Why Are You So Sad? by Jason Porter

Why Are You So Sad? by Jason Porter

Have we all sunken into a species-wide bout of clinical depression?

Porter's uproarious, intelligent debut centers on Raymond Champs, an illustrator of assembly manuals for a home furnishings corporation, who is charged with a huge task- To determine whether the world needs saving. It comes to him in the midst of a losing battle with insomnia - everybody he knows, and maybe everybody on the planet, is suffering from severe clinical depression. He's nearly certain something has gone wrong. A virus perhaps. It's in the water, or it's in the mosquitoes, or maybe in the ranch-flavored snack foods. And what if we are all too sad and dispirited to do anything about it? Obsessed as he becomes, Raymond composes an anonymous survey to submit to his unsuspecting coworkers - 'Are you who you want to be?', 'Do you believe in life after death?', 'Is today better than yesterday?' - because what Raymond needs is data. He needs to know if it can be proven. It's a big responsibility. People might not believe him. People, like his wife and his boss, might think he is losing his mind. But only because they are also losing their minds. Reminiscent of Gary Shteyngart, George Saunders, Douglas Coupland and Jennifer Egan, Porter's debut is an acutely perceptive and sharply funny meditation on what makes people tick.

'Like a well-stocked IKEA, Why Are You So Sad? has everything you need for your home and your heart. Jason Porter has written an astute, intelligent, and hilarious book.' Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story
'If you haven't yet made peace with the bleaker inevitabilities of life, Porter's fearless debut will get you there, one howl of laughter at a time.' Tea Obreht, author of The Tiger's Wife

Jason Porter was born and raised in southeastern Michigan. He is, or has been, an English teacher, customer support representative, landlord, traveling musician, and the overnight editor for Yahoo! News and The New York Times. Currently, he writes fiction. Why Are You So Sad? is his first novel.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780142180587
ISBN 10	0142180580
Title	Why Are You So Sad?
Author	Jason Porter
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Penguin Putnam Inc
Year published	2014-01-28
Number of pages	208
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.