Narrative of a Pastor's Disappearance," was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. His prize-winning short fiction has been published in The Paris Review, GQ, The Yale Review and Story magazine. A former editor at the literary magazine Grand Street and interim director of the Rose O'Neill Literary House at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, Anastas has more recently taught writing at Columbia University and contributed articles to Bookforum, the New York Times Magazine, Men's Vogue and Granta.