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The Extra Man
Meet Louis Ives: well-groomed, romantic, and as captivating as an F. Scott Fitzgerald hero. Only this hero has a penchant for ladies clothes, and he's lost his teaching post at Princeton's Pretty Brook Day School after an unfortunate incident involving a colleague's brassiere.
Meet Henry Harrison: former actor, failed but brilliant playwright, and a well-seasoned escort for New York City's women of means. He dances alone to Ethel Merman records, second-acts operas, and performs his scrappy life with the dignity befitting a self-styled man of the world. What can this ageless Don Quixote of the Upper East Side have to offer a young gentleman such as Louis? What, indeed.
Well, the answer lies somewhere between the needs of an irascible mentor and the education of his eager apprentice...between cocktails on the Upper East Side and an even more intoxicating treat along the secret fringes of Times Square...and between friendship and longing.
384 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1998
59 people are currently reading
1323 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Ames
41 books770 followersJonathan Ames is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs, and is the creator of two television series, Bored to Death (HBO) and Blunt Talk (STARZ). In the late '90s and early 2000s, he was a columnist for the New York Press for several years, and became known for self-deprecating tales of his sexual misadventures. He also has a long-time interest in boxing, appearing occasionally in the ring as "The Herring Wonder".
Two of his novels have been adapted into films: The Extra Man in 2010, and You Were Never Really Here in 2017. Ames was a co-screenwriter of the former and an executive producer of the latter.
Two of his novels have been adapted into films: The Extra Man in 2010, and You Were Never Really Here in 2017. Ames was a co-screenwriter of the former and an executive producer of the latter.
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April 1, 2019When I moved to New York, fresh from college, double liberal arts degrees in hand and looking for work in book publishing, I ordered a subscription (The Weekender! Natch!) to the New York Times. Reading the Times every weekend was part of my idea of the New York version of myself, something I had mashed together from my just-post-college ambitions and my nervousness, and from reading novels about people in similar situations in the city. I imagined I would read the paper over coffee and a bagel on Sunday mornings.
Of course, it took me a week to read a Sunday paper — the Sunday Times is huge! And I was trying to read all of it for some reason. I do not need to read the automobile section, ever, but I tried to. The papers started to pile up, and after about six months, I gave up. The way things were going those days I was rarely even awake until Sunday afternoon.
We all have these sort of idealized versions of ourselves, constructed from things we see and admire/covet in the people around us, from what we see in films or TV, and from what we read. We affect mannerisms, we pick up words, we adopt entire opinions and forget they aren't our own. We convince ourselves of the verity of things that are at best half-truths. The kind of person that moves to New York, especially, has this optimized idea of what his/her self will be in this place; this place both attracts those kinds of people, and this place has such a presence in literature and film that we are supplied with plenty of models. Louis Ives of The Extra Man is no exception to this tendency; an exaggerated example, to be sure, but good characters need some exaggeration.
Louis, narrator of Ames's comedy of manners, strives to be a "young gentleman." When he decides to move to New York (the "old Times Square" version, circa 1992), he arrives thinking that he will stay in a hotel while he searches for a more permanent home, as this is what the characters in his Henry James novels do. He, of course, finds that in 1992 hotels in New York are prohibitively expensive or alarmingly seedy. Typically, Louis thinks the tweaked-out homeless woman on the stairs is an artisty musician: he is trying to force his surroundings to conform to his own notion of what they will be. So he responds to an ad for a cheap apartment on the UES, which begins his relationship with Henry Harrison: calls-it-in professor, unpublished playwright, couch-sleeper, Ethel Mermen dancer, platonic gentleman friend of older ladies. Louis so desperately wants Henry's approval and friendship despite Henry's practiced distance. Nevertheless, hijinks ensue involving said dancing, said older ladies, transvestites, car crashes, hood ornament theft, caviar, benefit parties, stolen bras, Recession Spankologists, etc.
Louis is young, in a new city -- in THE city -- unsure of so many things: his sexuality, his gender identification, the morals of his new habits, where he is going at all. In the end, he arguably doesn't get very far from where he began the novel, at least not outright. But in the previously mentioned ensuing hijinks, Henry and Louis each get a bit of a peek under the other's facade, and some of the confusion and messiness beneath their gentlemanly airs is revealed. The two men are extreme and desperate examples of the personas we all adopt, the way we shape ourselves to a pastiche of the people and characters we encounter; but there's something familiar about that idealism and that aspiration.
Plus, some of the descriptions are really great; I loved Ames's description of the invisible car owners moving their vehicles from one side of the street to the other every day. Also at one point Louis describes himself as "showered and blue-blazered," which is also in a National song? Coincidence or allusion?
IN SUM! Good, worth a read; it goes quick despite it's length and the characters will probably stay with me for quite some time. However, didn't really inspire me to read Ames's essays or nonfiction.
Of course, it took me a week to read a Sunday paper — the Sunday Times is huge! And I was trying to read all of it for some reason. I do not need to read the automobile section, ever, but I tried to. The papers started to pile up, and after about six months, I gave up. The way things were going those days I was rarely even awake until Sunday afternoon.
We all have these sort of idealized versions of ourselves, constructed from things we see and admire/covet in the people around us, from what we see in films or TV, and from what we read. We affect mannerisms, we pick up words, we adopt entire opinions and forget they aren't our own. We convince ourselves of the verity of things that are at best half-truths. The kind of person that moves to New York, especially, has this optimized idea of what his/her self will be in this place; this place both attracts those kinds of people, and this place has such a presence in literature and film that we are supplied with plenty of models. Louis Ives of The Extra Man is no exception to this tendency; an exaggerated example, to be sure, but good characters need some exaggeration.
Louis, narrator of Ames's comedy of manners, strives to be a "young gentleman." When he decides to move to New York (the "old Times Square" version, circa 1992), he arrives thinking that he will stay in a hotel while he searches for a more permanent home, as this is what the characters in his Henry James novels do. He, of course, finds that in 1992 hotels in New York are prohibitively expensive or alarmingly seedy. Typically, Louis thinks the tweaked-out homeless woman on the stairs is an artisty musician: he is trying to force his surroundings to conform to his own notion of what they will be. So he responds to an ad for a cheap apartment on the UES, which begins his relationship with Henry Harrison: calls-it-in professor, unpublished playwright, couch-sleeper, Ethel Mermen dancer, platonic gentleman friend of older ladies. Louis so desperately wants Henry's approval and friendship despite Henry's practiced distance. Nevertheless, hijinks ensue involving said dancing, said older ladies, transvestites, car crashes, hood ornament theft, caviar, benefit parties, stolen bras, Recession Spankologists, etc.
Louis is young, in a new city -- in THE city -- unsure of so many things: his sexuality, his gender identification, the morals of his new habits, where he is going at all. In the end, he arguably doesn't get very far from where he began the novel, at least not outright. But in the previously mentioned ensuing hijinks, Henry and Louis each get a bit of a peek under the other's facade, and some of the confusion and messiness beneath their gentlemanly airs is revealed. The two men are extreme and desperate examples of the personas we all adopt, the way we shape ourselves to a pastiche of the people and characters we encounter; but there's something familiar about that idealism and that aspiration.
Plus, some of the descriptions are really great; I loved Ames's description of the invisible car owners moving their vehicles from one side of the street to the other every day. Also at one point Louis describes himself as "showered and blue-blazered," which is also in a National song? Coincidence or allusion?
IN SUM! Good, worth a read; it goes quick despite it's length and the characters will probably stay with me for quite some time. However, didn't really inspire me to read Ames's essays or nonfiction.
December 20, 2015
I can safely say that I've never read anything like this book before. The closest I could get would probably be D.H. Lawrence's 'Sons And Lovers' but, considering this book's protagonist's mother doesn't even make an appearance, it's not THAT close at all...
I bought this book because I enjoyed Jonathan Ames' t.v. sit-com 'Bored To Death' a great deal, so I figured I'd probably enjoy his novels too. If anybody else is riding a similar train of thought, I'll say that 'The Extra Man' isn't much like 'Bored To Death' at all, although there's plenty of evidence of the same sense of humour at work.
I did enjoy this book and would definitely read other books by Ames (in fact, I've already bought another). I have to admit that, at times, I found 'The Extra Man' quite disturbing, particularly when the protagonist is having sexual fantasies about an underage girl he used to teach. I think it's the author's intention to make the reader uncomfortable, though, as this book contains a lot of material that is well and truly on the 'road less traveled'.
The protagonist of this tale is a young man in his mid-twenties who has a romantic fascination with the kind of young gentleman he's read about in novels by the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald. He models himself after them in his mode of dress and speech and expectations of how his life should be. Unfortunately for him, he also suffers from crippling insecurities about his sexuality, place in society and general self-image.
These insecurities are the axis that this book revolves around. Each episode (and the book is very episodic) is another illustration of how the poor bugger thwarts himself at every turn. Sometimes I found myself laughing at these scrapes and others I just felt an unavoidable sense of pity for him.
Ultimately, I think this sense of pity was my main problem with the novel. I think Ames was aiming for the bullseye of empathy and ended up hitting a spot just the other side of the wire instead. A shame but, missed emotional target aside, the book is still very entertaining for the most part.
I bought this book because I enjoyed Jonathan Ames' t.v. sit-com 'Bored To Death' a great deal, so I figured I'd probably enjoy his novels too. If anybody else is riding a similar train of thought, I'll say that 'The Extra Man' isn't much like 'Bored To Death' at all, although there's plenty of evidence of the same sense of humour at work.
I did enjoy this book and would definitely read other books by Ames (in fact, I've already bought another). I have to admit that, at times, I found 'The Extra Man' quite disturbing, particularly when the protagonist is having sexual fantasies about an underage girl he used to teach. I think it's the author's intention to make the reader uncomfortable, though, as this book contains a lot of material that is well and truly on the 'road less traveled'.
The protagonist of this tale is a young man in his mid-twenties who has a romantic fascination with the kind of young gentleman he's read about in novels by the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald. He models himself after them in his mode of dress and speech and expectations of how his life should be. Unfortunately for him, he also suffers from crippling insecurities about his sexuality, place in society and general self-image.
These insecurities are the axis that this book revolves around. Each episode (and the book is very episodic) is another illustration of how the poor bugger thwarts himself at every turn. Sometimes I found myself laughing at these scrapes and others I just felt an unavoidable sense of pity for him.
Ultimately, I think this sense of pity was my main problem with the novel. I think Ames was aiming for the bullseye of empathy and ended up hitting a spot just the other side of the wire instead. A shame but, missed emotional target aside, the book is still very entertaining for the most part.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2008
Well, I thought I loved Wake Up, Sir! last week, but this Ames novel has taken the cake. It's ending was far more satisfying and the entire thing much more complex and novely. Novel-ish?
If you'll recall, I was intrigued while reading the last book because the novelist/narrator was working on another book, which sounded a lot like this one. And I thought to myself, "Whoa... meta..." No, seriously, I thought to myself - damn I like this book a lot, but the book he's writing in this book sounds even better. And it is. I feel strange reviewing these in reverse - as I'm nearly certain that this one came out first. But I think maybe this way is best - I feel the last book would have been a let-down after this one. In reverse, however, it's a unexpected new plateau.
The Extra Man is about Louis Ives, who moves to New York City in the early 90s when he is fired from his job at a Princeton boarding school for stealing a co-worker's bra and trying it on in the teacher's lounge. Yes, Louis is plagued by the same lack of self-control as Alan (from Wake Up, Sir!) but here it is women's clothing and not alcohol that he cannot seem to resist. He decides to venture to New York City based entirely on reading Washington Square (fellow IFP 1 surviors will appreciate the frustration I felt here). Louis comes out very early on to declare that he aspires to be a "young gentleman" of the F. Scott Fitzgerald variety, and so wears a tie-and-jacket everywhere, tries to establish "routines" so people around town will know him as a creature of habit, and while riding the NJ Transit train home from his first visit to New York, imagines he is just coming back from a fine time at his "club" - an experience which I now endeavor to mimic myself at the earliest possible convenience. And he reads Wilde, Wodehouse, Waugh, Mann, and Maum (a reading list you may soon see repeated here).
Soon he moves in with Henry Harrison, an older man who lists a desire for a roommate in The Village Voice and Ives quickly scores the low-rent occupancy in what amounts to a tiny, cluttered roach motel on the very upper edge of the Upper East Side. Harrison is, in many ways, the aging gentleman to Ives's young and he makes a Don Quixote/Sancho Panza comparison very early on. He is a playwright who teaches community college classes and lives in total squalor. Most of his plays have been lost or misplaced in the dense jungle of the apartment, which is filled with dirty cups (some of which he declares off limits, because they may have been peed in), books and records (to which he dances), bowls full of Christmas ornaments, and of course, roaches (and later fleas). Harrison's real life surrounds being an "extra man," that is, a companion to the rich, elderly women of Manhattan, who throw dinner parties and need men to balance the guest-list (because the old men die sooner) or escorts to Broadway, the Met, or the museums. Harrison and Ives both have a taste for all these finer things, though their lives are a constant absurd battle with their self-destructing cars, vermin, and awkward living arrangements. There are moments of true tenderness between them - something strangely between father-and-son and roommates. I won't spoil those, but I will give an early example of the absurd Henry Harrison in action.
"'Do you like Fitzgerald?' I asked... 'Of course,' he said, "His prose is like cocktail music. But there won't be any more Fitzgeralds. You need an all-male environment... the Muslims might produce a Fitzgerald. They're good at separating the sexes.' I imagined for a moment a new type of The Great Gatsby, written in Arabic and making a great sensation over here.
Eventually you find out how he does his laundry (wearing his clothes into the shower and stamping on them on the bottom of the tub) and why he flushes before he finishes urinating (he gets bored waiting for it to be over). It's hard, looking through now, to sum up Harrison well in just little quotes and things - but that's what makes him such a fantastic character and why Ives is so amazed by him - you simply never know what he will do next but it is always believ
The book also follows along with Ives's dirty little secret, that is his sexual confusions that caused him to try on the bra back in Princeton. He begins to respond to ads in the Post for women that spank him, and eventually frequents a transsexual bar in Midtown. His confusions lead to many squirm-inducing adventures as he tries to pin down what he wants and why and how, by going home with a number of the women-that-were-once-men. As in Wake Up Sir I felt that Ames is so sensitive and honest about these encounters and curiosities that Ives is always sympathetic, even when being spanked by a sexagenarian. In grad school I was forced to workshop an endless number of stories written by the other guys that were basically just attempts to out-gross-out the others... stories about having sex with amputees and little girls and animals were somehow considered worthy of serious discussion... but I digress... the thing that always bugged me about those scenarios and stories were they were written solely to disgust, never to understand. The reader (me) was supposed to be thrilled by how grotesque they were able to be, not by how honest they were bold enough to be. Ames stays in a class by himself because Louis Ives is a genuinely lovable and sympathetic guy - not some Fight Club wanna-be. So as thrown as I was initially by all the transsexuals, I stuck with it, and I'm very very glad I did.
The end of the book, as I mentioned, is very satisfying. I expected, after reading Wake Up Sir that he and Henry would split and he'd flee to live with family in New Jersey, as Alan Blair begins things in WU,S! Instead I was pleasantly surprised to find a more satisfying conclusion in the end. My book, incidentally, came with a Reader's Club Guide, which I find very amusing. I'm imagining a bunch of middle-aged readers having a good time discussing "Regression Spankology" and so forth. But it also included an interview with Ames, who commented on his characters and how they differ from himself and each other. "They're like odd cousins or strange brothers. We share many of the same qualities, but they are very much their own persons."
Anyway, highly recommended. I'm sad that there's very little of Ames left for me to read now... but I may move on to the books he listed Ives as reading all the time (the few I haven't read already...)
If you'll recall, I was intrigued while reading the last book because the novelist/narrator was working on another book, which sounded a lot like this one. And I thought to myself, "Whoa... meta..." No, seriously, I thought to myself - damn I like this book a lot, but the book he's writing in this book sounds even better. And it is. I feel strange reviewing these in reverse - as I'm nearly certain that this one came out first. But I think maybe this way is best - I feel the last book would have been a let-down after this one. In reverse, however, it's a unexpected new plateau.
The Extra Man is about Louis Ives, who moves to New York City in the early 90s when he is fired from his job at a Princeton boarding school for stealing a co-worker's bra and trying it on in the teacher's lounge. Yes, Louis is plagued by the same lack of self-control as Alan (from Wake Up, Sir!) but here it is women's clothing and not alcohol that he cannot seem to resist. He decides to venture to New York City based entirely on reading Washington Square (fellow IFP 1 surviors will appreciate the frustration I felt here). Louis comes out very early on to declare that he aspires to be a "young gentleman" of the F. Scott Fitzgerald variety, and so wears a tie-and-jacket everywhere, tries to establish "routines" so people around town will know him as a creature of habit, and while riding the NJ Transit train home from his first visit to New York, imagines he is just coming back from a fine time at his "club" - an experience which I now endeavor to mimic myself at the earliest possible convenience. And he reads Wilde, Wodehouse, Waugh, Mann, and Maum (a reading list you may soon see repeated here).
Soon he moves in with Henry Harrison, an older man who lists a desire for a roommate in The Village Voice and Ives quickly scores the low-rent occupancy in what amounts to a tiny, cluttered roach motel on the very upper edge of the Upper East Side. Harrison is, in many ways, the aging gentleman to Ives's young and he makes a Don Quixote/Sancho Panza comparison very early on. He is a playwright who teaches community college classes and lives in total squalor. Most of his plays have been lost or misplaced in the dense jungle of the apartment, which is filled with dirty cups (some of which he declares off limits, because they may have been peed in), books and records (to which he dances), bowls full of Christmas ornaments, and of course, roaches (and later fleas). Harrison's real life surrounds being an "extra man," that is, a companion to the rich, elderly women of Manhattan, who throw dinner parties and need men to balance the guest-list (because the old men die sooner) or escorts to Broadway, the Met, or the museums. Harrison and Ives both have a taste for all these finer things, though their lives are a constant absurd battle with their self-destructing cars, vermin, and awkward living arrangements. There are moments of true tenderness between them - something strangely between father-and-son and roommates. I won't spoil those, but I will give an early example of the absurd Henry Harrison in action.
"'Do you like Fitzgerald?' I asked... 'Of course,' he said, "His prose is like cocktail music. But there won't be any more Fitzgeralds. You need an all-male environment... the Muslims might produce a Fitzgerald. They're good at separating the sexes.' I imagined for a moment a new type of The Great Gatsby, written in Arabic and making a great sensation over here.
Eventually you find out how he does his laundry (wearing his clothes into the shower and stamping on them on the bottom of the tub) and why he flushes before he finishes urinating (he gets bored waiting for it to be over). It's hard, looking through now, to sum up Harrison well in just little quotes and things - but that's what makes him such a fantastic character and why Ives is so amazed by him - you simply never know what he will do next but it is always believ
The book also follows along with Ives's dirty little secret, that is his sexual confusions that caused him to try on the bra back in Princeton. He begins to respond to ads in the Post for women that spank him, and eventually frequents a transsexual bar in Midtown. His confusions lead to many squirm-inducing adventures as he tries to pin down what he wants and why and how, by going home with a number of the women-that-were-once-men. As in Wake Up Sir I felt that Ames is so sensitive and honest about these encounters and curiosities that Ives is always sympathetic, even when being spanked by a sexagenarian. In grad school I was forced to workshop an endless number of stories written by the other guys that were basically just attempts to out-gross-out the others... stories about having sex with amputees and little girls and animals were somehow considered worthy of serious discussion... but I digress... the thing that always bugged me about those scenarios and stories were they were written solely to disgust, never to understand. The reader (me) was supposed to be thrilled by how grotesque they were able to be, not by how honest they were bold enough to be. Ames stays in a class by himself because Louis Ives is a genuinely lovable and sympathetic guy - not some Fight Club wanna-be. So as thrown as I was initially by all the transsexuals, I stuck with it, and I'm very very glad I did.
The end of the book, as I mentioned, is very satisfying. I expected, after reading Wake Up Sir that he and Henry would split and he'd flee to live with family in New Jersey, as Alan Blair begins things in WU,S! Instead I was pleasantly surprised to find a more satisfying conclusion in the end. My book, incidentally, came with a Reader's Club Guide, which I find very amusing. I'm imagining a bunch of middle-aged readers having a good time discussing "Regression Spankology" and so forth. But it also included an interview with Ames, who commented on his characters and how they differ from himself and each other. "They're like odd cousins or strange brothers. We share many of the same qualities, but they are very much their own persons."
Anyway, highly recommended. I'm sad that there's very little of Ames left for me to read now... but I may move on to the books he listed Ives as reading all the time (the few I haven't read already...)
May 11, 2022
İki, hayatı yaşamayı seven, tuhaf adam arasında filizlenen bir dostluğun hikâyesini aktarıyor bizlere Ames. Yirmi beş yaşındaki Louis müdürün karısı onu bir meslektaşının sutyenini denerken yakalanmasının ardından okuldaki işini kaybettiğinde New York’a taşınmaya karar verir. Bir oda arkadaşı arayan bir ilanı aradığı zaman, saçlarını boyayan ve zengin bayanlar ile arkadaşlık kurarak bedava yemek yemenin peşinde olan eski bir yazar olan Henry Harrison ile tanışır.
Bu iki uyumsuz insanın birbirlerine her defasında düşmelerini okumak oldukça eğlenceli idi. Louis’in cinsel kimlik arayışını ve insanın arkadaşlık arayışı hakkında bir hikâye yaratması çarpıtıcı idi. Aslında bir evin içerisinde ikisinin paylaştığı ilişki aşk, ihtiyaç, güç, kontrol ve kıskançlık karışımı bir arkadaşlıktı.
Louis sonunda kendi kimliğini bulacak mıydı?
Bu iki uyumsuz insanın birbirlerine her defasında düşmelerini okumak oldukça eğlenceli idi. Louis’in cinsel kimlik arayışını ve insanın arkadaşlık arayışı hakkında bir hikâye yaratması çarpıtıcı idi. Aslında bir evin içerisinde ikisinin paylaştığı ilişki aşk, ihtiyaç, güç, kontrol ve kıskançlık karışımı bir arkadaşlıktı.
Louis sonunda kendi kimliğini bulacak mıydı?
April 21, 2021
Piacevolissima lettura (per me in audiobook), un romanzo fresco, leggero nell'accezione positiva del termine, frizzante, divertente.
January 22, 2008
There's a whole lot of hubbub about Ames but I don't understand it and after reading this book I'm thinking that maybe it's all been an elaborate hoax, cooked up by Brooklyn boosters and NPR affiliates to ruin my weekend.
September 13, 2009
Good thing Half-Price books was having a 20% off sale on Saturday, cuz my book buying addiction is getting serious... Just started this one today, and am half way done... Why do I find his wacky characters so appealing? Cluttered tiny Upper Eastside apt shared by 2 eccentrics. Transvestite bars. Guilt-ridden sexual escapades. Flying stuffed animal lions falling from the sky. My new favorite phrase: "curious maladjustment". Is Jonathan Ames straight and single? haha.
May 22, 2015
What a strange and frequently funny novel.
The Extra Man is about an orphan with aspirations toward living as a Fitzgeraldian "young gentleman" and finding a mentor to that effect in New York City. Extra Man is also about how neuroses get in the way of our aspirations, and how normalcy itself is its own kind of neurosis. Ultimately though, Extra Man is about finding an unusual kind of love in a circuitous, sad way.
The two central characters of Extra Man are not particularly likeable, but they are pitiable and endlessly interesting (even comparing themselves to Chekhov's Three Sisters). Extra Man's appeal lies in Jonathan Ames' sparse, confident, and natural writing. His storytelling makes enduring the bizarre and discomforting behavior of his characters funny and unexpectedly pleasant. Ames' writing also helps a story with fairly low stakes and minimal plot feel like more is happening than actually does--like a Seinfeld episode.
As with Ames' television series Bored to Death, Extra Man regularly makes its sad, pathetic, and desperate characters' misfortune and psychological anguish strangely funny, yet somehow not in a cruel way.
Rife with taboo and personalities that are nearly unbearable, The Extra Man likely alienates many would-be readers. It is a book that will discomfort people with sexual hangups and puritanical attitudes on sex. It is not a kinky book, however. The Extra Man's main character has numerous kinks, mostly involving gender bending, and many scenes show him exploring those kinks. But The Extra Man is not an erotic book.
The Extra Man is a psychological book, told from a wry point of view whose appreciable humor comes from the educated, perceptive, and yet unassuming nature of its narrator. Ames creates many memorable scenes in The Extra Man. He conjures some improbably neurotic personas, and demonstrates a strong writing style, but Extra Man is an easy read.
This story doesn't require that you understand its characters' motives to enjoy it. It just requires a willingness to go along with them and appreciate the awkward as best you can.
The Extra Man is about an orphan with aspirations toward living as a Fitzgeraldian "young gentleman" and finding a mentor to that effect in New York City. Extra Man is also about how neuroses get in the way of our aspirations, and how normalcy itself is its own kind of neurosis. Ultimately though, Extra Man is about finding an unusual kind of love in a circuitous, sad way.
The two central characters of Extra Man are not particularly likeable, but they are pitiable and endlessly interesting (even comparing themselves to Chekhov's Three Sisters). Extra Man's appeal lies in Jonathan Ames' sparse, confident, and natural writing. His storytelling makes enduring the bizarre and discomforting behavior of his characters funny and unexpectedly pleasant. Ames' writing also helps a story with fairly low stakes and minimal plot feel like more is happening than actually does--like a Seinfeld episode.
As with Ames' television series Bored to Death, Extra Man regularly makes its sad, pathetic, and desperate characters' misfortune and psychological anguish strangely funny, yet somehow not in a cruel way.
Rife with taboo and personalities that are nearly unbearable, The Extra Man likely alienates many would-be readers. It is a book that will discomfort people with sexual hangups and puritanical attitudes on sex. It is not a kinky book, however. The Extra Man's main character has numerous kinks, mostly involving gender bending, and many scenes show him exploring those kinks. But The Extra Man is not an erotic book.
The Extra Man is a psychological book, told from a wry point of view whose appreciable humor comes from the educated, perceptive, and yet unassuming nature of its narrator. Ames creates many memorable scenes in The Extra Man. He conjures some improbably neurotic personas, and demonstrates a strong writing style, but Extra Man is an easy read.
This story doesn't require that you understand its characters' motives to enjoy it. It just requires a willingness to go along with them and appreciate the awkward as best you can.
December 1, 2008
It's about Louis Ives and he's a closet deviant, but the complexity of his needs slowly dawns on the reader as the story continues. The comedy of the situation is that Louis wants to be a gentleman, in the style of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and he makes an effort every chance he gets to behave that way. While Louis fights within himself over his deviance, his roommate, Henry Harrison, provides the outright ridiculous dialogue that makes the book pure gold. The prose in both the descriptions and dialogue is priceless, and the humor reminds me of the Big Lebowski, understated, far out, and funny as hell. This book is one entertaining read. And it's more than frivolity. It's about friendships and finding yourself, but there's no grand character arc. There is definitely substance, and Ames's impressive writing is a joy to read, as you laugh at how these two guys live their lives.
March 24, 2021
This is such a beautifully neurotic picture of New York and the lonely and often eccentric characters it sometimes attracts. I could almost hear the honking of the taxis and the hiss of steam rising from the sidewalks as I turned the pages late into the night.
Occasionally explicit, often laugh out loud funny, and wonderfully New York, I highly recommend it.
Occasionally explicit, often laugh out loud funny, and wonderfully New York, I highly recommend it.
July 1, 2024
I purchased and read this novel almost twenty years ago and although my memory of it is fragmentary what I have an absolutely crystal clear memory is that I found it incredibly enjoyable, possibly even delightful. It is a book I have always meant to reread but have never got round to. I'd still like to read it again.
I often give only three stars to books I have a less than full memory of but in this case the memory of my enjoyment is strong enough that I have no qualms giving it four stars.
The read date is a guess.
I often give only three stars to books I have a less than full memory of but in this case the memory of my enjoyment is strong enough that I have no qualms giving it four stars.
The read date is a guess.
February 24, 2025
I enjoyed this so much. It had me chuckling out loud, throughout. All very Ames.
However...
There was one thing I wasn't on board with, it was handled too casually and never referred back to as inappropriate. It did tarnish the character and book overall for me but trying to disregard that, I loved it.
However...
There was one thing I wasn't on board with, it was handled too casually and never referred back to as inappropriate. It did tarnish the character and book overall for me but trying to disregard that, I loved it.
February 16, 2016
I greatly enjoyed the writing on Jonathan Ames HBO show "Bored to Death", so I picked up his novel "Wake Up, Sir!". I loved it, and then chose "The Extra Man" for my book club. Although I think it is a weaker text than some of Ames other novels, it is a very easy and enjoyable read.
First off, "The Extra Man" is vulgar, gratuitous, and graphic when it comes to sexual thought and exploration. If this is not something you are comfortable with, then don't pick the book up. It is a pervasive part of the text. The novel also offers a very unsanitzed view of NYC prior to the administration of Giuliani, who cleaned up a lot of the seedier elements of Manhattan. When these elements come together in the hands of Mr. Ames they create an engrossing, ambiguous, and interesting tale of sexual confusion and the human need for companionship.
The novel has two main characters, the first Louis Ives a twenty something ex teacher who has a myriad of sexual dysfunctions and issues. The other main character, although Louis is our narrator, is an older gentleman of ambiguous sexuality named Henry Harrison. Although I detested his character and the manner in which he lived, Ames has created a personality that leaps off the page and demands your attention. He is one of the most interesting and thought provoking characters I have come across in literature in a long time. These two men are thrown together through a unique plot twist, and the novel follows their lives for the next year or so. The relationship these two share is a mash up of love, need, power, getting comfortable with someone, control, jealousy, lust(?) and all of the other things (many of them gross and embarrassing) that make up the day to day of two people living in close proximity with each other.
There is a lot to "The Extra Man", more than this space can give it. I hesitate to say anything definitive about it, because Mr. Ames seems to go to such great lengths to not give the reader a definitive answer to anything, other than to make it obvious that humans need each other. The ways that need expresses itself can be, and is as varied as the 7 billion or so of us there are milling about the joint.
I am glad this was a book club selection because I will say that my appreciation for the text grew exponentially while discussing it with others. This is worth a read, but if you are new to Ames then I would recommend some of his other work before you ease into this one.
First off, "The Extra Man" is vulgar, gratuitous, and graphic when it comes to sexual thought and exploration. If this is not something you are comfortable with, then don't pick the book up. It is a pervasive part of the text. The novel also offers a very unsanitzed view of NYC prior to the administration of Giuliani, who cleaned up a lot of the seedier elements of Manhattan. When these elements come together in the hands of Mr. Ames they create an engrossing, ambiguous, and interesting tale of sexual confusion and the human need for companionship.
The novel has two main characters, the first Louis Ives a twenty something ex teacher who has a myriad of sexual dysfunctions and issues. The other main character, although Louis is our narrator, is an older gentleman of ambiguous sexuality named Henry Harrison. Although I detested his character and the manner in which he lived, Ames has created a personality that leaps off the page and demands your attention. He is one of the most interesting and thought provoking characters I have come across in literature in a long time. These two men are thrown together through a unique plot twist, and the novel follows their lives for the next year or so. The relationship these two share is a mash up of love, need, power, getting comfortable with someone, control, jealousy, lust(?) and all of the other things (many of them gross and embarrassing) that make up the day to day of two people living in close proximity with each other.
There is a lot to "The Extra Man", more than this space can give it. I hesitate to say anything definitive about it, because Mr. Ames seems to go to such great lengths to not give the reader a definitive answer to anything, other than to make it obvious that humans need each other. The ways that need expresses itself can be, and is as varied as the 7 billion or so of us there are milling about the joint.
I am glad this was a book club selection because I will say that my appreciation for the text grew exponentially while discussing it with others. This is worth a read, but if you are new to Ames then I would recommend some of his other work before you ease into this one.
October 31, 2016
I enjoyed the hell out of this book, but I failed to review it before returning it to the library. Alas, this Jonathan Ames...all right, let's call it a classic...is by far one of the funniest books I've read all year. As my recent reading of My Less than Secret Life informs me, this book is not far from the embarrassing truth of Ames' reality. His character is a young man who fancies himself as a young Gentleman in the tradition of an F. Scott Fitzgerald character. He moves to New York City in the early 90's with a roommate who is easily 3 times his age, though his real age is kept a mystery to the young man. The old man spends his days dancing to old records and his nights being taken out by even older ladies. They use him as an "extra man," a man to escort them out to the theater and dinner and the like. It is via this route and some very clever workarounds that the man is able to experience the finer things in life without actually having any money to spend on them.
The young man learns his ways, while living his own somewhat shameful secret life, filled with illicit encounters with prostitutes and transsexuals. It is a life he keeps from the old man even while he grows to love him as a friend and a mentor. It's kind of sweet in a very ridiculous way. It is what one might now call a "Bromance."
As with everything I've read from Ames so far, I laughed my ass off the whole time. I believe Ames is in the category of "love him or hate him." I have already written before about admiring his honesty. The fact that he can get so detailed about the things that he writes about, even when they come off as embarrassing, humbles me as a writer. There are stories and things that I do not tell because I do not have it in me to bare my soul the way he does. I believe he is a stronger writer for doing so. The Extra Man is a great place for anyone to start to see if they agree.
The young man learns his ways, while living his own somewhat shameful secret life, filled with illicit encounters with prostitutes and transsexuals. It is a life he keeps from the old man even while he grows to love him as a friend and a mentor. It's kind of sweet in a very ridiculous way. It is what one might now call a "Bromance."
As with everything I've read from Ames so far, I laughed my ass off the whole time. I believe Ames is in the category of "love him or hate him." I have already written before about admiring his honesty. The fact that he can get so detailed about the things that he writes about, even when they come off as embarrassing, humbles me as a writer. There are stories and things that I do not tell because I do not have it in me to bare my soul the way he does. I believe he is a stronger writer for doing so. The Extra Man is a great place for anyone to start to see if they agree.
December 1, 2010
I wanted to like The Extra Man more than I did. There are things about the book I loved but I found myself working to keep going sometimes.
I think one of my biggest issues is Louis, the main character. I found him to be compelling at some points and downright irritating in others. I have no problems with a sexually insecure character in love with the idea of becoming a gentleman. In fact, I was happy he didn't come off as contrived as he could have. There was nothing about him that felt false or forced. The issue is he never surprised me. He did exactly what I expected him to all the time with the exact results I predicted. With as funny as Jonathan Ames can be, this was a let down.
It was when Henry was present that the book came to life. Whenever he shared his multiple life philosophies, I was reminded of Ignatius Reilly. I mean this in a good way, as A Confederacy of Dunces is an all-time favorite. It didn't surprise me to find out Ames was influenced by that book to write this one.
So, overall this was a pleasant read but not at the level I was hoping it would be.
I think one of my biggest issues is Louis, the main character. I found him to be compelling at some points and downright irritating in others. I have no problems with a sexually insecure character in love with the idea of becoming a gentleman. In fact, I was happy he didn't come off as contrived as he could have. There was nothing about him that felt false or forced. The issue is he never surprised me. He did exactly what I expected him to all the time with the exact results I predicted. With as funny as Jonathan Ames can be, this was a let down.
It was when Henry was present that the book came to life. Whenever he shared his multiple life philosophies, I was reminded of Ignatius Reilly. I mean this in a good way, as A Confederacy of Dunces is an all-time favorite. It didn't surprise me to find out Ames was influenced by that book to write this one.
So, overall this was a pleasant read but not at the level I was hoping it would be.
March 19, 2010
I've begun to realize that books whose jacket flap copy says they are "hilarious" yet "poignant" or some such variation are not for me.
This seemed to go nowhere forever. The relationship between roommates Henry and ... Chr*st, I can't even remember what the protagonist's name was now, and I just read the thing last night ... doesn't really hit a crisis point until the very end, really. And the protagonist (I can only remember his last name, Ives, and the moniker he used when he was picking up young transsexuals, David) never seems to grow. This is a mid-length book, but to go even that long without change is truly depressing.
I was going to read _The Alcoholic_" primarily because I saw it's been turned into a graphic novel, but the idea of more of this navel-gazing with no growth made into pictures just depresses me. And no, not in a hilarious or poignant way. :(
This seemed to go nowhere forever. The relationship between roommates Henry and ... Chr*st, I can't even remember what the protagonist's name was now, and I just read the thing last night ... doesn't really hit a crisis point until the very end, really. And the protagonist (I can only remember his last name, Ives, and the moniker he used when he was picking up young transsexuals, David) never seems to grow. This is a mid-length book, but to go even that long without change is truly depressing.
I was going to read _The Alcoholic_" primarily because I saw it's been turned into a graphic novel, but the idea of more of this navel-gazing with no growth made into pictures just depresses me. And no, not in a hilarious or poignant way. :(
August 5, 2009
Perfect for a fun read. Brilliantly drawn characters, fleshed out so that they are real humans, not "types" or "character" although they are eccentric or even weird. The writing is bright and witty, but still allows one to empathize with Louis' loneliness, longings, and occasional sadness. Parental warning: X-rated for revealed body part, sex with fluids, trannies & cross-dressers, but never salacious, and never gratuitous (if there is sex, it reveals something about the character's innher self), and not so much that it becomes boring.
November 26, 2009
Although I'll retain plenty of the lurid details from The Extra Man, I just about had an attack when I read the line "showered and blue-blazered" — appropriated for the unbelievably fantastic song "Mistaken for Strangers," by The National. Lead singer Matt Berninger later misattributed the quote as appearing in Ames'Wake Up, Sir!, which seems strange; how does one like a string of words enough to steal it and then forget where it's from?
June 9, 2022
I did not like this book. I read it after having seen the movie version thinking it might be entertaining. The focus of the movie was entirely different from that of the book. The author created some interesting and complex characters, but chose to spend a lot of time describing activity that I don't think added much to the plot or theme. The movie picked up on the potential of those characters and it made for a much more entertaining experience. It's rare that I like a movie more than the book it is based on, but that is definitely the case here.
December 1, 2008
I really wanted to give this 3.5 stars but I can't, that said this book was thoroughly enjoyable despite the fact that the main character is an annoying eccentric. It seems like a lot of reviewers read "Wake up, Sir" first, I read this first and am now reading "Wake up, Sir" so the meta references in WUS are meaningful to me. In any event this is a fun read though a bit gritty, the characters are well developed and never dull.
November 11, 2021
I saw the film adaptation first, then read the book. It is very amusing, but also very sexually explicit, which I don't generally like. Here, though, the characters are so eccentric, but likeable and sympathetic, that the transvestite adventures of Louis and the odd lifestyle of his older roommate, Henry (perfectly played by Kevin Kline in the movie) make it the strangest, funniest coming of age novel ever.
September 17, 2015
This was the second of two Jonathan Aames novels I've read. I read "Good Morning, Sir" first, loved it and wanted more (I'd already read several of his non-fictions). What I got was greater depth, a wider range of great characters and honest, quirky, thought-provoking events and the commentary that goes with them. I saw the movie after reading "The Extra Man." Read the book. It's great!"
March 6, 2018
This is a hilarious story of two men who are the epitome of "eccentric" yet find each other in the big city. It's an insightful journey into the lives of men who don't fit into the binary that we typically try to fit people into -- male/female, gay/straight, rich/poor.
September 5, 2020
Ames tackles some familiar themes - sexual and social insecurity, becoming an adult - but takes an approach that surprised me with its tenderness. This is a rare moving-to-new-york story that I actually liked.
October 25, 2021
I think the writing was great. I enjoyed Ames's style and voice on the page. I liked his characters. Sadly, there's no completed story arc to this novel. It's a slice of life that didn't resolve in a satisfying way for me. A huge turnoff. That said, I'll be exploring more of Ames's writing.
April 3, 2009
I love this author. I love this book. It's hysterical, seedy, perverted, honest. A page-turner. I wish I could read it all over.
March 22, 2010
a little long, but i enjoyed every minute of it. nearly missing my train stop (a few times) because i was laughing like a crazy white rider is my barometer of a bloody good book.
August 4, 2017
What an off, engaging, sad, funny book. Ames seems to excel at characters that are somehow endearing and unlikeable, if that's even a thing. The struggles of the narrator, Louis Ives, with his sexual explorations is especially interesting to read now, when transsexualism is as accepted as it's ever been (though we still have so, so far to go). And Henry Harrison, with his arch conservative views and his admiration of Russia. Donald Trump even makes a cameo, trying to insert himself into the high society of South Florida and failing (his "beautiful models" were really prostitutes. I'm not surprised.)
But this isn't some sort of cultural curio. It is a love letter to and a portrait of a bygone era of New York City, but it's also a highly entertaining comedy of manners, a sometimes achingly sad tale of sexual repression, and an engrossing character study. Jonathan Ames writes characters that seem very real and distinct, even through his pervasive literary style, with its echoes of both PG Wodehouse and 80s Woody Allen.
Also, it must be said that I had seen the 2010 film adaptation prior to reading this book, and while that film was utterly forgettable (as in, I literally remembered no plot details from the film) it was completely impossible to imagine anyone else but Kevin Kline and Paul Dano as Henry and Louis. They were both perfectly cast and it was an added pleasure to hear all of Ames' dialogue in my head in their voices.
But this isn't some sort of cultural curio. It is a love letter to and a portrait of a bygone era of New York City, but it's also a highly entertaining comedy of manners, a sometimes achingly sad tale of sexual repression, and an engrossing character study. Jonathan Ames writes characters that seem very real and distinct, even through his pervasive literary style, with its echoes of both PG Wodehouse and 80s Woody Allen.
Also, it must be said that I had seen the 2010 film adaptation prior to reading this book, and while that film was utterly forgettable (as in, I literally remembered no plot details from the film) it was completely impossible to imagine anyone else but Kevin Kline and Paul Dano as Henry and Louis. They were both perfectly cast and it was an added pleasure to hear all of Ames' dialogue in my head in their voices.
May 9, 2020
This is the truest version of a 3-star book, one that sort of fucks with my over-generous rating system. Ames has a unique voice, one that transcends genre (YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE and this and WAKE UP, SIR! all have it, not to mention his TV writing) and that is always a delightfully droll strange voice to spend some time with... but what, exactly, is this book? It's ~decidedly~ different from the film it was adapted into, although the film does have plenty of the book in it. There is, yes, something Fitzgeraldian or perhaps Waughian about this book but it's also far odder of a duck.
Young man moves to New York, he's a bit confused about his sexual desires, ends up taking a room with a strange older man and becoming friends with him while also going out to transvestite and transgender bars around town. Some of the terminology is cringingly out-of-date (seeing as the book is set in 1992/1993, that makes sense) but also Ames has a real soft spot for all of his characters, even the ones who appear only for a scene.
I didn't love it, but I enjoyed it. I liked it. So, 3 stars, I suppose.
Young man moves to New York, he's a bit confused about his sexual desires, ends up taking a room with a strange older man and becoming friends with him while also going out to transvestite and transgender bars around town. Some of the terminology is cringingly out-of-date (seeing as the book is set in 1992/1993, that makes sense) but also Ames has a real soft spot for all of his characters, even the ones who appear only for a scene.
I didn't love it, but I enjoyed it. I liked it. So, 3 stars, I suppose.
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