The Sleep-Over Artist: Fiction

by Thomas Beller

"In the same way Salinger carved out the niche of male adolescence ....Beller approaches that mutable boy-to-man territory."― San Francisco Chronicle Writing with the sparkling wit and insight of his highly praised debut, Seduction Theory ("Brilliantly captures the great expectations and recurring ambivalence of youth."― The New York Times ), Thomas Beller continues to plumb the adventures of his hero, Alex Fader, a youthful existentialist and sensualist with an insatiable appetite for trouble. The Sleep-Over Artist is an account of critical stages in Alex's life, mapping his progress from youthful delinquent to filmmaker whose career begins when he makes a documentary film exposing the prep school from which he has been expelled. Alex longs for the taste of family life that the early death of his father has denied him. As a young boy he sleeps over at his friends' houses and ingratiates himself with their families; as a young man he extends his sleep-overs to the lives of women, culminating in the ultimate sleep-over―an affair in England with a glamorous, slightly older woman, the mother of a young boy. Beller has a pitch-perfect ear for emotional nuance and a microscopic eye for rendering the wordless moments when a relationship catches fire and all too often begins to falter. The high-wire tension that electrifies The Sleep-Over Artist is Beller's ingenious portrait of a young man who longs to disappear and belong all at the same time.

"Hilarious....captures perfectly the myriad stages of fear, discovery and elation that mark one's first sexual experience."― The New York Times Book Review , Katherine Dieckmann, 16 July 2000 "[W]ell-crafted stories recall the witty phrasing of Updike, the poignant nostalgia of Cheever, the earnest but confused innocence of Salinger."― Library Journal "Featuring a New York that, like Kundera's Prague, is a vast hive of seductions....A moving portrait."― Publishers Weekly , 17 April 2000  "The gentle humor and delicacy of Sleep-Over Artist remind me of the stories of another young cosmopolite, F. Scott Fitzgerald."―Stewart O'Nan, author of A Prayer for the Dying "Fresh, sophisticated and most of all utterly readable...strikes a perfect balance between timely ironies and perennial emotional truths."―Eva Hoffman "Tom Beller is gifted with a wry, dry appreciation of life's sweet and unlikely subtleties."―Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of Prozac Nation and Bitch "A fine novel of Manhattan manners."― New York Observer

Genres: Fiction

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Thomas Beller is an American author and editor.

Reviews

[Brody · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh.
This book seemed really contrived. I guess that fiction, but I just couldn't buy into it. One of my biggest gripes starts at the beginning of the book, when the protagonist (at the time, a 6 year old boy) begins analyzing his entire existence and that of his parents. No 6 year old kid on the PLANET thinks in the terms being presented, but this same sort of problem persists through the whole book. I hope Beller doesn't really analyze his life to death like this.
Finished it, but thats not saying much.
Quote of the book though, and I really like it, is a conversation btw protagonist and his mother at end of book (ps, the end of the book is entirely detached from the 200 previous pages)

[Jason Ravara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked some chapters, esp. the one with Christine, but most of the stories didn't quite manage to hold my interest for too long.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chronology of a young man's unsuccessful relationships with women, none of which are very interesting or insightful.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pointless.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

""

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must admit I was surprisingly disappointed by this novel. I've read some of Thomas Beller's short stories in magazines and thoroughly enjoyed his writing. Somehow his ability to pen wonderful short stories doesn't translate well into a full-length novel. I understand "The Sleep-over Artist" is written like a series of short stories on purpose, but the collection of them just doesn't work for a novel. As a reader, I want a novel to flow seamlessly together, but the decision to piece together different parts of the narrator's life comes across as a disjointed storyline. That being said, I found the second half of the novel much more palatable. There were times when I could connect with the characters and their personal struggles. However, it wasn't enough to make up for the lack of flow throughout the novel.

[Beinghumanbeing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once the story began to pick up, I could relate to Alex's character and became much more interested in what was going on. I do wonder why he felt sorry for his childhood and I never came to an understanding with that part of the novel. Regardless, I enjoyed how sexy and sensual each character ended up being portrayed, no matter how much I foresaw it or desired to imagine them as such. There was a beautiful ebb and flow to both the awkwardness and confidence in several intimate encounters. It gave me the urge to beckon the past and reminded me that vulnerability can be sweet. It is in those moments of insecurity, uncertainty and curiosity that we shape our feral selves. Most of us are much more unscripted and raw behind closed doors and this novel whispers that truth right into your ear.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a great time reading this book. It made me giggle and smirk and watch this guys life go by. The fact that the author could write from the perspective of either gender well impressed me (I guess any author does that..? This book actually made me think it) I won't tell you why, but the ending is empty and terrible.

Its an easy read.. Good for the TTC.


I give this book 3 monkeys out of 1 can of tuna

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very New York novel, basically linked stories that comprise an episodic coming-of-age story. Lots of precise social and psychological insights, neurotic narrator, sexual misadventures - reminiscent in tone of early Roth and Foer's EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDILKY CLOSE.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay, better than average, bought this book by just reading the back cover while at the B and N on Shea and the 101. Good buy.

[Faaizz Dzul · Rating 3 out of 5]

buku tentang dilema lelaki yang berkehendak. lelaki, biasalah.

*buku ini agak kotor.tapi aku habis baca.lol.

**buku diperoleh dari roommate foreigner Somaliland.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was exptecting but still good.

[Dvorah Richler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly entertaining - good cottage read.