Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Wanted: Elevator Man
Wanted: Elevator Man
Wanted: Elevator Man
Ebook271 pages4 hours

Wanted: Elevator Man

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Balladeer of the city's broken and forgotten men, Joseph G. Peterson looks for inspiration in urban side streets and alleys, where crooked schemes are hatched, where lives end violently, and where pretty much everyone is up to no good. Depicting the lives of people who have woefully lost their way in the world—criminals and victims, the unemployed and unemployable, the neglected and the indigent, the lonely and the alone—Peterson nonetheless brings a poet's touch to his work, which is redolent with allegory, allusion, and Nabokovian wordplay. His last novel, Beautiful Piece, garnered praise from across the literary spectrum. Enter Wanted: Elevator Man, his powerful and ambitious new novel and the story of Eliot Barnes Jr., a man at the end of his proverbial rope.

Haunted by the larger-than-life shadow of his father, a scientist who may have helped develop the atomic bomb, twenty-nine-year-old Eliot Barnes, Jr., is an apple that's fallen far from the tree. Saddled with a useless degree in literature, caged in a rundown apartment he can't afford, and embittered by his failure to live up to the future's promise, Barnes, who dreams of a corner office—an aerie roost high above the city, working with the higher-ups—begrudgingly accepts a job as an elevator man in a downtown Chicago skyscraper. Thus begins a profound but comedic meditation on failure in this life, how one comes to terms with not achieving one's dreams, the nature and origin of such dreams, and, fittingly, the meaning of the American dream itself.

As unflinching as Nelson Algren and as romantic as Saul Bellow, Peterson's novel boasts wildly surreal plot twists and a lethal wit that frequently erupts into full-on hilarity. Wanted: Elevator Man is the perfect tale for learning to cope with diminished expectations in these dark and desperate times.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 15, 2012
ISBN9781609090326
Wanted: Elevator Man

Read more from Joseph G. Peterson

Related to Wanted

Related ebooks

General Fiction For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for Wanted

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    Wanted - Joseph G. Peterson

    Oabook_preview_excerpt.html|ےFݯ̪9G>ǰ-1I"I"!$Pl|yok@U1";/a|g?_ \c39>^?~cv99S._wg2?ioa]3 }B!6]}3wm, ׾9t M()w- ! ClRc pᏧf]_vM8+)p9!S짲kŸ]ƱP.;}Lpiy er]z$ χFG⿸f=t<5mj{<}j.}57J;*ΣK<߱9V<m[Kuဥp10%<ېqu/b!qc)vXq<"ṿ~zL#vD [nn1^ rh*jqLXC|<Է)a}<b(c:D#9tN0\x(U tP f?l%No X)I(YdyIa U3E33-/&fq,y:O͞Ft;ǑzܨӤcqdI +ҡ ;u%̑}ƧKiMuUi/8 AbH~4t]P4yeS-ng? =mLSl³#TvCcC]2aJZ4)tNۣ%P߿ /bkrgHS sq;T ݢ'O+0C_fPF]:=}W͠j) 2/= ^Z\<9aėDE>1fRG|36?91` <]c(%`"`#q(Z[iCAPP 3Bh38-`}S h2WS0Jٖzc(|<¢;2EF8aW%,|{e$*(x9_ۃ9 B63́3q x Ɗ!`!CߞS¿xp]dp!][4Co %G vDȟ<~4`E08|H۸6SFXjSS_euSjKhiXiF ~awp8n6[GaL! 0 )S:vusa1>Ə:D,cf0$qF]lo˶_s!>םݺ"Knn54 8vO/yb -d!bG`Yz6pbAl'ĦSm[yȗI1Lj0|0|L:d8/r撋./B>@gĉ&2SpNPHhhRqҩ=m r Ĭ@ &*RLLȴXZ2cWWdLc%X}@b!>'bU 踌bw0μ38nh潦HWSy1XIJ $BӘT=8Ǩ T߸0FϞۣʲ1 qrᶽ^DS;@**(>-ȃ.-$ 6?LO^k<ӦYj7ގ?HQ{S\l?TER1)$o9Hܺ{/ܝ(02t <8KB[ۃ^EϬ%={ (Vv+^T,Oc`b|5hU1 *ƸI0Lp5< il8!8fTKnwPB"bnUAAF_d3U!E%L|sY5l:qEi{6Y!( h:DRVk">jF&b&Yd!KGScn928/üCϖ O",E6J$4ZMgMav "wgg\Ejxv4[\Ttn5S"Ze\}<)0aV,p gG'޷aWj3 /b( s8:VzђZk pԦ 9&;n2;au- $<3_R@ .&沯FÄ\H(y\(Ӯyj봘π\A<4L(c]hHk*TZ8؆`L܍;ɃoPQ牆-y:3l* M_#GFO(7Mc!T$xZ|V a$J5,#%},4+[dדzAS/oW.֗fi 8#\ZdO2kbwaȐ@5ShSH[1zΆ70Ě%4uJeR5-xׄ&s\02cG>BQH!#ˠ1x_OHm"gk8KeK}aIwPU]{W (]&q`ՊGE@6J[@xp"vdx +ֆJ+f8 OEmy6v.Ԕ̄<8&{<6Y'8 H(z5pYu~` A'խ_|Kt2v)+nu[p}W5fL9kQ״DR*=(Q%(wdIIAζ2] egFx]ê.zDnϦh|p4vE?4G0 ɝjoxSmߑZNv-69t{,mf>!H΄cQY&,9dL~09t-29>ߗĵS ,}_G }hFhŖvzR@axj:0V~4]|\.uJ'gnHv)F9RE%ثŘY3hJK8OĂKnޚ{j%7OBfy*Ds6WS[%8݉u;6bKz|d̜5퓺{;mIBAp/,RCGhD7:f4.fm2J k0vgeJ9tR7̌+hK]Xsc6˜dTU#5nEge|Hv.m\/-6 PvKemd$s.dC;^xܳy)wRa S[pqksSCtQ`5+%tU:UT BweF t I3Z$z}Δ0m‹pv1?o,sb (P1=t?CLhvQA` h"jP>Ol` 1uY3Wi''/8ԑZdhd0n_0k$ٝ4J va# CyvI#ZU+t&{F3*Qzpa*<M>.$Nw%|׆>/[gG.urŴѬ.Q.񄳱D3 k`CY"Í6P/P~bVZo;Xejk}zqlyr%7a~yqr߸a;MwKЎh@.813q:Ρ:h*mu/&cDkVԅc#hvn{w^.M:< l%1ߗә\И =gY+ Aeݳn#cHA'>ch3SlЈqҞi!%[GKbF"Eԓ`娙82TV\3:BW2} vė ,6phٮ2DB =WI-[-([WN;ћԄFJSY&gb"a46[mgrZ+yoK4o]y5vHW gw= [˼C_u-TKM+ AFv݈Zl#Xeؼ*ڕ^tAxe7swZb}fU9<uΩB^jYkOVzL˸?썻twYmhT_E1yg R E-h6 ^) 40YOy \IE#'Ž֣SXj݄|ADkF|UWjE` 7z*NԠȺJ(\fy'UNHB,5c!{e: #"la,A̅CyKOErzW0vuAN)ʋ!L--{oRsDxp,~ _~[r)c[2pzߪU^vY6T3/to:uiBf16 sa$ƾ5x|iĪWYsZQ_Cow&R S)~+̦!JCVz>cШGt]V ,Y9OLk8/yNoX4HfׅɋCfJeű0̝2d!*|Í2\ +/ض&|>tABv &(0i@i릑e-;ށPĐSW>%WV ϛeGzs҂iz%1#>XyY_eܩ˙{8ވ{qzY's@Y-D͌pT9ON<8ŢEEޥ--;#24ckG|/u ڂzFOvcQ`Τc;~S1u{m~8'? F{,ΆGCu Eۻ1Rs,UuxH)'8#I20BE:]60OtEcivE[]lxgϮ =//bX^FM|LCW c#,ߗ\/Wk^{(g T^C`zq]a|Yl@_u.֊j e袐5B&/:q|o08mJef!/ aXWaDc:Uy_ҐNJ'rAesA2Z$1JqT{~ ū90@st4q V`X4F2^j޲fûPΝpfxn50Ө70n;-cCFl8Pq:oՉw.:{kWA!󞯠Z{ su*4K b+7̂,||U%`gZ2|=Ipo_]I,iGʲb-@Ο_Q# ؇ҵ(=y!]~4^ԅZ(=EYf>cVBt|}]ip2Z[TРjCYv*܃^ tUtԽ'ML㎖bبJV{GyfI_;AфC-۰R~.:n[jlIXF\j[qĕNa_9Iʗr^6 (( 7^:[dQ*[s" !X
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1