Lifers (Paperback)

by Jeff Somers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Three twentysomethings searching for quality of life in the big city are failing miserably at finding it at local watering holes and devitalizing jobs. Phil "Dub" Dublen schlepps himself to his bottom-rung position at a publishing house, where he does as little as possible. Trim dresses in all black, bleaches his spiky hair, and writes and recites terrible poetry. Between his bouts of caustic sarcasm and demented smiles, a peculiar, calculated charm surfaces. Quiet but potentially violent, Dan is an alcoholic and an unemployed Irishman. All three slackers bemoan their lack of writing careers, financial success, and meaningful lives until the day they hatch a boozy plan to rob Dub's publishing house of its expensive office technology. Surprisingly enough, the heist succeeds, but nothing really changes. Somers' dialogue is funny, his characters oddly likable, and his plot pleasingly unlikely, adding up to a highly entertaining if chillingly accurate reflection of the apathetic work ethics and life disappointments of Gen X postcollegiate dreamers. Deborah Rysso
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description
Lifers is the story of three twentysomething guys who transitioned from collegiate underachieving to corporate bottom feeding and sketch out a plan to make a grab for some dignity. They will rob the publishing house that employs their only stable member and insults him on a daily basis. Being the bright, perceptive fellows that they are, they all quickly realize it isn’t about the money. For Phil "Dub" Dublen, it’s an angry statement against a dull, meaningless job. For self-styled poet Trim, it’s a chance to actually be as outrageous and anarchic as he needs to be. For Trim’s roommate Dan, it seems to be something he does for the same reason he does everything: to vent some anger, having nothing better to do. By the time their master plan is all said and done, nothing has been solved, nothing is better, and nothing, really, has changed. And, in the slightly fractured wisdom of the larcenous trio, this surprises none of them.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Creative Arts Book Company (March 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887393225
• ISBN-13: 978-0887393228
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,051,491 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun read!, April 6, 2001

By	Stephanie Brooks (Manhattan) - See all my reviews

I read this book in a weekend, it was so fun to read. I felt like I'd met people just like the characters, and really appreciated the whole story. I've felt the same things these characters have felt. Mr. Somers has written an entertaining book that I'm loaning to a friend of mine, which I don't often do. I loved the narrator, Dub - his attitude was very funny! Definitely a recommended read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gritty Jersey Real, October 6, 2002

By	Frank J. Marcopolos "FrankMarcopolos.com" (Brooklyn, NY (Lit capital of the world!)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jeff Somers is the voice of the Jersey dive bar. Big Time Success may elude him, though, for his fiction often relies on endings that are far too real for mainstream consumption. They lack the glam of Hollywood final scenes, which, by coincidence, are also absent in the lives of actual people. Then again, this may be the very reason Mr. Somers achieves big time success, allowing him to spend his days wallowing in hundred dollar bills, champagne cognac, and plastically enhanced women. Life can be funny that way.

_Lifers_ is funny in different and more subtle ways. In the novel, three New Jersey pals, Trim, a bad poet, Dub, an unfulfilled employee at a publishing company, and Dan, a recently unemployed drunkard, decide to alleviate their suffering by robbing Dub's place of employment.

These are typical Somers characters (one may find Mr. Somers's fiction in abundance in his entertaining quarterly, _The Inner Swine_): slackers, drinkers, smokers, with some Jersey charm and wit thrown in. They are gritty Jersey real. They are likably flawed. One of Mr. Somers's biggest triumphs in this novel is that Dub, the narrator, has an insightful, self-conscious nature which allows the reader to root for him. Were he simply a lazy oaf, the novel would not nearly be so enjoyable.

Another delight is the author's ear for dialogue. It rarely rings false. He manages to maintain character differentiation and continuity, with a combination of subtlety and humor. Mr. Somers's choice of setting (mainly Jersey dive bars) reflects the desperation of his three main characters.

"The Plan" itself is a metaphor for Mr. Somers's generation: while it succeeds (they are not caught,) it has no real positive impact on the participants' lives. Things go on largely as they did before. In the end, all it gets them is rid of each other.

While Hollywood may miss out on Mr. Somers's style, I'm not so sure that is a bad thing. There are a growing number of people who are fed up with typical Hollywood shlock anyway. And I for one celebrate writers like Jeff Somers who eschew that path for one more dear to a working-class reality.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Novelized TV sitcom, July 19, 2001

By	D. P. Birkett (Suffern, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Three of the most fortunate people the world has ever known - healthy young white American males with Manhattan jobs and apartments- who feel bored and discontented. This can certainly happen but needs more comment than the author gives it. The only reasons for their despair are that they don't like their jobs (one of them loses his job but finds temporary work) and would like more money and are frustrated writers. I wanted to understand more. They party and drink and plan a not-very-major crime (stealing some office furniture). There are some good confrontations (with the professional criminals they ask to help) and funny episodes. (For example: They realize that the truck they are going to use has a standard shift and none of them knows how to use it. They have ask a girl-friend to give them emergency driving instruction). The whole thing read like an amusing half hour television sitcom. Good entertainment but not much more than that. I felt there was more important novel in there trying to get out.