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Failure As a Way of Life
Ryan Noman is stuck in a house on a dead end street in a dying city, a loveless relationship, and a job where the owner challenges his employees to fights in the parking lot. He also has a mystery rash. When Ryan’s best friend, Gus, convinces him they need to contaminate the source of the artisanal bottled water facility where they work, Ryan goes along with it because, hey, what else is he going to do? This proves to be another bad choice in an increasingly lengthening list of bad choices in Ryan’s life. It changes everything, leaving both Ryan and Gus transformed. Thus begins Ryan’s oddly comic stumbling through his dark night of the soul in a book best described as “self-help for the helpless.”
- GenresBizarro FictionAudiobook
154 pages, Paperback
First published March 2, 2018
24 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Andersen Prunty
51 books670 followersAndersen Prunty lives in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He writes novels and short stories. Visit him at notandersenprunty.com, where he posts a free story every Friday.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 5, 2018
Ryan, the narrator of this story, has so many problems that all he can expect is more of the same. When a similarly unlucky friend undergoes a remarkable transformation, Ryan attempts to stage a miraculous change as well. Things just get worse. Ryan's story is an uncomfortable yet totally compelling read. Uncomfortable, because while we can empathize with him and his terrible circumstances, we also wish he would make an honest attempt at change. The pages turn quickly because we become so embroiled in Ryan's situation that we just want to see him catch a break. Reflecting on his circumstances, Ryan wonders: " If I could turn my back on all of my dreams, why couldn’t I turn my back on the nightmares too?" Some of us cannot escape our lot in life, but is acceptance all we can hope for? Miracles don't always happen. Or maybe it's just in the way we perceive them.
March 5, 2018
You ever drove past a car crash and slowed down to see as much of the grisly details as possible before continuing on?
It’s perfectly normal. You get this cocktail of guilt, schadenfreude, elation because you’re still alive, and a sliver of terror because whoever was in that car, that could be you in five minutes, or tomorrow, or next year.
That’s what peering into the life of this protagonist is like. The things he appreciates turn sour. The things he takes for granted are taken from him.
Loss, and the accompanying sense of nihilism, is such a prominent element of the human condition today in western society. We’ve become growth obsessed, and it is easy to bow out, or to forget that many are struggling just to keep their heads above the water.
Water, the source of life, a source of death, the source of currents both gentle and tumultuous. Pardon this seeming digression. I’ll circle back to where I left off. But this theme is important.
Our protagonist works for a company that sells artisanal water, and he’s barely making ends meet. He has a few strands of support left, but they all seem illusory. Everyone is disconnected and alone, going through the motions of human connection without much substance, all symptoms of systematized life in our late capitalist society. Professional expectations, expectations about how we are supposed to act in the world (void of emotion and passion) have been internalized, have bled over into our personal lives.
Water is the source of our character’s livelihood, and it is also the source of his hope. It sustains him throughout the story, no matter how dismal things may seem.
The character attempts to self-initiate rebirth, tries to reinvent himself. Is he successful? That depends on the reader.
For me this is a story about resilience, about coming to grips with the fact that the world makes no sense, and in the grand scheme of things it probably means little to nothing.
Yet we must persevere.
And though we can cognitively say, “this means nothing” on a visceral level we cannot stop ourselves from feeling that this-the events in our lives-mean EVERYTHING.
How do we cope with this paradox in the face of subjective tragedy?
This book provides us with one solution.
This is America as it currently exists. Where hope is a resource hard to come by and everything falters and fails. Where we have been relegated to meager dreams, and even those dreams seem out of reach. A land where, while we still desperately cling to those dreams, our most fundamental needs as humans slip through our fingers.
Some of this book was so true and real that it stung. It’s heavy and bittersweet, and I just want to give the protagonist a hug, a few bucks, and the spot on my couch. But I know if I saw him walking down the road, without this glimpse into his life, I would probably look at the wreck he is and feel all the things I mentioned above (guilt, schadenfreude, etc.), and then I would keep driving.
And so I finished the book also feeling shame, because I have felt his pain, but I have also been the source of equal pains for others, and I have bore witness to such pain in others and have not reached out.
As such, this book is, above all things, humanizing and humbling.
It’s perfectly normal. You get this cocktail of guilt, schadenfreude, elation because you’re still alive, and a sliver of terror because whoever was in that car, that could be you in five minutes, or tomorrow, or next year.
That’s what peering into the life of this protagonist is like. The things he appreciates turn sour. The things he takes for granted are taken from him.
Loss, and the accompanying sense of nihilism, is such a prominent element of the human condition today in western society. We’ve become growth obsessed, and it is easy to bow out, or to forget that many are struggling just to keep their heads above the water.
Water, the source of life, a source of death, the source of currents both gentle and tumultuous. Pardon this seeming digression. I’ll circle back to where I left off. But this theme is important.
Our protagonist works for a company that sells artisanal water, and he’s barely making ends meet. He has a few strands of support left, but they all seem illusory. Everyone is disconnected and alone, going through the motions of human connection without much substance, all symptoms of systematized life in our late capitalist society. Professional expectations, expectations about how we are supposed to act in the world (void of emotion and passion) have been internalized, have bled over into our personal lives.
Water is the source of our character’s livelihood, and it is also the source of his hope. It sustains him throughout the story, no matter how dismal things may seem.
The character attempts to self-initiate rebirth, tries to reinvent himself. Is he successful? That depends on the reader.
For me this is a story about resilience, about coming to grips with the fact that the world makes no sense, and in the grand scheme of things it probably means little to nothing.
Yet we must persevere.
And though we can cognitively say, “this means nothing” on a visceral level we cannot stop ourselves from feeling that this-the events in our lives-mean EVERYTHING.
How do we cope with this paradox in the face of subjective tragedy?
This book provides us with one solution.
This is America as it currently exists. Where hope is a resource hard to come by and everything falters and fails. Where we have been relegated to meager dreams, and even those dreams seem out of reach. A land where, while we still desperately cling to those dreams, our most fundamental needs as humans slip through our fingers.
Some of this book was so true and real that it stung. It’s heavy and bittersweet, and I just want to give the protagonist a hug, a few bucks, and the spot on my couch. But I know if I saw him walking down the road, without this glimpse into his life, I would probably look at the wreck he is and feel all the things I mentioned above (guilt, schadenfreude, etc.), and then I would keep driving.
And so I finished the book also feeling shame, because I have felt his pain, but I have also been the source of equal pains for others, and I have bore witness to such pain in others and have not reached out.
As such, this book is, above all things, humanizing and humbling.
March 7, 2018
Cynicism and misanthropy take root as Ryan continues to lose in life. As readers, we are witness to a disaster unfolding. After seeing the transformation of his best friend Gus, optimism shines for a moment through the clouds. Can our protagonist finally get things to work out for him?
The characters were a strong point for me. Each one has it’s own quirkiness that builds an identity and a place among the others immediately. Add this to the empathy I felt for Ryan, even as he seemed deficient in his efforts to change, and this was a book I wanted to keep my eyes on until the end, which only deepened the impressions I had while reading. Failure As a Way of Life is real, humbling and thought-provoking. Recommended.
The characters were a strong point for me. Each one has it’s own quirkiness that builds an identity and a place among the others immediately. Add this to the empathy I felt for Ryan, even as he seemed deficient in his efforts to change, and this was a book I wanted to keep my eyes on until the end, which only deepened the impressions I had while reading. Failure As a Way of Life is real, humbling and thought-provoking. Recommended.
March 5, 2018
This book falls into the category of classic Prunty. The sad, middle-aged man, the depressing, miserable existence, and the bleak outlook of a better future. However, this book has a little more to it. There are lessons here about taking responsibility of your life, about making change instead of waiting for it, and about being a driver in your life instead of a passenger.
One of his best books. I highly recommend it.
One of his best books. I highly recommend it.
May 21, 2018
The inherent comedy of failure
I’m sure it says something about me, but I think it’s hilarious when things go wrong at every turn. Ryan, our hero in this story, just can’t catch a break. Ever. Everything he does turns out to be the wrong thing, even though he’s trying to do the same things that have made his buddy’s life so amazing. Ryan is kind of like Sisyphus, but instead of endlessly pushing a boulder up a hill he’s just falling down an endless flight of stairs. Sometimes it looks like maybe he’ll catch his footing and get right, but nah. Sorry, dude. Cue Yakety Sax.
Prunty’s sense of humor and delivery are perfect for this setup. This book is more like Squirm with Me than his more horrific offerings. And Ryan, poor guy, is relatable even as we laugh at his plight. Who hasn’t had a crap job and a lousy relationship? It could have been worse. You can count the ways while you read this.
I’m sure it says something about me, but I think it’s hilarious when things go wrong at every turn. Ryan, our hero in this story, just can’t catch a break. Ever. Everything he does turns out to be the wrong thing, even though he’s trying to do the same things that have made his buddy’s life so amazing. Ryan is kind of like Sisyphus, but instead of endlessly pushing a boulder up a hill he’s just falling down an endless flight of stairs. Sometimes it looks like maybe he’ll catch his footing and get right, but nah. Sorry, dude. Cue Yakety Sax.
Prunty’s sense of humor and delivery are perfect for this setup. This book is more like Squirm with Me than his more horrific offerings. And Ryan, poor guy, is relatable even as we laugh at his plight. Who hasn’t had a crap job and a lousy relationship? It could have been worse. You can count the ways while you read this.
September 6, 2019
Andersen Prunty's FAILURE AS A WAY OF LIFE is the type of book that (hopefully) makes you say, at least that isn't me! I enjoyed this almost-too-depressing to enjoy book. Though the main characters life is in shambles and he can't seem to get out of his own way despite himself, he is still an interesting character that, for some God forsaken reason, you are compelled to keep rooting for.
I'd read one other Prunty book that I didn't care much for, this book was a vastly different experience. I suppose Prunty has a penchant for being experimental with his writing. This was less so in form and so I found the narrative easier to enjoy. Enjoyment is a hard word to use because the story can be so depressing and the brilliance of the whole thing is that it somehow manages to keep you from slitting your wrists before you get to the end.
FAILURE AS A WAY OF LIFE is not only a great piece of fiction but exemplary of the type of work I've come to enjoy from Atlatl Press. Character driven, intriguing and very real personalities fill the pages. Delightfully quirky even if they are somewhat depressing. I hope to read more Prunty along these lines in the future.
I'd read one other Prunty book that I didn't care much for, this book was a vastly different experience. I suppose Prunty has a penchant for being experimental with his writing. This was less so in form and so I found the narrative easier to enjoy. Enjoyment is a hard word to use because the story can be so depressing and the brilliance of the whole thing is that it somehow manages to keep you from slitting your wrists before you get to the end.
FAILURE AS A WAY OF LIFE is not only a great piece of fiction but exemplary of the type of work I've come to enjoy from Atlatl Press. Character driven, intriguing and very real personalities fill the pages. Delightfully quirky even if they are somewhat depressing. I hope to read more Prunty along these lines in the future.
April 29, 2024
Am I a Failure? Ryan's story resonates with me. I think Andersen found a way to include all of us in the failures of his book.
Failure IS a way of life. Ryan is living proof of that. I just hope I'm not. But now I'm wondering 🤔.
Failure IS a way of life. Ryan is living proof of that. I just hope I'm not. But now I'm wondering 🤔.
May 3, 2018
Review to come
April 6, 2018
Great piece of writing Prunty. I haven't read one of your pieces for some time now, but this was a strangely uplifting work and made for a good companion piece to Hesse's Steppenwolf.
April 7, 2018
This was a weird ass story to say the least. Sad thing is the connection I felt with the main character made me stop and take a look at my own life and start asking some questions I'd much rather have ignored. It's quite rare that I find an Absurd story that I can finish because I'm not fully aware that it's actually absurd. Most of the time it seems authors go over-the-top without grounding the story to something that actually matters. This wasn't the case here.
June 20, 2019
First of all, this book is, like pretty much every-effing-thing that I've read by Dr. Prunty, totally wicked rad stupendous and awesomely killer while also being oddly emotionally affecting in that quirky Andersen Prunty way. This author is a true original, in my opinion, and like his partner in crime, Ms. C.V. Hunt, his voice is immediately recognizable and eternally undeniable. I fucking love this dude. This book did the usual Andersen Prunty things such as: include memorably and endearingly weird and/or damaged/highly flawed characters, take unexpected plot turns, NOT TAKE THE EASY WAY (plot-wise), not do the things the reader might want and instead do something infinitely better, and, make beauty out of misery. However, despite it's many wonders, this one was super painful for me and I found it difficult to get through. What kept me going was that I knew I wouldn't be able to stand not knowing what happened to Ryan and Gus. As a whole, the book hit too close to home -way, way too goddamn fucking close! I've felt like a total loser lately and in fact, have been called a loser and a failure by those closest to me (among other colorful names) very recently. I've come to realize that I never progressed past the emotional level of a teenager and I'm forty-three and I have no fucking clue how I'm supposed to grow up. I could be Ryan. It was a total gut-punch of an experience, but maybe that's why this story came into my life when it did. I'd been scared to read this one ever since it first came out because the title horrified me as I was secretly afraid that it was about me. Now I know that my fears were founded, sort of, but that, maybe like Ryan, I can learn to float one day too. If you are a reader who loves excellent books that will pull your heart and brain apart, I implore you to check this out. PS - Despite the listing of the paperback above, I actually listened to the audio book, which is both excellent and readily available.
August 21, 2019
The story begins with Gus’s pale ass hovered over the Well of Purity, in an attempt to pollute it with human excrement. It’s downhill from there.
This is the most perversely funny novel I’ve read in a long time. I’m trying to think of some novel that it reminds me of, but I’m afraid it’s unique in my experience. You know the expression “you can’t make this stuff up”? Well, Andersen Prunty has made this stuff up, page after page of outlandish episodes. The characters exist because Prunty says so, not because they could possibly exist in real life.
Gus and Ryan pinball the walls of life, banging into one obstacle after another, somehow surviving despite their fundamental desire to fail at every endeavor they attempt. They, and the other wacky characters, are the most charming bunch of eccentric misfits a reader could ask for.
The plot is one madcap, kooky vignette after another, mostly making no sense and, consequently, the novel is a bleak but irresistible page turner which goads the reader into whizzing forward in anticipation of the next bizarre incident.
At no point in the story does the reader feel that there is any possibility that everyone will live happily ever after. It’s just not in the DNA of this novel. So trying to figure out what the heck will ultimately happen to end this urban nightmare is half the fun. And don’t delude yourself into thinking you can anticipate the ending. You can’t.
This is the most perversely funny novel I’ve read in a long time. I’m trying to think of some novel that it reminds me of, but I’m afraid it’s unique in my experience. You know the expression “you can’t make this stuff up”? Well, Andersen Prunty has made this stuff up, page after page of outlandish episodes. The characters exist because Prunty says so, not because they could possibly exist in real life.
Gus and Ryan pinball the walls of life, banging into one obstacle after another, somehow surviving despite their fundamental desire to fail at every endeavor they attempt. They, and the other wacky characters, are the most charming bunch of eccentric misfits a reader could ask for.
The plot is one madcap, kooky vignette after another, mostly making no sense and, consequently, the novel is a bleak but irresistible page turner which goads the reader into whizzing forward in anticipation of the next bizarre incident.
At no point in the story does the reader feel that there is any possibility that everyone will live happily ever after. It’s just not in the DNA of this novel. So trying to figure out what the heck will ultimately happen to end this urban nightmare is half the fun. And don’t delude yourself into thinking you can anticipate the ending. You can’t.
February 9, 2020
There are a million ways to fail and I’ve tried them all.
April 3, 2018
Loved it
July 25, 2018
Good quick read. Liked it almost as much as Jack and Mr. Grin, my favorite from this author.
The narrative I took from it was as if I was watching a much more successful friend who has been incredibly lucky and rather than work on my obvious flaws I launch a half-hearted, half-assed attempt to recreate the conditions of their success. This is a pretty common self-defeating strategy that I see a lot around me because it contains a lazy escape route and plenty of excuses when it ultimately doesn't work.
The narrative I took from it was as if I was watching a much more successful friend who has been incredibly lucky and rather than work on my obvious flaws I launch a half-hearted, half-assed attempt to recreate the conditions of their success. This is a pretty common self-defeating strategy that I see a lot around me because it contains a lazy escape route and plenty of excuses when it ultimately doesn't work.
May 21, 2018
Wow. I have read a couple of Mr. Prunty's books, but this one may be my favorite. Maybe because I'm in my 40s like the main character. Maybe because I know people who seem to have this luck. The book felt a little silly at first but as I kept reading, I didn't want to put it down. It just kept getting worse and worse for this guy. And you need to find out what happens. I feel better about myself after reading, lol. Thank you for that .
November 27, 2018
Time to add a new author to my favorites list. Andersen Prunty delivers a sadistically hilariously and enjoyable read about perpetual loser Ryan Noman (opposite of the Everyman, I would assume), whose job bottling miracle water is almost as dead-end as his relationships with just about everyone and everything. Prunty mixes in enough absurdities to humorously embellish the devastating realities of Ryan's life without descending into lazy surrealism. I'll definitely be looking for more works by this author.
August 6, 2020
This is fantastically depressing and uplifting at the same time. Mostly depressing. The bad things and choices keep coming to our narrator, Ryan, and he never seems to catch a break. There is something very relatable within this story that kept me riveted and reading, and pondering the choices and events that led up to where he is in the story. He sludges through life, always referring to a writing career (which may be his one big passion) but never seeming to obtain it or get to the point. We spend the story waiting to see if Ryan bottoms out, or if something miraculous will happen to turn events around. Will he find it in himself to better things? Does he want that? They are all questions that roll around in my head after finishing. It is impossible to dislike Ryan at all and you root for him, but also are aware that this is no fantasy land. Or maybe it is, and the answers are within Dr. Godwater's mysterious water well...
September 1, 2018
Try. Fail. Repeat. Booze. Drink companys water and hope it fixs you like it did with your co-worker friend. Fight your boss. Fight your ex. Find out what your Dad really thinks of you. Date a hot girl. Realize you shouldn't date her cause she sucks. Try. Fail. Repeat. Booze. As always, Prunty is fun to read and hopefully you don't get a rash reading this like the main character did. If so, ditch gluten.
January 28, 2019
It’s not that the writing was bad. It isn’t. There’s even 1-2 good scenes. It’s just that this book has no redeeming positive value. It made me uncomfortable without making me think anything new. It’s failure porn. I do not recommend it (though to be clear I do find value in some of the author’s other works).
October 23, 2019
We follow Ryan who’s water bottling job doesn’t pay the bills he’s covered in a rash and his girlfriend is a sex worker
Colorful characters help flesh out the story of one mans struggle
Well narrated with originality you only get from Andersen prunty highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
Colorful characters help flesh out the story of one mans struggle
Well narrated with originality you only get from Andersen prunty highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
June 27, 2018
Nope.
I gave it a try — 25% of the book, to be exact — and no.
I gave it a try — 25% of the book, to be exact — and no.
August 3, 2019
Profanity!!!
First page and I'm done with this foul mouthed trash. At least I didn't have to waste too much of my time with it.
First page and I'm done with this foul mouthed trash. At least I didn't have to waste too much of my time with it.
March 14, 2024
Another one down, 3rd this year. A great story about a failure - I think we have all been where he’s at one point. Maybe not to the extreme but it’s understandable. 8/10
June 13, 2024
Cynical, misanthropic satire. Like a car wreck, you want to look away, but can’t. You keep reading to see how much of a shit show the main character’s life is.
June 16, 2020
I really enjoyed this darkly comedic novella! My first of Andersen Prunty and won't be my last. Luckily, I grabbed a bunch of his books when they were free on Kindle.
Update: I have since read two more of his books and they were too bizarre for me. I prefer less bizarre and was really lucky with "Failure as a Way of Life'. I still have more of his books so I'm willing to keep trying.
Update: I have since read two more of his books and they were too bizarre for me. I prefer less bizarre and was really lucky with "Failure as a Way of Life'. I still have more of his books so I'm willing to keep trying.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews