For Fucks Sake

by Robert Lasner

Fiction. A Moby Dick for the 21st Century, FOR FUCKS SAKE is a story of obsession, passion, longing, vomiting, and ultimately, aimless travel to a lot of different cities and states, all in the name of true love. Follow "Robert" as he treks through the decadence of New Orleans, the petulance of Philadelphia, the opulence of New York City, and the redundance of Winnesota (the 51st state in this great nation of ours, located between Wisconsin and Minnesota, near the Canadian border), all the time in search of that one perfect woman! Instead, he encounters a variety of feminine personas who make his life more and more miserable: a lesbian bartender who lives in the Ozarks, a bisexual bartender who follows him from NYC to New Orleans to Philadelphia, and finally, a straight woman who is the wife of his best friend.

Genres: Fiction, Novels

316 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 2002

Reviews

[Hosho · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard damn work writing a book that reads so fun and easy. The same blend of self-deprecating charm and self-important pigheadedness that you find in Bukowski and Fante abounds, and Lasner even throws in some additional flourish. I'm especially fond of his naming and renaming the cities that serve as locations, and, of course, that intoxicating mash of of highbrow intellectualism and low-brow crass -- with some lines being spit-take worthy. My first book of Lasner's, but surely not my last.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a waste of money. Totally unreadable. If you have it laying around the bathroom you can use it for other things. Can warm the house with it too if you have a fireplace, but not recommended for reading.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of my favorite books. it gives the best description ever of new orleans and what that city is truly like.

[Josh Ronsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

First chapter painfully concerned aged former frat boys partying in New Orleans focused only on drinking and looking for sex. No one was interesting in the least; probably a great impression of real life. I can't force myself to waste any more time on the rest of the book.

[Matilda]

Tricky. Not my kind of content but loved the way it was written. Read in one sitting. Can't decide how to rate it.

[Richard B · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title of this book was exactly what I thought as I reached the end of this novel (maybe that's the point). This novel was trying so hard to be so many things. It was trying to be Kerouac's On The Road, but lacked the ability to conjure the essence of a time and place, it wanted to be Miller but the lead character seemed so sexually inept, it wanted to be Bukowski but I know Charles would have put the lead character to shame in terms of his potential for debauchery. So what are we left with, a kind of road novel, involving lots drinking (but without much of the wit and fun of those he clearly aspired too), and some sex, which when it did happen always seemed to leave the protagonist in worse shape than if he'd not had any success. If this novel was terribly autobiographical all I can say is - I'm sorry, I hope you life has got better since. If it is fiction, I'll give you that it is a quick read, in that you are wanting to the lead to grow a pair and sort out his life, but are left after reading the last sentence thinking - FFS

[Samson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this novel to be clever and brief enough to get through, but the lack of real character growth and insight eventually weighed me down. It is a study of a body of facts, and the author is very solipsistic and I hope went to rehab at some point. That said, its worth reading, and if I were younger (or still drinking) I might have thought it to deeply personal and invigoratingly honest.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can't judge a book by it's cover, how 'bout by it's title. A twisted tale of one man's post-baccalaureate indulgences of codependency. Scathing and humerous, this is a fast read. Unfortunately, it is filled with explicatives and now I have to watch what I say...

[peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

you have to be okay with graphic words and descriptions. the ending was kinda lame though.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Writing style sucked, story sucks, try again.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome, gritty coming-of-age tale, a terrific book. Almost like a young Bukowski except instead of being an insightful dirtbag, I remember him being just a dirtbag. Even better. :)

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

another monotonous book I wanted to like more than I did. Put it down unfinished one day, never picked it back up but like the title so much I had to give it 3.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Self serving asshole