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Loser Parade
Fenton Ota thought he would have been more of a success at this point. What happened? He finds himself in Los Angeles an utter failure as an actor, and in the end there is nothing he can do but call Mom and go back to Ohio. The shame!
What is it they say about how you can never go home? He reconnects with old pals, struggles to build himself up, and eventually embarks on a new goal: writing and directing his own play. Ostensibly based on his own "experiences." Based on this author's experiences. Writing about the fictional character who is him, writing about this author, writing about him, and so on. It gets a bit metafictional and postmodern.
He is, of course, doing this all for a girl. And their relationship is all based on lies. Ain't love grand?
A psychedelic Fourth Wall-breaking tale of the creative process, the white lies that get out of proportion, and the deeper questions of just what is a story. Sometimes we are all losers, but let's hope we can still find a way to grow and evolve.
What is it they say about how you can never go home? He reconnects with old pals, struggles to build himself up, and eventually embarks on a new goal: writing and directing his own play. Ostensibly based on his own "experiences." Based on this author's experiences. Writing about the fictional character who is him, writing about this author, writing about him, and so on. It gets a bit metafictional and postmodern.
He is, of course, doing this all for a girl. And their relationship is all based on lies. Ain't love grand?
A psychedelic Fourth Wall-breaking tale of the creative process, the white lies that get out of proportion, and the deeper questions of just what is a story. Sometimes we are all losers, but let's hope we can still find a way to grow and evolve.
ebook
First published December 21, 2013
About the author
Ray Hecht
19 books433 followersRay Hecht was raised in America, from the Midwest to the West Coast, on a starchy diet of movies and comics and science fiction paperbacks. Mostly writing about such states as California and Ohio, and such provinces as Guangdong. Lived in Shenzhen, China since 2008, that Special Economic Zone & Hong Kong-bordering chaotic city of the future, occasionally partaking in freelance journalism for various local publications. Ray now lives in Taiwan.
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December 19, 2017
Loser Parade is a novel of finding one-self after being rejected, of realizing one’s full-potential despite what others may think, or even say, to deter one from reaching their goals. It is a novel of discovering true love, only to have it taken away when you least expect it. It is a coming-of-age story, one that brings out the best, or sometimes the worst, in any individual. It was definitely a novel that will touch home with anyone who is living a mundane life, or wanting a change for the better.
The novel starts off by introducing Fenton, a half-Japanese/half-American young man in his late 20s, who is living in Los Angeles, trying to become an actor. However, Fenton ends up homeless after his girlfriend, Janie, kicks him out of her home after they break-up. Since he has run-out-of money, Fenton turns to his mother, who wires him enough funds to allow him to hop on a plane to Cincinnati, where he grew-up, and his mother currently lives.
Fenton moves in with his mother, and bumps into an old friend named Eugene. Together, they decide to write a screenplay called Loser Parade. As they begin the writing process, Fenton meets Lena, a sixteen year-old high school student, that he instantly becomes smitten with. Throughout the course of the novel, we learn about the ups and downs of Fenton and Lena’s relationship, while going through the motions of casting, rehearsing, and presenting a play, with full-disclosure in-between. We also get to read about Eugene’s rendezvous with various women, and the family dynamics of the Ota’s (most specifically, Uncle Toji, and Barry, Fenton’s brother). We also learn of Fenton’s job as a model for a life drawing class at the local college, something that he found embarrassing to admit.
The novel is divided into two parts; one that explains Fenton’s homecoming, and the pre-production of the screenplay, while the second goes through the dress-rehearsal, and performance of the play itself. In terms of the first part, I felt that some scenes were a bit out-of-place in regards to the plot, with little to no connection to the plot-line itself. For example, when Eugene and Fenton were in the comic bookstore, while Eugene was talking about specific books he had read. Or, when Fenton, Eugene, Shelly, and Lena were performing yoga in the yoga class. Also, I wasn’t too keen on the swearing throughout the first part, or the detailed sex scenes between Fenton and Lena. The language was too detailed, which left me wanting to turn the pages quickly until it was over.
However, I really enjoyed how authentic the casting-call seemed. Ray did an excellent job of explaining in detail what is entailed in a casting-call, while nailing down the main characters’ feelings towards the event (e.g. Eugene was hungry and wanted to break for lunch, but the line of individuals auditioning was too long for a break). When Fenton turned thirty, his meltdown was all too real, with Ray going into detail what many of us feel when we reach a milestone birthday, feeling as though our life’s accomplishments are lacking. Fenton also lashes out often about his failure as an actor, with Ray capturing his anger accurately, which definitely resonated with me personally.
In terms of the second part, it starts off with Fenton having a personal meltdown, as he fights his inner demons about his ability to direct a play. He then decides that he is able to do what he puts his mind to, and put forth the effort in directing the play to the end. However, he then becomes delusional, thinking of different scenarios which make his head spin (figuratively). We then learn that he is thinking this way due to the use of hallucinating drugs, which were given to him by Eugene as a ‘joke’. The play is acted-out, and Fenton takes a turn for the worst, in which he partakes in some drug-induced behaviour, while Lena watches in horror. The ending was what I was hoping it would be, which left me wondering if there was to be a sequel (in which there is a definite opportunity for).
This part was more of a reflection into Fenton’s life, which I found to be bold. Fenton examines his life, wondering if the play itself is mirroring his own life, while analyzing why his life turned-out the way it did. I feel that most of us go through this period at one-time in our lives, with Ray outlining it wonderfully, making us feel closer to Fenton with every word. I didn’t enjoy the part where Fenton becomes out-of-sorts, in which he is confused whether he is actually in the ‘comic book’, or not. And if he is speaking in correct grammatical tenses (which made me read over the same section twice, to notice that it was full of grammatical errors on purpose). I felt as though this part could have been omitted, since it referred directly to the use of drugs, which I wasn’t too keen on.
I found it amusing that the main character of Fenton’s story is named ‘Roy Hekt’, which is very close to the author’s name of Ray Hecht. I also found this part had a fair share of profanity however, not as much as the first part, which was a relief to read. In the end, Fenton found ‘his way’, despite the various setbacks that he had endured. This book truly outlined the beauty of living life through someone else’s eyes, while trying to make sense of it all, despite the downfalls one may face. An invigorating tale, will make you question your own life afterwards, but in a meaningful way.
The novel starts off by introducing Fenton, a half-Japanese/half-American young man in his late 20s, who is living in Los Angeles, trying to become an actor. However, Fenton ends up homeless after his girlfriend, Janie, kicks him out of her home after they break-up. Since he has run-out-of money, Fenton turns to his mother, who wires him enough funds to allow him to hop on a plane to Cincinnati, where he grew-up, and his mother currently lives.
Fenton moves in with his mother, and bumps into an old friend named Eugene. Together, they decide to write a screenplay called Loser Parade. As they begin the writing process, Fenton meets Lena, a sixteen year-old high school student, that he instantly becomes smitten with. Throughout the course of the novel, we learn about the ups and downs of Fenton and Lena’s relationship, while going through the motions of casting, rehearsing, and presenting a play, with full-disclosure in-between. We also get to read about Eugene’s rendezvous with various women, and the family dynamics of the Ota’s (most specifically, Uncle Toji, and Barry, Fenton’s brother). We also learn of Fenton’s job as a model for a life drawing class at the local college, something that he found embarrassing to admit.
The novel is divided into two parts; one that explains Fenton’s homecoming, and the pre-production of the screenplay, while the second goes through the dress-rehearsal, and performance of the play itself. In terms of the first part, I felt that some scenes were a bit out-of-place in regards to the plot, with little to no connection to the plot-line itself. For example, when Eugene and Fenton were in the comic bookstore, while Eugene was talking about specific books he had read. Or, when Fenton, Eugene, Shelly, and Lena were performing yoga in the yoga class. Also, I wasn’t too keen on the swearing throughout the first part, or the detailed sex scenes between Fenton and Lena. The language was too detailed, which left me wanting to turn the pages quickly until it was over.
However, I really enjoyed how authentic the casting-call seemed. Ray did an excellent job of explaining in detail what is entailed in a casting-call, while nailing down the main characters’ feelings towards the event (e.g. Eugene was hungry and wanted to break for lunch, but the line of individuals auditioning was too long for a break). When Fenton turned thirty, his meltdown was all too real, with Ray going into detail what many of us feel when we reach a milestone birthday, feeling as though our life’s accomplishments are lacking. Fenton also lashes out often about his failure as an actor, with Ray capturing his anger accurately, which definitely resonated with me personally.
In terms of the second part, it starts off with Fenton having a personal meltdown, as he fights his inner demons about his ability to direct a play. He then decides that he is able to do what he puts his mind to, and put forth the effort in directing the play to the end. However, he then becomes delusional, thinking of different scenarios which make his head spin (figuratively). We then learn that he is thinking this way due to the use of hallucinating drugs, which were given to him by Eugene as a ‘joke’. The play is acted-out, and Fenton takes a turn for the worst, in which he partakes in some drug-induced behaviour, while Lena watches in horror. The ending was what I was hoping it would be, which left me wondering if there was to be a sequel (in which there is a definite opportunity for).
This part was more of a reflection into Fenton’s life, which I found to be bold. Fenton examines his life, wondering if the play itself is mirroring his own life, while analyzing why his life turned-out the way it did. I feel that most of us go through this period at one-time in our lives, with Ray outlining it wonderfully, making us feel closer to Fenton with every word. I didn’t enjoy the part where Fenton becomes out-of-sorts, in which he is confused whether he is actually in the ‘comic book’, or not. And if he is speaking in correct grammatical tenses (which made me read over the same section twice, to notice that it was full of grammatical errors on purpose). I felt as though this part could have been omitted, since it referred directly to the use of drugs, which I wasn’t too keen on.
I found it amusing that the main character of Fenton’s story is named ‘Roy Hekt’, which is very close to the author’s name of Ray Hecht. I also found this part had a fair share of profanity however, not as much as the first part, which was a relief to read. In the end, Fenton found ‘his way’, despite the various setbacks that he had endured. This book truly outlined the beauty of living life through someone else’s eyes, while trying to make sense of it all, despite the downfalls one may face. An invigorating tale, will make you question your own life afterwards, but in a meaningful way.
Displaying 1 of 1 review