Superworse - The Novel: A Remix of Superbad: Stories and Pieces

by Ben Greenman, Laurence Onge (Editor)

"Greenman’s mind may contain 'a Russian short story writer, a slap-stick gag writer, an art critic, a literary critic, a cultural commentator, a cowboy, a satirist, a scientist . . . a surrealist, a nut, and genius . . . a child prodigy . . . and a poet' (Susan Minot).

The original McSweeney’s , Superbad comprised more than two dozen pieces in various genres from serious fiction to post-modern satire to lyric. This Soft Skull edition will reconceive Superbad with an eye toward its overall architecture, emphasizing that the individual pieces are intricately related to one another, as movements in a symphony or gears in a clockwork. Onge, the [fictitious] editor who introduced Superbad , will oversee the paperback, allowing a clear set of themes and characters to emerge from the welter of styles. The book is tightly constructed, with a mirror-image arrangement and many characters, not all human, threaded throughout. Rather than conceiving this project simply as a paperback edition, the release is more like a remix, in the fashion of popular music. Superbad was a humor collection in the finest McSweeney’s tradition; Superworse is a novel in the spirit of Borges and Barthelme.

156 pages, Paperback

First published December 19, 2003

About the author

Ben Greenman is an editor at The New Yorker whose short fiction, journalism, and essays have appeared there, The New York Times, McSweeneys, The Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All Story. He is the author of several acclaimed books of fiction, including Superbad, Superworse, A Circle is a Balloon and Compass Both, Correspondences, and the novel Please Step Back. HIs new book of stories What He's Poised To Do: Stories was published in June of 2010.

Reviews

[Jason Arias · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's something special definitely happening here, but it took a little while to seep in. Like some kind of literary osmosis. I'm not too quick on the uptake. I first thought the editor's know-it-all voice was pretentiously annoying, but towards the end understood that it was just a cursor pointing at an underlying theme that had slowly grown into a faint form asking to be born, but not understanding how without its mentor.

The belly of an idea grew hard and frustrated, and then, suddenly shot forth. It sat at a wooden table and drew one idea that gave birth to another. These ideas turned each other inside out and allowed me a glimpse of something I will never truly understand, but am happy to appreciate from a safe distance.

Of course this could have all just been in my head since I don't know anything that isn't, but hope to one day.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hit or miss. From inspired to horribly bad.