“The Fuck Up”
Arthur Nersesian
1999 Pocket Books
ISBN 0-671-02763-8
Published 1991, 1997

— I was sceptical of this book that came to me via Willy from Matt as it was an American author (a comment which Matt took on board for later loans). But once I got used to the manner of writing and dismissed the reference points to New York places I didn’t understand, the book was actually quite easy to read and flowed in a meaningful direction. It reminded me of JD Salinger’s 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye in it’s first person tense and diary like method of growing up in early teens in a similar location, despite clear differences in class. But maybe with the same anquish. It wasn’t a great novel, but the meaning behind modern society, throwing away aspirations and opportunity for success was evident in his struggles with growing up. I read most of the book in May while in Beijing, then took it to Cornwall with me for the weekend camping, where I read a few pages. It took a long time to read, I guess it wasn’t captivating enough, or perhaps I wasn’t finding the time to pick up a book. Of course I had just got an iPhone, so that took over my 7-day wonder for a good couple weeks.