Calvin Walker
JOSHUA FERRIS – TO RISE AGAIN AT A DECENT HOUR
When I first saw Joshua Ferris’ Then We Came to the End on a table in a bookstore so many years ago, I picked it up purely based on its cover. The subject matter seemed painfully relevant and I was at the end of the book long before I wanted to be. I didn’t want the story to end! It was like I needed to stay with these characters a little bit longer. When I accepted it was over, I waited impatiently for his follow-up book which was a complete disappointment that I had to live with for four years until he released To Rise Again At a Decent Hour last year.
I rushed out and purchased the hardcover that week from Strand (almost full sticker price) without even really knowing what the book was about. Here’s a brief rundown: Paul O’Rourke has issues with just about everything. Issues with women, religion, society and issues with videotaping every single Red Sox baseball game. Yes. Videotaping…like with a VCR. By the way, he’s a dentist and his office manager is also his ex-girlfriend who is super creeped out by him (at least from what I can tell in the 74 pages I’ve already read.
Yes, I bought it over a year ago and have yet to read it but it’s not because I think it’s poorly written and I can’t get through it. A part of me thinks I discovered him at such an interesting time and became so fully connected with the piece of work he was sharing then that it’s tough to move past that. Don’t worry, though. I’m putting on my #BigBoyPants and getting over my issues with it all. I wonder if O’Rourke will be able to overcome any of his by the time I finish Rise?
