Mesopotamia

By Arthur Nersesian

"The immortal shadow of Elvis Presley gyrates wildly through this satiric exploration of America's fascination with tabloid journalism." --Publishers Weekly

"Thoroughly entertaining . . . A quirky, hard-edged, slightly absurdist thriller from a writer who definitely bears watching." --Booklist

In his paean to the perplexities of dislocation and discoveryboth in bohemian life and in life at largeNersesian makes us eager to see what happens when the curtain finally rises.”The New York Times Book Review, on Unlubricated

Things have not been going well for journalist Sandy Bloomgarten. Her job went down the drain and her marriage quickly followed. After a lengthy bender, she awakens one morning to the stark realization that she is flat broke. Nonetheless, she's still a crack reporter and when a tabloid offers her a freelance assignment in Memphisjust a stone's throw from her childhood home in Mesopotamia, Tennesseeshe takes it.

Though sent there for one story, she winds up tracking down another: someone is killing Elvis impersonators who perform at the annual Sing-the-King festival. The few clues lead her to several unlikely characters: a cheating local minister constantly on the make, a strange band of misfits who only cover Elvis tunes, and a small-town private eye who blew himself up along with his crystal meth lab. As Sandy’s investigation closes, she realizes that she is sitting on what could be the story of the century. The only problem is she can never reveal what she has found.

Arthur Nersesian's latest novel is a satiric thriller that takes an amusing view of America's predilection with the superficial over the relevant, and celebrity excitement over real news.

Arthur Nersesian is the author of nine novels, including the cult-classic The Fuck-Up (more than 100,000 copies sold), dogrun, and Suicide Casanova. He lives in New York City.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Akashic Books
• Release date: Jul 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781936070848

Arthur Nersesian

Arthur Nersesian is an American novelist, playwright, and poet. He has written eight novels including The Fuck-Up, Chinese Takeout, Manhattan Loverboy, Suicide Casanova, Dogrun, and Unlubricated. He lives in New York City. 

Reviews for Mesopotamia

[dtn620 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

murders, elvis impersonators, murdered elvis impersonators. What's not to like about Nersesian's newest novel?

[jasonpettus · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)It's no secret that I'm a pretty huge fan of Akashic Books, although even the greatest small presses sometimes have their off-days; take for example their latest, the wacky caper tale Mesopotamia by Arthur Nersesian, which is not exactly bad but is certainly not up to the level I expected from the author of cult classic The F-ck-Up. In fact, if anything, you could really call this 'Carl Hiaasen Lite,' and your enjoyment of it can be directly related to your existing opinion of that Florida-based humorous crime novelist; only in this case things are set around the Memphis area, a convoluted plot that involves white-trash scams, an alcoholic Asian reporter, an OJ-style mixed-race celebrity spousal murder, and a conspiracy that may or may not prove that Elvis is still happily alive, and running of all things an Elvis impersonator bar down the street from Graceland. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's fine for what it is, and there's a good chance that you yourself will really love it; but it just got a little too silly a little too often for me, plus is just full of disposable contrivances that seem to exist only to up the novel's quirkiness factor (like the fact that the main character's raging alcoholism instantly disappears the moment it's convenient for the story that it do so). It gets a limited recommendation today, a case of Akashic being just a little off its usual A-game.Out of 10: 7.9