The Answer Is Always Yes

by Monica Ferrell

This darkly exuberant debut novel—by turns a fierce, funny coming-of-age story and a teasing work of literary suspense—traces the precipitous rise and fall of a teenage impresario at the zenith of the New York club scene.

Matthew Acciaccatura of Teaneck, New Jersey, begins his freshman year at NYU in the fall of 1995 with one goal in mind: to become cool. A former high school outcast, used to lumbering the hallways alone in oversize turtlenecks, Matt seems an unlikely candidate for such a transformation. Yet by dint of effort he lands the coveted position of promoter at one of the hottest clubs in New York in the heyday of rave music and Ecstasy. However, as “Magic” Matt rises to fame, portents of tragedy begin to appear, literally in the margins of the story. Footnotes from one Dr. Hans Mannheim, an imprisoned German academic obsessed with Matt’s dangerous trajectory, suggest that Matt is not as in control of his destiny as he might appear….

A gorgeously written archetypal tale of self-discovery (and self-deception) and a love letter to the enduring possibilities of New York City , The Answer Is Always Yes will keep readers guessing until its explosive climax.

Genres: Fiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

A darkly exuberant debut novel tracing the rise and fall of a teenage impresario at the zenith of the New York club scene."

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm normally a huge fan of footnotes, and meta anything. But in this case, I think the main story is the one worth telling, or the one better told, and the rest is a bit irritating. Not enough to stop me from enjoying the book though, and I was especially fond of all the mid nineties nostalgia.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a real page burner. I read it very quickly just because I could not put it down. It's about young adults coming of age during their freshman year at NYU. They become immersed in the club scene of NYC and all that goes with that. It is a true story that by no means is light-hearted, but it happend and this story should be shared. It is one of the better books I have read in a while.

[Deni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the writing. Not so much the plot.
A lot of the other first novels I've read this past year had great ideas but terrible writing so this was a nice change.
And it actually had an ending! Predictable but still an ending! Instead of just. stopping. like so many new books seem to.

[Agatha Donkar Lund · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very weird novel; reminiscent of what I always think of as the mid-80s Manhattan cocaine genre, ie Bret Easton Ellis and Jay McInerney.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this, her first novel, poetess Monica Ferrell gives us the story of Matt Acciaccatura, a sad, lonely and much bullied kid from Teaneck, New Jersey who is desperate to be cool. Seeing college as his chance to reinvent himself and start anew, Matt spends the summer before his tenure at NYC conducting meticulous research on the fashion, conversation and mannerisms of coolness in an effort to adopt that persona. Once he arrives at NYC he discovers that most of his efforts have been in vain; nonetheless, despite the fact that he cannot seem to break into the elite world he covets, Matt does make two true friendships, and for a time - perhaps for the first time - Matt finds acceptance and a semblance of happiness.

Matt Acciaccatura's New York is that of the mid-90's - the heyday of club kids, raves and Ecstasy. Despite seeming the unlikeliest of candidates for such a position, Matt is scouted and offered a position as a club promoter at one of the hottest nightclubs in NYC: Cinema. Matt has a natural knack for his job and fast becomes "Magic Matt", one of the brightest stars of the New York club scene. But his new found success comes at a cost, as Matt's acceptance into this gilded world puts a predictable strain on his real friendships, tests his personal ethics, and ultimately leads to his downfall.

Matt's fictitious tale is told by two narrators: Ferrell, the primary storyteller; and Dr. Hans Mannheim, a German sociologist who was studying Matt before his arrest, and who marks up Ferrell's manuscript with footnotes, personal asides, and addenda. And it's here where the novel fell apart for me. Had The Answer is Always Yes been narrated by Ferrell alone, I may have considered it a success. Although it dragged in sections, Ferrell's prose is skillful, her story engaging and her characters fully formed. However, the decision to add Mannheim as a second narrator revealed her limitations as a writer in that I found his contributions to be annoyingly interruptive, painfully overwritten and largely unnecessary.

As a person who counts The Great Gatsby as one of her all-time favorite novels, I really wanted to like The Answer is Always Yes. From early on Ferrell succeeded in earning my sympathy for poor Matt Acciaccatura, who, like Jay Gatsby, mistakes celebrity and money for happiness, is frustratingly insecure, obsessed with frivolity, but who is still deserving of our affection and of our pity. Unfortunately, Ferrell's attempts at innovation ultimately ruined the experience for me in that I just couldn't forgive the poorly executed gimmick that was Dr. Hans Mannheim.

In short, Ferrell is a good writer who certainly shows potential as a novelist, however her first attempt was far from a home run. Would I consider reading future efforts? Sure. Would I recommend this, her debut? Eh...Probably not.

[Alyson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This debut novel from a girl who ordinarily writes poetry has some pretty tasty prose in it. It's the story of a former major-league nerd shooting for a new life at NYU, and his feverish note taking on everything from cool greetings to clothing, and painful attempts to make friends are funny and endearing. Plus, thanks to an unusual twist in form Ferrell uses, involving a German professor who leaves footnotes throughout the text, I thought this was a true story for most of the book. It's not. It is however, sad, pretty, and intriguing.

[Tilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

hans was annoying.
the book however good...
just graduated college and from london to nyc have lived a similar lifestyle to that of the clubkids featured... considering its set in nineties it seems very current, some bits made me laugh out loud and question the motives of people in my real life, most of it was sad as the world is, i guess... aren't we all fake anyway?

read it in about two days.. will share with certain friends, you know the ones, the ones who take the scene very seriously.

may help them. :)

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was surprisingly enjoyable; few writers can pull off a page-turner with overtly poetic language. The footnotes and 'postmodern ending,' however, were annoying and unnecessary. I wish she'd had the confidence to let the main story stand on its own; also that she'd gone more deeply into the tension between how the main character perceives things, and 'reality'.

Here's hoping that her next novel doesn't try so hard to be clever and inventive. She doesn't have to resort to those tricks.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because it was a free book from the metro summer book club. At first I viewed it as a predictable pygmalion tale, but Ferrell gives it a unique spin. This book surprisingly grew on me and kept me reading until the end. I was annoyed by the footnotes and the font used as the text for Hans. I think the whole Hans subplot bored me and I would've been happy just with the main text.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can tell this woman is a poet, though whether or not that is a good thing I really don't know. She went a little overboard on the flowery language and weird descriptions and it came off as a little pretentious. Also the in second half of the book she started overdoing this weird thing with colons that really got on my nerves. The storyline was interesting I suppose, but I still don't really see why the footnotes were necessary, they were mostly just annoying.

[Polly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good ending is a joy to behold. This is a dark book, however, so be warned. I think everyone can relate to the story from the perspective of "fitting in" with your peers and how far you'll go in order to do it.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a young woman whom I know, I found her book about the club scene in NYC to be an intriguing behind-the-scenes expose on all the pretense and despair. She proves the adage: all that glitters is not gold.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are close to anyone for whom popularity is always a driving force this novel will make total sense. I was...not fond of the ending, and the back and forth co-story was a little difficult. But so many things are difficult for me.

[Brendan]

This book is basically what I'm scared I will write. Who the fuck edited this? 40 pages about Freshman Orientation BITCH I HAVE SHIT TO DO!

(PS: Monica your writing is very good and I look forward to your next gem.)

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this narrator-- and the inside look at the life of a promoter in nyc.

[Julia Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, quick romp through the early days of Ecstasy in the late-90s glam NYC. Never quite believable, it was a skillfully told tale that reminded me of a WB show - guilty, fluffy fun.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really entertained by this book, but man, the footnotes nearly ruined it for me. 2nd edition? Take them out. Figure out another way to end it.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel about a loner freshman at NYU who becomes a promoter at an NYC club and gets wrapped up in the rave scene of the 90's.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

NYU student flounders his way into becoming a club party promoter. Very honest portrayal of the kid.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Without the weird, unnecessary framing device, this might have been an interesting little coming-of-age story.

[Michael Alan Grapin · Rating 4 out of 5]

His father left when he was three and he was raised by a mother whose highest aspiration appeared to be working in the A&P supermarket. Mathew grew up in Teaneck, NJ, brilliant but socially awkward, over weight, neurotic, friendless and bullied. Getting a scholarship to NYU he was determined to make himself over...he lost weight, studied the cool and fashionable and did his best to fit in. He managed one gay friend and a pretty young girlfriend before stumbling upon the opportunity to become a nightclub promoter christened *Magic Matt* by the clubs owner...things were going great until they began going sideways...all through the story there are footnotes by a German sociologist who made a study of Matt...at times his insights are interesting, but too often they are self serving and get in the way of the story...still it's an interesting coming of age tale and well worth a read.

[Shant · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first read about this book I thought it would be like Debby Harry Sings in French but with rave culture instead of Blondie. Reading the foreword/book jacket, I realized I was in for another story.
Matthew was maybe one of the least likable protagonists I've followed in a book. I tried to find any interviews or press for this book to see if maybe he was intentionally unlikable and if he's supposed to be a commentary on white men with inferiority complexes but I haven't had any luck so who knows.
A few pages within the book, I felt like I was going to read something sinister, but when the climax finally happened... I was underwhelmed. Maybe true crime and rave culture made me assume that it would be a lot crazier. And at the book length, a false alarm was not appreciated.

Needless to say, the footnotes were not enjoyable. This book can maybe be a 2.5.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am absolutely obsessed with this book, I really don't understand the lackluster reviews on here! I love her writing style with its poetic feel and the format of the book, including the footnotes and the researcher's interjections- so much fun! Not only that, but the story and characters were great and the ending shocked me! I absolutely loved that you had to read from the first page to the very last to get the whole story (seems like a given for a book, but this one really exemplifies it). One of my absolute favorites in a long time !!!!! Also, Matthew Acciaccatura, you would have loved Pinkerton by Weezer.

[Kristen Gray · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book was a snooze from beginning to end. There’s footnotes that have a completely irrelevant subplot that leave the reader more confused than satisfied. While the main story had the potential to be interesting (1995 NYC Club scene), the main character was often irritating and arrogant. Not many things were able to redeem him in the end.

[Regina · Rating 2 out of 5]

As you can see, it's taken me literal years to get through this book. The writing is so heavy that it was physically difficult to get through. I really enjoyed the basic plot, but I wish it had flowed easier and had been less bogged down with strange subplots.

[Loisa Fenichell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The songs of Stephin Merritt sustained and delighted me during the writing of this book” - acknowledgments

[Cindy Su · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dave started it, said it was horrible and didn't finish. So I didn't read it.

[Sage Turek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so fun and I loved the writing ✍️

[Marlena Umland · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young boy in his freshman year of college at NYU is deciding to try a change of face by becoming “cool” after being the quirky boy in high school that gets picked on. But he takes it a few steps too far after making it as a nightclub promoter. I can’t say that this book was my cup of tea. It was definitely meant for an older audience because of the mature references and developed language. Also, although the language was beautifully written, it had too much of a poetic flow that was too sophisticated for the morale of the book. I think if I had a wider vocabulary then this book would have been more bearable. Not to mention that there were many instances of unimportant descriptions in the book that had no pertinence to the plot. I think if I were to recommend this book to anyone it would be to an adult audience who has gone through the experience of going to college in the city and could relate to this book easily.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Monica Ferrell's debut novel, The Answer is Always Yes, is a coming of age story revolving around New York City, drugs and an 18 year-old dude's desire to be cool. Unsurprisingly, this all adds up to a tragic ending that in some ways shocks but mostly is underwhelming. The main character was a complete loser in high school. He was interested in philosophy and classical music amongst other nerdy mediums, his single mother is completely overbearing and uncultured, and he was basically socially inept. Through obsessively studying New York City weeklies before moving onto the campus of NYU, he desperately tries to turn things around and become the coolest kid on campus. Eventually he acquires an intelligent, dramatic girlfriend, a fake ID, and later, a gig as a promoter at one of the hottest night clubs in the city. He gets wrapped up in the Ecstasy scene in the mid-90s, and I'm sure you can guess where it goes from there. Ferrell does a good job with the details of an annoyingly unbelievable plot. The inclusion of footnotes from a fictional outside source (which, I never really understood the real purpose of) was an interesting touch, but also completely unnecessary. Ferrell's writing style seems purposely high-brow and quirky, thus quite pretentious and utterly irritating. The characters were strong, and like I mentioned, there were some interesting ideas, but the frustrating aspects of The Answer is Always Yes certainly outweighed the good.