The American dream is dead, and Los Angeles is burning.
Stoned and porn-addicted surfer Baxter Kent is terrified of women and anxious to make things work with a sex robot. Acid junkie Arden Coover has a useless philosophy degree and a doomed relationship he believes might save him. His younger sister Tess is considering, or resisting, a convenient but loveless marriage to a wealthy, narcissistic novelist. Ryland Richter, an alcoholic insurance executive with too much money and too few scruples, is seeking toxic solace in the arms of a dangerously unhinged subordinate. As wildfires rage, this lost and hopeless cast makes their way through the embers of Los Angeles and beyond in a desperate search for meaning and connection in a world without a future.
Chandler Morrison's latest satire explores our search for love in all the wrong places, and what happens when we think we find it.
Little is known about Chandler’s origins. He has claimed, on separate occasions, to be both from Helltown, California, and Cleveland, Ohio. To date, it is still unclear from which locale he actually hails. He currently resides in Los Angeles, but sightings of him are rare.
Have you participated in a staring contest with the abyss lately after meditating on the current state of our society, realizing that all the glory and strength of culture are now null and void? Have you felt existence is as meaningless as another footnote on a postcard from nowhere after failing to form a real, intimate connection with someone? Have you taken an AI sex doll with a master's degree in dirty talking as your partner because women can't get you off anymore due to unrealistic expectations caused by porn/social media addiction? Have you had one drink too many or perhaps your hallucinogen drug of choice for breakfast (dinner, too) to numb the itch of existence?
If you answered "no" to all the above, worry not, 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐬 by Chandler Morrison got you covered.
The impinging trumpets of the numbing void cut through the hissing, smoke-filled skies of burning Los Angeles, as the flames of the human condition dance in synchronization, casting eerie shadows on the desperate need for human connection amid the fake, shallow, validation-obsessed Instagram "influencers" infused landscape of modern society.
This terrific novel, which I had to stop myself from wolfing in one sitting, is a dark, satirical take on the search for meaning and a sense of belonging in an age defined by hollowness. It unfurls a tapestry of existential despair and toxic indulgence set against the backdrop of Los Angeles that's both literally and metaphorically on fire. The story zeroes in on a quartet of rich, deeply flawed, lonely characters navigating a world where appearance is everything, authenticity is a rare commodity, and genuine connection is as elusive as a mirage in the desert. Wrapped in a blanket of nihilism as dense as fog, and sardonic, charcoal-black humor that had me laughing like a hyena, Chandler Morrison paints a bleak portrait of a decaying society through the characters as they try to numb the pain of existence by any means possible, to the point they can't even feel their own tears falling like acid rain into open flesh. I truly felt for them. Unlikely his gore-filled previous work which I enjoyed, the horror in this book lies solely in the human psyche. I suppose that human nature is what it is. We cover our eyes in a call to arms and turn the edge of the blade toward ourselves.
Bravo to this author for never allowing a participle to dangle. Dark as a cavity, brighter than an engulfing flame. An engaging update to a theme of which I never tire.
Early Bret Easton Ellis spunk is all over this novel. However you choose to interpret that statement, it will be accurate and appropriate. In particular, the rich and the famous wallowing in their exuberant misery, in a perpetual daze of pharmaceuticals, stimulants, booze, and wanton, casual sex.
But Chandler Morrison is his own beast. At first, a seemingly acid hate letter to the Los Angeles lifestyle; American Narcissus is an acerbically hilarious, cataclysmic tale of dread and desolation as four interweaving characters burn toward ruin, incapable of distinguishing reality from their respective self-induced stupors.
All the while, a grinning menace and a spreading wildfire auger the inevitable.
Chandler Morrison surprises with an unusually grim novel about the vapid, vile, self-serving, chain smoking, and rich people of Los Angeles. Against the backdrop of the wildfires that consume the city, we follow four people who are both part of this empty, shallow, cruel social system but also struggle to fit in: Arden Coover, rich junkie and proud owner of a useless philosophy degree from Berkeley; his sister Tess who tries to figure out if her affair with a narcissistic writer (“the” Writer , mind you) is worth it; Ryland Richter, an insurance executive, addicted to coke, to work and the new employee in his company who turns out to be unhinged and dangerous. And finally sweet Baxter Kent, surfer boy addicted to porn and afraid of real women, who meets an unlikely person to soothe his loneliness.
Every character is a caricature in American Narcissus, which is nothing new for a Morrison book, it’s his normal to plunge into the shallows of empty eyes behind mirrored sunglasses to show us there’s nothing there. His characters usually binge into some kind of excessive perversity to numb themselves against the absurdity of the world they live in. That “excessive” part is what draws me to Morrison’s books, he can show how ridiculous this world is by making his narrative ridiculously over the top, making it funny, making it comedy. There’s not much funny in American Narcissus, the only thing excessive is the mind-bogglingly lavish amount of drugs they all do.
The only person who reminds of former Morrison books such as Dead Inside in which this excessiveness takes control, is Baxter, who falls for his father’s sex-AI, Mechahooker. She can offer him everything the world around him can’t – she has no imperfections that distract him, in a confusing world, she is clear and precise in the way she expresses herself (well, because all she can talk is dirty sex talk). The crassness of her talking is hilarious when placed in random situations, like when Baxter tries to take her to a romantic beach walk among people or he tries to genuinely talk about his feelings and she answers with a suggestion of him doing things to her.
All four characters are dealing with an obsession they think will save them in a way or another, but to the reader who can see the bigger picture it is clear they are all basically doomed and can’t be saved; Baxter and his sex doll, Arden and his drug use, Tess and her idealized feelings for the author and Ryland and his new romance. When finally some sincerity shimmers through and they are confronted with the cruelty of the world they have been enjoying, it is too late, they have already been ruined, and the flames have taken over Los Angeles.
A couple of scenes in this book are dedicated to the poorer, the “uglier” side of LA, showcasing an understanding on the author’s part that we always suspected is there, but was never spoken out loud. Yes, the mere existence of his vain, narcissistic, vapid characters is an affront, but now we are also shown the cost at which this system rolls – a documentary-maker filming the homeless in LA, a woman refusing to succumb to the beauty industry, a young girl not being able to go to college because she needs to take care of her sick mother, an ex-girlfriend who got infected with HIV and now lives in a trailer, one of the characters waking up in bed with a ten year old girl after a wild night out… These characters are disgusting at the cost of these people and deep down they know it – Arden’s selective memory and his forgetting things he wants to forget, things that have nothing to do with the lifestyle of the rich and famous is a telling symptom of their repulsiveness. Of course, there are the drugs who help.
A careful dissection of the society he lives in, Morrison shows an unusually serious and dark side of himself, maybe a side he was hiding behind freakish exaggerations that prompt a laugh in his previous books, but were none the less there all along. I think I will chew on this book for some time.
I will write a full review once I settle back into my routine after a long vacation. This book was amazing and bleak AF! A big thank you to Debbie Y for being my attention to this book with a fantastic review! Chandler Morrison is an author I’ll have to read more of that’s for sure!
Rage or rave? American Narcissus by Chandler Morrison | reading vlog & review (feat a special guest) https://youtu.be/NWpzYqbe1z4
This is so different from his other books and I LOVE IT. This is giving sad, hot, messy, rich people drama vibes and could not put it down. The overall bleakness and hopelessness in this book were so cathartic to me. Chandler’s ability to write such flawed characters that have depth and layers to them is unmatched in my opinion. I’ve been thinking about this book nonstop since finishing it.
I FINALLY gave a 5 star rating to one of Chandler's novels even though he's my favorite horror writer. Why this book? Well, it's not extreme horror, so none I wasn't at all uncomfortable giving it 5 stars.
You all know that Dead Inside is my favorite novel. I hate how much I love it! But I love that reading that novel introduced me to Chandler Morrison's writing. He writes satire so well! . American Narcissus isn't a horror novel- it's more of a burning love note to millennials. I connected to the writing in this novel very easily. The characters are all very flawed, but written in a way that makes you want to root for them. One character in particular is so afraid of women he starts a relationship with a sex doll. I think what Morrison is really getting at with that is that technology has really taken the physical social aspect out of human day to day activities. It's easier to rely on your phone, computer or a sex doll to fulfill your needs. . I really enjoyed this novel. I highly recommend reading it if you're a forty something human. I think you'll be able to relate to a lot of the satire in the book.
Nothing matters, the sky is burning, love isn't real.
Those are the vibes for American Narcissus and they are immaculate. Everyone in these pages sucks and yet you can't help but route for them to just stop thinking about themselves and make a solid choice for once.
Alas, I read this in one day and now I'm sad it's over. Other thoughts I had while reading this:
This book could make smoking cool again Wow, this dude really thinks he's something That's absurd deranged. I love it. WTF is up with these bartenders?! Adult black eyed kids? Conspiracy theories are real.
One of my favorite books that I have read in a while. Sometimes you read something so bleak that it pulls you out of your own nihilistic soup hole you've been wallowing around in and this did that for me.
It's hard to pick a favorite Chandler Morrison novel, but I think I have to go with this one. A devastating novel about looking for love in all the wrong places.
4.5 for me as this is an almost perfect novel for fans of Morrison. And I am a huge fan. It tells the tale of present time Los Angeles. It’s not really a horror story in the sense of chills and thrills but it tells the story of the real horror of lost souls. Because Los Angeles will eat you up. It is the most narcissistic place I know of and even though even Morrison tries to defend the reality of a place being something, it truly is something, and he knows it and weaves his tale around it. I took off half a point because I got a little perturbed by the ending. I felt he got a bit too mysogynistic with it but having said that it certainly made sense. Highly recommend
Still wrapping my mind around this one but what I do know is that Chandler has solidified his place as one of my favorite authors. I love that each book I’ve read so far is so drastically different from the other one. Truly a brilliant writer. Full review to come in Cemetery Dance.
I have DEVOURED chandlers books. I love how he writes despicable people with unnatural, yet somehow believable elements. The thing is.
All the people in this book suck. They are all bad people. Yet you root for them anyway. You want something for them, the rainbow at the end. A light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck, never going to happen for his characters.
Chandler paints a gritty, unrelenting drug fueled haze in los angels, where the devil is basically free to roam and do what he will. This is the story of these few characters, that are in the endless torment of LA.
Loved it. Amazing, you could benefit from reading his canon.
3.5 ⭐️ This was… depressing. We follow different characters all in search of love amidst a burning LA hellscape (literally). This is a literary and character driven book, basically revolving around a lot of dialogue between characters and their complex relationships. All characters have independent storylines that tend to collide in some areas through mutual friends and etc.
I want to say this author reminds me a lot of stephen king. He uses themes in his books and weird symbolism like the berkley bear mascot with a scarlet covered jersey, the slender bartender with the unnerving smile, a pain in a character’s left arm that wont go away, and other recurring symbolism. That and his literary grace in the way he describes things reminds me a lot of king. I recommend this book as long as you’re okay with being potentially depressed the hell out… probably better in small doses <3
I left feeling a touch depressed and disgusted with humanity but if that wasn't the point I'm not sure what would be. This was such a crazy look at how wildly selfish, disassociated and shallow humans are and the verity of which those traits can showcase themselves.
I felt bad for characters at points of the book and would then immediately switch to thinking how vile they were. Isn't that the true feelings behind most human interactions? I don't think this read will be for everyone, but the ones that it is for are going to LOVE it. This didn't hit the 5-star mark for me as I got lost in characters a bit there and had to reread or make sure I was thinking about the right f**ked up person before continuing.
All in all, it was horror in the fact of OMG humans suck and this is horrific. Ya feel?
Supremely bleak satire that contains a few more serious ideas under the surface than it initially lets on. A crave-able literary smash burger with someone's teeth buried in the meat. Overall a fun, raunchy, depressing ride. I think the lady sitting behind me on the plane saw the word "c*ck" printed over and over on the page I was reading and decided she wanted to read along.
1.5 stars rounded up. Honestly, if it weren't for the name on the cover, you'd think this was a first draft of a Bret Easton Ellis novel. Hell, Chandler Morrison could be Ellis's Richard Bachman for all we know. This is what he'd hand his publisher if they kept hounding him for pages. This is The Rules Of Attraction without the wit and stream of conscious style. These are the people mingling in the background of the more interesting people in Less Than Zero. Patrick Bateman refuses to be seen at the bars and restaurants these people frequent. The three male point of view characters could all work at Pierce and Pierce and everyone would confuse them for that dickhead Marcus Halberstram. This book would be better if it solely focused on the Lars and The Real Girl story going on with Baxter and forgot the rest.