The Extra Man (Contemporary Classics (Washington Square Press)) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I came to New York to find myself and get a fresh start..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, New Jersey, Palm Beach (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When he comes to New York City, having been fired from his job at a Princeton prep school, Louis Ives, the confused young hero of Ames's comic new novel, finds that his first challenge is the search for an affordable apartment and an acceptable roommate. He gets more than he bargained for with a cozily squalid place on the Upper East Side and the man with whom he shares it, Henry Harrison. Henry is a dedicated eccentric, unsuccessful playwright, gentleman freeloader and ageless senior citizen whose vocation is escorting elderly rich women as an "extra man." As Henry introduces him to some peculiar delights of city living?how to sneak into Broadway plays and piss in the street unnoticed?Ives begins to indulge the sexual fixations, notably cross-dressing, that got him into trouble in the first place. Ames balances Henry's arch if not camp lifestyle, peppered throughout with Noel Cowardish observations, with Ives's tentative exploration of New York's transvestite underworld. As the drag queen hostess at Ives's favorite bar puts it to him, "You're not really straight, but you're not really gay. You're straightish." Ives, however, continues to push his sexual ambivalence, until his "tranny-chasing" inevitably threatens his friendship with his outlandish roommate. Unlike Ames's moody debut about sleazy New York (I Pass Like Night), this narrative maintains its sense of humor even in the most straightened, kinky or depressing circumstances. If the resolution is a bit mechanical, the novel's comic atmosphere is otherwise admirably sustained. (Aug.) FYI: Ames, a columnist for the New York Press, is also a stand-up comic.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Louis Ives is going to "find himself" in New York City. This nice Jewish orphan from Princeton, NJ, likes to think of himself as a "young gentleman" of F. Scott Fitzgerald's description. However, Louis has just lost his job as a seventh-grade teacher at a posh private school, owing to his misappropriation and misuse of a colleague's brassiere, and he finds himself living with Henry Harrison in a dirty, fourth-floor, one-bedroom apartment uptown. Henry is an elderly eccentric whose avocation is acting as "the extra man" for wealthy elderly society ladies who live on the East Side. Louis lands a job telemarketing subscriptions to an ecological magazine by day, while by night he makes periodic attempts to establish his uncertain sexual orientation. The escapades of the two men, together and separately, make unbelievable but hilarious reading. Ames's second novel (after Pass Like Night, Random, 1990) is outrageous, yet his characters evoke sympathy and interest. Recommended for public libraries.AJoanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence
Copyright 1998 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: 384 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671015583
• ISBN-13: 978-0671015589
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,993 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tender & often hilarious portrayal of sexual confusion, November 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The EXTRA MAN (Hardcover)

"The Extra Man" is Ames' follow-up to his debut novel, "I Pass Like Night," which covers some of the same territory, but is not as detailed as this. Here, Louis Ives, a sexually confused school teacher, is fired from his job following a comic encounter with a female colleague's bra. Determined to start life anew, he moves to NYC into the claustrophobic, roach-infested sty of an apartment with Henry Harrison, a misanthropic elder who makes his way through life as a gentleman escort for woman in high society. While in New York, Louis succumbs to the temptations and mystique of transvestite hookers in seamy Times Square, all the while cultivating his relationship with Henry, who serves so very well as the father figure Louis has always craved. "The Extra Man" is eminently accessible, and filled with honest, frenetic, and ribald writing reminiscent of Philip Roth and Paul Rudnick. I've never read a novel quite like this.Throughout, I rooted for both Louis and Henry, who became, for me, the quintessentail post-modern "odd couple." "The Extra Man" is as touching as it is funny.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kinky Klassic, April 4, 2004

By	Dangle's girl (Astoria, NY United States) - See all my reviews

Boy am I glad I picked up "Extra Man" before anything else by Jonathan Ames. Struck by his work for the New York Press, I finally found this book secondhand and it's a classic! Ames has a very distinctive and winning voice and his New York is a perfect balance of charm, chaos and perversion. Unfortunately, Ames tends to recycle the best bits in his work, but what incredible bits! His great aunt should be bronzed and put in Central Park as an unforgettable New York character. She needs a book of her own, Jonathan!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Overlooked Book of past 10 years, March 9, 2002

By	"mikapl01" (Fair Lawn, NJ) - See all my reviews

Reading this brilliant novel, I can't help but thinking what a shame it is the author remains largely unknown. Part Fitzgerald/part Bukowski, Ames is a master of noticing 1st person male neuroses but and is as inventive with his characters and dialogue as any modern out there! Aone with a sense of humor needs to read this!!! Hysterically funny this is a book you'll read in one sitting, not because of simplistic style, but because it's that damn good!!! Oh, and you'll never look at a transexual the same way again.