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Kris Saknussemm

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.krissaknussemm.com

Twitter

Kris Saknussemm @KrisSaknussem

Genre

Fiction, Science Fiction, Memoir

Influences

Jonathan Swift, Laurence Sterne, Franz Kafka, Henry Miller, Augusten B ...more

Member Since

April 2007

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/krissaknussemm

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Kris Saknussemm is a cult genre bending novelist and multimedia artist. Born and educated in America, he has lived most of his life abroad, primarily in Australia and the Pacific Islands.

His science fiction themed novel ZANESVILLE, published by Villard Books in 2005, was hailed by critics as a revolutionary work of surreal black comedy. It has attracted the devotion of outsider artists like the Legendary Stardust Cowboy and was the inspiration for Michael Jackson to want to have a giant robot of himself constructed to roam the Las Vegas desert. It has become a cult hit in Russia as well.

Another novel, an erotic supernatural thriller PRIVATE MIDNIGHT is set in a noir crime world of jazz, junkies and shadows from out of time. It became a best Kris Saknussemm is a cult genre bending novelist and multimedia artist. Born and educated in America, he has lived most of his life abroad, primarily in Australia and the Pacific Islands.

His science fiction themed novel ZANESVILLE, published by Villard Books in 2005, was hailed by critics as a revolutionary work of surreal black comedy. It has attracted the devotion of outsider artists like the Legendary Stardust Cowboy and was the inspiration for Michael Jackson to want to have a giant robot of himself constructed to roam the Las Vegas desert. It has become a cult hit in Russia as well.

Another novel, an erotic supernatural thriller PRIVATE MIDNIGHT is set in a noir crime world of jazz, junkies and shadows from out of time. It became a bestseller in France and Italy.

He has now in total published ten books that have been translated into 22 languages.

The Rumors
Soon after the publication of ZANESVILLE, reports began circulating around Hollywood that the actor Kevin Costner was furious about being featured as the “voice” of Dooley Duck, one of several animated hologram characters in the story, who serve as advertising vehicles in the fictional world of the novel. Under the magical influence of the protagonist, Elijah Clearfather, Dooley not only comes to life and breaks free of his commercial masters (a monolithic children’s day care empire) he develops a penis and becomes an advocate for sexual enjoyment and the leader of a social and political reform called The Surprise Party.

A second rumor that began making the rounds that ZANESVILLE had actually been written by the late David Foster Wallace under a pseudonym, while another related and more detailed story had it that Kris Saknussemm is not an individual author at all, but rather a name taken by a collective of writers who wrote the book as a collaborative experiment, in something of the same spirit as Nicholas Bourbaki phenomenon amongst mathematicians.

This latter view gained some extended support as Saknussemm had written about the “Bourbaki Conspiracy,” and an earlier published story was based on the premise that the reclusive Thomas Pynchon was just a composite entity—an on-going project and artistic prank which such writers as Vladimir Nabokov, Kurt Vonnegut and J.D. Salinger had participated in.

Appearing at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle in 2006, Saknussemm fielded questions about the rumor, remarking, “As ZANESVILLE has much to do with the idea of the Conspiracy Theory as the folk religion of our time, I’m somewhat amused. But I’ve heard something similar about Poppy Z. Brite. I think we all just like hoaxes and rumors. They reassure us that we can actually participate in the manufacture of reality. But as one of my characters says, ‘I’m real enough.’” A series of readings in New York and appearances on public radio and at the Squaw Valley Community of Writers helped to dispel the rumor. ...more

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Kris Saknussemm's Blog

ONE OF THOSE REVIEWS THAT MAKES IT ALL WORTH IT

This is a review of my book SEA MONKEYS that delights me because it expresses exactly what I hoped to achieve--that people would reflect in new ways on their own lives and the enigmatic and often erratic process of memory, upon which we all depend. To really engage with a reader's very personal sense of life...that's what it's all about.

http://www.winsomevein.com/2013/03/se... Read more of this blog post »

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Published on March 08, 2013 09:14 • Tags: memoir, reviews, success

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Kris Saknussemm’s books

Average rating: 3.83 · 854 ratings · 168 reviews · 32 distinct works • Similar authors

	Zanesville 3.65 avg rating — 167 ratings — published 2005 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Private Midnight 3.48 avg rating — 103 ratings — published 2009 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Enigmatic Pilot: A Tall Tale Too True 3.34 avg rating — 73 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Reverend America 4.18 avg rating — 38 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Humble Assessment 4.34 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sinister Miniatures 4.14 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sea Monkeys: A Memory Book 4.20 avg rating — 25 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Collection of Chaos by Kris Saknussemm (Goodreads Author) (Foreword), Tikuli (Goodreads Author) 4.42 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2014	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Guide to Creative Writing and the Imagination it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eat Jellied Eels 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Kris Saknussemm…

Kris is Currently Reading

Kris Saknussemm is currently reading

Collected Works of Immanuel Kant

by Immanuel Kant

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Feb 20, 2026 04:26PM

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Works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (37 plays, 160 sonnets and 5 Poetry Books With Active Table of Contents)

by William Shakespeare

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Aug 04, 2025 05:32PM

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Kris Saknussemm rated a book it was amazing The 49th Day by Helen Noble (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Quotes by Kris Saknussemm (?)

“One of the most egregiously stupid books I've ever come across. I would recommend reading this only because it's the epitome of all that is moronic, superficial, contrived, hollow, false and utterly laughable in publishing today.”
― Kris Saknussemm

tags: love, on-eat, pray

8 likes

“Spiral minds are harder to twist.”
― Kris Saknussemm, Zanesville

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“The sad truth is very few people will ever be 'for' you in your terms. The bigger question is how many are against you--and still more importantly, how many are against you that you thought were for you? These are the deep insect tunnels that lead to the egg chambers guarded by mindless dark armor. Mandible and leverage. Chemical secretions.”
― Kris Saknussemm

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Kris’s Friend Comments

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message 2: by Kris

Apr 03, 2013 07:36AM

Thanks for news of Marvin. I'll have a look.

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message 1: by Stan

Apr 03, 2013 07:24AM

A belated thanks for choosing me to be among your friends, Kris. It may interest you that my book Marvin Clark—In Search of Freedom in now a matching FREE download on Amazon Kindle. Enjoy it while you can. (A little review on Amazon wouldn't hurt either!)http://www.amazon.com/Marvin-Clark-Se...

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