On the Origins of Joy Boy's Chasm
 Liam James Leaven
 (Reviewed by The Editor - Rebecca Brown)
 2000 1stBooks Library
  ISBN: 1587219999
Amazon's price is: $13.98

The mysterious nature of women, coupled with what seems to be a life slated for nothingness, has Joy Boy reeling. His consequent search for Dude, & all he must know, begins a quest for something, anything, with more meaning & staying power than the 18-word tv sitcom descriptions he writes for his job at the TV Talon Times.

Submerged under the helter-skelter, breathless, stream of consciousness(& not so conscious!) narrative of this little book, is actually a curious story of a young rake, now isn't that an old-fashioned word, on his merry way to perdition.

Apart from the in-your-face writing style, On the Origins of Joy Boy's Chasm is all about who Joy Boy encounters in New York -- his roommates, the girls (maidens I suppose one could call them) upon whom his libido latches, the booze he copiously imbibes, the cuisine he obsesses over, the drugs he narrowly misses, the mayhem he inadvertently causes & the misadventures he gallops into. Wasn't there an earlier version of this called Candide?

Did I like On the Origins of Joy Boy's Chasm? Not exactly. It is witty, & I found myself chuckling here & there. It is rather like an endlessly looping rerun of some snortingly amusing New York tv sitcom. It is also a catalog of brand names -- I can't remember a novel with so many -- sort of a What's What for the single & the chic...er...hip?

One thing for sure, On the Origins of Joy Boy's Chasm, made me feel immeasurably old -- were my hormone years that crazy? Absolutely! As for the mysteriousness of women, having been one in this Turn of the Wheel, I was more mystified by Joy Boy's inability to see what was before him.

If you're young, you talk a-mile-a-minute & like your characters to do the same; if you yearn for the zany -- dumb, humorous, madcap, wacky -- then this one's for you! Enjoy!
(02/02/03)

Rebecca