Chinese Takeout: A Novel

Another great book by my favorite author. He never disappoints. If you like raw and honest fiction, you'll love this book. It exudes the energy of alphabet city.

CHINESE TAKEOUT by Arthur Nersesian is yet another bohemian story by the master of the downtown New York City novel. If you've read his other books you would know what I mean. The pacing of CHINESE TAKEOUT is a bit slower and more polished, more mature and disciplined than his previous works, particularly The F**K-UP and DOGRUN, yet entirely enjoyable. Yes, it's gritty, a bit grim (as bohemian stories usually are) but I also found it quite funny at times and much more realistic and detailed, less cartoonish than his other, more manically paced works. This is a good, character-driven novel -- melancholy, yet endearing somehow. I guess I can't help but root for the underdog. And if you ever tried to make it as an artist -- either as a painter or as a writer, you will really appreciate this novel. Trying to be an artist in America is a subversive act! And, at every turn, you will be PUNISHED for that choice! That's really what his novel is saying. To quote the Clash: "You have the right to free speech ... as long as you're not dumb enough to actually try it!" Also recommended: DOGRUN by Nersesian (if you haven't read it), THE LOSERS CLUB: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez -- which really knocked me out!

I am presently working my way through the fiction of Arthur Nersesian but chose to review Chinese Takeout having found it to be the most fully realized version of this author's conception of how unrecognized artists struggle to survive their art in downtown New York City. Nersesian, whose prose frequently reminds me of the late Charles Bukowski's best writing (Women, Post Office), devotes each novel to a different art form. The Unlubricated, for example, takes up the craft of stage production and acting while Dogrun's protagonist is an aspiring writer. Chinese Takeout is about a painter-sculptor and is marvelously evocative of the bohemian studio scene within which the book's 'hero' circulates while trying to scrape out a subsistence living. Nersesian himself is a very painterly writer whose febrile imagination provides an endlessly entertaining and poignant storyline. This aspect of his talent insistently propels one through the pages of Chinese Takeout but it is the undertow of the writing, the uncompromising exploration of love in all its most irrational manifestations, that distinguishes this writer and separates him out from the crowd. I rarely read a book which galvanizes me to seek out the entire literary output of an author but I was hardly finished with The Unlubricated before I secured copies of Nersesian's five other novels. They all investigate similar terrain but from distinct vantage points. They are each, in their own way, a joyous excursion into a sequestered world of youthful abandon.

Once again, Nersesian proves that he is the master of the bohemian/downtown NYC novel. Although not as lively as his other novels, particularly The F**k-up or Dogrun, this is nevertheless an engaging, realistic portrait of living the harrowing 'art life' in the Big City. Entertaining and darkly funny, I recommend it. Also recommended: The Losers' Club by Richard Perez

Once again, Nersesian proves himself to be the master of urban novel. This book is another fast, fun read! I highly recommend it along with another fun East Village novel about an unlucky writer addicted to the personals: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez. Also recommended: THE F**K-UP also by Arthur Nersesian. All 3 books make up what should be called the 'East Village Trinity.' Short, lively, intense books! Most of all -- FUN!