Book Review: The Answer is Always Yes, Monica Ferrell

Good Monday People:

Sorry about the lack of posting on Friday, feel terribly for letting you (and myself) down. Went to a black wall street networking event - not so much networking, but fun nonetheless. Then had some pretty banging fish from a Asian-French fusion(?!) spot.

Anyways, here is the inaugural post for my series about books that I've read. It begins with The Answer is Always Yes by Monica Ferrell. And, since I don't want to re-write a synopsis, here is the one from Publishers Weekly:

With a Stegner Fellowship and some big-name poetry publications under her belt, it's not surprising that Ferrell delivers a stylized and exuberantly written debut novel. Matthew Acciaccatura begins his freshman year at NYU determined to become cool. As it turns out, Matthew is the fixation of Hans Mannheim, an incarcerated German professor who annotates the novel with his increasingly creepy thoughts on Matthew's quest. Ferrell and Mannheim track Matthew's ascent up the ranks of New York hip, culminating in his transformation into Magic Matt, the promoter of über-hot club Cinema. As his last name suggests (acciaccatura is a note that creates dissonance within harmony), Matthew's new job takes some ugly turns; they are unexpected by Matthew and those close to him, but painfully anticipated by the reader. Ferrell is at her best when focusing on language and the explosive emotions that accompany jaded youth and idealism. Less successful, however, is Mannheim, whose most remarkable aspect is how caricatured he is. The writing is fabulous, but it's unfortunately in service of a lackluster plot and gimmicky structure.

The prose of The Answer is Always Yes is for the most part beautifully written and really acts to propel the book forward. Ferrell lingers where appropriate and paints a scene of 90s New York, complete with the requisite set of characters, which the protagonist himself groups into characatures of themselves. Magic Matt is complex, a friendless nerd coming to college to reinvent himself as a cool kid. His constant pursuit of coolness and his repression of the "nerdy" thoughts and activities he used to enjoy. College is the one time where many suburban kids can create a new identity, though they might be better off realizing that the torment and teasing of middle school doesn't necessarily occur in college. Matt's research and intial attempts at coolness seems sophomoric to both reader and his fellow students alike.

A lot of his insecurities come from his working class background, his Mom works at the local supermarket and his dad was never around. Coming into circles of wealth at NYU and then subsequently getting paid and going to the most exclusive parts of New York act in funny ways to Matt. As he changes and begins to look down on people not interested in the club scene, his only friend and his girlfriend begin to pull away from him. What I found most interesting and compellingly written was Matt's interaction with his mother and the disconnect between his working class life and sensability and the glamorous world of the NY club scene during the 1990s. He finds his relationship with his mother complicated because of her inability to understand his life or to even seem to care about the things that he's doing. Her class aspirations are projected upon Matt is a ghettoized way.



The Answer is Always Yes is an interesting look at New York during the 1990s; New York is made into a character within the novel. Matt's relationship with it and what New York provides for him is nuanced, but Ferrell could have gone further. Having not been a part of rave culture during the 90s it was fascinating in some aspects to glimpse into it, not from the drugged mind of a party-goer but from Magic Matt - insecure geek who desperately wants to fit in.

The book is interspersed with footnotes from a imprisoned German academic relaying his parallel (in some ways) story of his demise. But, it ends up just serving to halt the narrative. It wasn't insightful (or creepy as the synopsis above conjectures) and it could have easily been removed. In fact, it should have been removed. It upset the flow and was painfully boring and arduous to read at that. To that end, the book dragged a bit in the middle. The plot was predictable and some scenes seemed to expect that readers were held in suspense.

In the end, I don't know how much I would recommend it to others. I enjoyed it. It was a pretty quick read, but there a flaws that aggravate the novel throughout. But, if you're interested in this culture, it's cool. I give it 3 stars.

* Hated it/couldn't even finish
** Disliked
*** Meh
**** Like a lot
***** Loved it!